Notes from the 2024 Halle throwing conference

The world-famous Halle throws meet is one of a kind. Last year 542 throwers from 36 countries and all age groups descended on eastern Germany for 48 hours of pure throwing. Olympic champions and local youth throwers all bringing the same passion to the ring and thousands of spectators.

With so many elite throwers and coaches in one place, my friend René Sack and I wanted to see how we can spark more exchange of knowledge with a free coaching conference. Below are some of my notes from last year’s kick off event and a little taste of what is to come next week when the event kicks off again. Join us for free in person, or become a HMMR Plus Member to access to the videos after the event.

The rule of thirds

The event kicked off with a presentation from Paul Wilson. Wilson is most known for working with two-time shot put World Champion Chase Jackson, but he’s worked with a number of top throwers including Scott Lincoln from his youth days all the way to the Commonwealth Games podium.

In his presentation Wilson completely opened up his playbook, giving us a look at his coaching philosophy, some of the technical changes Jackson is experimenting with (and why), and her training plan. Jackson, who was in attendance, added some of her own anecdotes as well.

While he had some good training tips, probably the biggest take away for me was about his coaching philosophy and how they use the rule of thirds in training. The rule of thirds isn’t Wilson’s invention–runner Alexi Pappas has popularized the topic as well–but it’s the first time I’d heard it described in a practical setting. In essence the rule says that on the journey to success there are going to be good days and bad days. Roughly a third of the trainings will be good, a third will be ok, and a third will be bad. It’s ok to have bad trainings. In fact it’s expected. Having this mindset helped Jackson move back some bad sessions without dwelling on them as she experimented with big technical changes last year.

Putting technical models in context

A lot of the discussion in both Wilson’s presentation and our roundtable was about finding individual solutions. As throwers we have the same goal: throw far. And to throw far we have to achieve certain release velocities. And to do that there are some common positions that we aim for. This can roughly be described as a technical model. Why, then, are there such individual differences in technique amongst atheltes with the same technical model. As Wilson puts it: “It is how you get to into those positions. Athletes end up in the same position, but how they get there is different.” As my friend Steve Myrland says, it’s about the difference.

At the time Jackson was testing out the Crouser slide and gave some examples from that experiment. Another example was in the middle of the throw. Some throwers throw their left arm around. Chase did this as well, but at a certain point it was comprimising her rotational axis as she approached the power position. So they made an adjustment: she starts throwing her left arm around, but then wraps it back up in the middle. The visual they use is the wall. Imagine there is a wall through the ring. Throw the left arm around too much and it’ll bang into the wall. They’ll do drills and throws with coach even standing next to her to force her to wrap the left arm back in during the throw:

Maybe this works for some athletes, maybe not. Jackson has a more linear approach to the throw and even credited her background as a glider for her recent success with the rotational technique. The wall concept falls in line with that.

Continuing the conversation

Lately I’ve been loving it when athletes go in detail and break down how they throw and why. You don’t learn just from watching the finished process; you can learn even more by diving into their mind. On the site over the last few years we’ve dug in detail with Dylan Armstrong, Matt Denny, Andy Bloom, and more. Wilson did that in his presentation last year. And there is more to come at Halle 2025 with presentations lined up on the topic of “behind the technique” from Dylan Armstrong, Dale Stevenson, René Sack, and me. Registration is free, so sign up now.

Then after the conference is done, the real action begin. This year is the 50th edition of the historic meet, with special festivities including the shot put in the city center. Names like Joe Kovacs, Ethan Katzberg, Matt Denny, and Chase Jackson are headlining the show. Hope to see you there. And if you don’t make it, check back on the site for my notes and videos as usual.