NCAA Discus Champ
incorporates the 16 pound Overhead Back Throw in his training routine. John has thrown nearly 60 feet while at Louisiana State University.
By Dr. Greg Shepard Brigham Young University hosted the NCAA Track and Field Championships this year and in addition, held a free clinic for the kids in the area. Since my 14 year old son is a thrower, I pulled him out of school and couldn't wait to attend the clinic. There were a lot of little kids but hardly any high school athletes. My son was given a free track t-shirt. They introduced about 25 high school and college coaches who would be our instructors. I couldn’t keep them all straight but the list was impressive.
Matt, my son, went to the Discus first and then the Javelin. We received some great instruction by some outstanding college coaches. The Shot Put was next and 64 we were met by an energetic, enthusiastic coach. I thought he was a throwing coach from a local high school. I asked several people who he was but they didn’t know. We started out with softballs. The coach had a whole bag of softballs. Step-by step the group of kids went through the technique of Shot Putting with those softballs. I was totally impressed. I thought, “This guy is pretty good. He’s got a great way with kids. His high school is lucky to have him. I saw a great coach and a great teacher.”
After throwing the softballs, we progressed to the Shot Put ring and continued the clinic. “This guy,” I exclaimed, “should be coaching at a University.”
.
John has Hang Cleaned 415 pounds. Notice his head, eye, wrist and elbow position. John has racked the weight solidly on shoulders.
World Championship SEC Champions (85-89)
* Coach Pfaff considers multi-eventers part of our corps due to the importance of the throws to the overall score!
John Front Squats with 425 pounds. Congenital lower back problems have prevented John from training with the conventional Parallel Squat. Later I found out that | had been mistaken. Our Shot drum. He’s an artist, and I think he’s in love with the Put instructor was Dan Pfaff, the extraordinary artistic symmetry and creativity of motion that is throwing coach for the Tigers of LSU. The next week my provided by the Discus. I just feel he got hooked at an son set a personal record in the Shot Put by three feet. early age.”
At the NCAA meet, we bumped into Coach Pfaff John began training in junior high and his high again while we were watching the Discus. | thanked him school had a nice weight room. John Benched and again and we talked about doing an article on his Squatted but didn’t do much of the Olympic type lifts throwers with emphasis of John Nichols, who was just about to become the first American Sophomore to win After a short while at LSU, John gained a solid the NCAA Discus Championship since 1951, John twenty pounds because of the consistent nutrition popped one out 208-1 for a clear cut victory.
John Nochols attended Winnfield Senior High School in Louisiana and threw 212 feet as a senior. provided at their training table. However, chronic congenital and high school injuries hampered his technique and altered his training lifts.
Under ordinary circumstances that throw would have It was hard to Snatch because of the injury to his been the best in the nation. However, Kami Keshmiri set non-throwing shoulder. Cleans from the floor were a national record that year at 225-2. (We did a feature difÏcult because of his congenital low back problems. story on Kami two years ago) Coach Pfaff reported that Coach Pfaff decided to have John do Hang Cleans. It turned out to be a good decision. The Front Squat California only to have it go out of bounds. “I also watched him throw the college Discus 190 feet while in conventional Back Squat. John used to do a lot of Leg high school” remarked Coach Pfaff.
Naturally, John was highly recruited by a number of reasons.
Presses but he was soon able to do the machine's limit easily and it didn’t produce very good results. Coach major schools but LSU has a great art school. “That Pfaff acidulously declared, “Man invented machines to made a difference,” said Coach Pfaff. John was also an do his work. We had to find someway for John to work All-State Quarterback as a junior. I wondered why John with free weights. We came up with Front Squats.” didn’t play football in college, even though a shoulder injury prevented him from playing as a senior. Coach Coach Pfaff was raised on a farm near Dayton, Ohio. In high school he played football and Pole Vaulted.
Pfaff gave his opinion, “John marches to a different Continued on page 71 66
From BFS Magazine — Fall 1989. Part of the BFS Magazine Archive (1980–2014).
