Don Babbitt’s Teaching Progression for the Discus

with Don Babbitt,
University of Georgia Associate Head Coach – Throws;
has coached 29 NCAA Champions and 139 All-Americans;
has coached 53 throwers who have competed at the Olympic Games & World Championships;
his throwers have won 21 medals in international competition and 20 titles at the USA Championships;
2009 USTFCCCA East Region Men’s Throws Coach of the Year;
2007 USTFCCCA East Region Women’s Throws Coach of the Year;
2003 USTFCCCA National Assistant Coach of the Year;
over 35 years of coaching experience

and demonstrator Denzel Comenentia,
2019 NCAA First Team Outdoor All-American (Discus);
2018 and 2019 SEC Outdoor Commissioner’s Trophy (High Point Scorer);
2019 USTFCCCA South Region Co-Men’s Outdoor Field Athlete of the Year;
2018 Bowerman Award Semifinalist;
2018 USTFCCCA National Men’s Outdoor Field Athlete of the Year;
2018 NCAA Outdoor Meet High Point Scorer (20 Points);
2018 USTFCCCA South Region Men’s Outdoor Field Athlete of the Year;
2018 USTFCCCA South Region Men’s Indoor Field Athlete of the Year

Don Babbitt is certainly one of the most accomplished throws coaches in the world, having coached 29 NCAA Champions and 53 athletes who have competed at the Olympics and World Championships. The University of Georgia Associate Head Coach simply knows what it takes to build dominant throwers.

This video featuring Coach Babbitt will give you a logical progression that you can use to turn your discus throwers into the best version of themselves. You’ll get tips on how to grip and release the discus, as well as a series of drills that build from individual portions of the throw into the full form to ensure your throwers utilize the best technique for maximum distance.

Discus Progression

Babbitt begins by concentrating on how to hold and release the discus. He and featured demonstrator Denzel Comenentia (the 2019 NCAA First Team Outdoor All-American in the discus) take their time detailing what to look for to achieve the perfect grip. Once athletes get the grip down, they can move on to techniques like bowling the discus and releasing in the air to develop the feel for a well-thrown discus.

Next, you’ll see drills that add piece-by-piece to the throwing motion until athletes have built up to a full throw. Drills include:

• Front Throw
• Stand Throw
• Double Pivot Drill
• 180 Degree Drill
• Step-In Drill
• South African
• 90-180-270-360 Degree Progression
• Full Turn to Power Position
• Full Throw

Rounding out the drill work portion of the video is Coach Babbitt’s approach to the footwork wrap, which helps athletes work on the timing of moving their feet while throwing as well as getting their sweep leg out far enough.

Discus Theory

The final 10 minutes of Babbitt’s presentation includes his thoughts on the biomechanics, orbital path, and acceleration pattern of the discus. Coaches who want to base their training on science and analytics will appreciate Coach Babbitt’s whiteboard breakdown because he gets into the data that has helped him churn out champion throwers on a yearly basis.

This is the first time that Coach Babbitt has released his discus training progression in an instructional video, and any coach seeking drills and information that will help them train better discus throwers will find the content inside immensely beneficial. Improve your results in the discus event today!

59 minutes. 2020.