ActiveGsy Track & Field preview: Winter work starts to pay off

Discus thrower Tom Brierley will step into home competition for the first time this season at the ActiveGsy Track & Field Series having already laid down an early marker.

He was among a group of Guernsey athletes that travelled to Jersey at the start of April.

There he threw further than he did last year, an early indication that all the work behind the scenes over the winter is paying off as he chases down an Island Games standard.

Sunday is the second round of the series at Footes Lane, and will see athletes of all ages compete over 100m, 200m, 1500m, 400m hurdles, high jump, triple jump, discus and javelin.

It is still early in the season and the relaxed approach Tom took into Jersey that saw him throw 35.41m is one he will mimic on Sunday.

For many of the throwers, winter training started in October and it is now that they start seeing the results.

‘Usually the way we do it is from October to Christmas time, you’ll have a big strength phase, where you don’t have to be throwing far, there’s no reason for you to,’ he said.

‘You get all your heavy stuff out the way, your big lifts, your squats, deadlifts, bench. And then you supplement all of that as well. Then you start your big technical changes. It’s time where you can afford to have your throw kind of completely messed up for at least a little while.’

After Christmas is when the refinement begins, as does the power lifting.

‘In all the throws, the Olympic lifts are really important. So cleans and snatches, lots of them. Then just dropping the weight off your normal lifts and trying to do them as fast as possible. Bringing in plyos and sprints and all of the painful stuff. That brings us to now really, it’s just two main blocks.’

Tom’s focus has been on staying a lot more dynamic in the circle.

‘The throw needs to be one continuous motion, one continuous build of acceleration,’ he said.

‘And when you separate things out, and you do drills to work on specific elements of the throw, it’s really easy for your throat to become bitty.’

He plans to have fun on Sunday as he strives towards the Island Games B standard of 37m.

‘Take advantage of your mates coming in, cheering you on, all of that. It’ll be nice to see everybody else in the group open their seasons as well. And I’m sure everybody’s going to do really well. Everybody’s worked really, really hard this winter.’

There is a great atmosphere among the throwing group, he said.

‘It’s really good banter and everybody wants to learn as well, especially the younger ones. That’s really nice. Speaking from experience, it’s so difficult to stay interested in an event that’s so technical, it can get boring when you’re doing the same drills over and over and over again, and frustrating when it’s not working. Often with technique changes, it takes months. So I’m really proud of everybody.’

Tom started his discus career seven years ago when he was in Year 10 after he won his school’s sports day.

‘I just didn’t want to stop. It’s definitely a love and sometimes hate relationship. But I quite like just grinding away at stuff. And just thinking long term. So that, for an event like this, is really good.’

Elsewhere in the field events, there will be three Island Games hopefuls – Sofia Mella, Vicky Hancock and Holly Drake – battling it out in the triple jump.

The 1500m has attracted the biggest list of entries where 14 runners will take part over two races.

Among them in the B-race, Nix Petit will be looking to hit an Island Games standard having opened up in Jersey with a 4:55.46, just outside the B mark.

Gian-Luca Robilliard began his outdoor account in the 800m last time out with a sub-two minute clocking and also turns his attention to three-and-three-quarter laps of the track on Sunday.

Alongside the standard competitions, Guernsey Athletics has an initiative for younger athletes that will encourage them to use their skills across the full range of disciplines by setting them the goal of beating their own best times or distances.