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Prep Roundup
Columnists Brian Meadows Brad NormanMembersLocal Connection› Iredell County Young Athletes Association› South Iredell Athletics Association › SHS athletics › WIHS athletics › NIHS athletics › SIHS athletics › LNHS athletics Syndicate RSSAP NASCAR NASCAR Features A look at this year's schedule A look at this year's drivers Differences between stock car and open-wheel racing NASCAR Research & Development Petty Enterprises splitter testing Aerodynamic testing in Concord's wind tunnel Top 10 moments in Daytona history Site StatisticsThis page has been viewed 801506 timesPage rendered in 0.2116 seconds Total Stories: 2136 Total Comments: 34 Most Recent Entry: 08/15/2008 01:53 pm Most Recent Comment on: 04/17/2008 11:54 pm Most Recent Visitor on: 05/23/2012 10:00 am |
• Public Schools • Mooresville High School • top story
2008 Apr-17
Technique, strength help Deaton dominate for DevilsBy Brad Norman Jake Deaton is typically a fairly social guy. He chats with teammates during track meets and takes time between throws to demonstrate helpful tips to fellow Blue Devils throwers. Everything changes when Deaton gets ready for the shot put. He stops talking immediately and surveys the gravel pit in front of him, his eyes narrowed and focused. Grabbing the shot, Deaton’s forehead creases in concentration. “Really, I pick a spot out there, what I’m shooting for,” Deaton said. “With all the training and everything I do, my body knows what it has to do. I’m just trying to clear my mind and let it do what it has to. Sometimes you get really excited and it messes up your whole throw, so I try to focus.” With his back to the pit and the shot in his right hand near his shoulder, Deaton squares his body and bends his knees. He sways from side to side before suddenly completing a 540-degree burst, hurling the shot as far as he can. His momentum after throwing careens him forward on another 360-degree spin, and he usually has just enough time to see where it lands. Typically, he doesn’t even need to watch, as his form — the one he has practiced over and over and over — lets him know how good his toss was as soon as it leaves his hand. “The important thing is to get your hips through first before your upper-half comes, because it makes a whip,” Deaton said. Deaton is also a phenomenal discus thrower, winning the 3A state championship last year and breaking Mooresville’s school record this year. His toss of 155 feet, eight inches, earlier this season broke the record of 154 feet, six inches, set in 1982 by MHS Hall of Famer Ralph Phifer. Deaton is an imposing physical specimen, but the key to him being a good thrower lies in his spin technique. “You can take a big, strong guy and if he doesn’t know form, anybody who has proper form is going to out-throw him,” Mooresville coach Michael Serefine said. “With strength and technique, you can’t really have one without the other if you’re going to compete at the level Jake’s been throwing at. He really is a technician. He goes home and studies and watches videos.” Deaton is so talented he attracts a crowd of opposing athletes and coaches when he throws. His biggest fan, though, sits off in the distance, armed with a pink lounge chair. That’s Missy Deaton, Jake’s mother. She threw in high school and not only offers Jake encouragement, but also useful advice. “What’s made him improve is he’s so driven,” Missy Deaton said. “He wants to be the best and he doesn’t mind working hard to get there. ... “Sometimes he’s too honest. At Myers Park, he stepped on the line and nobody saw it but him, and he said, ‘I scratched.’ He’s good for that.” And good for a Mooresville program gunning for its second consecutive 3A state championship. “The thing that really helps us is some of the other schools that are our top competition, they don’t really have a thrower like Jake,” Serefine said. “They may pick up some points on us in the sprints, but having Jake in the field events really puts us over the edge as a team.” Bookmarkz |
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