Quadrennial Plan for Collegiate Throwers This program is used to help strengthen throwers at the collegiate level and was used by the Washington Nationals. In this program, there are three steps: the general program, the intermediate program, the personalized advanced program. The program is designed with the end goal in sight and working back from there. This program is designed with each athlete insight and will do what is best for that athlete.

1. Quadrennial Plan
for Collegiate
Throwers
By: Willie Danzer
Brian Sklenar

2. • Entire program determined by looking at end goal and
working way back
• Nationals
• Raising general strength characteristics
• Transfer numbers give concrete goal
• Ideally every athlete will progress to the point of being moved
off of generalized “Team” program
• Higher training level and/or higher competition results
End Goal of Program

3. • Charlie Francis- Hi/Low model, load management,
vertical integration
• Anatoliy Bondarchuk- Transfer of training, range
throwing
• Yuri Verkhoshansky- Shock method, Stim method,
dynamic correspondence
• James Smith- Load Management, Program Management,
Psychological Preparation
Major Influences of
Philosophy

4. • Goal of general program is to obtain transfer numbers with the
least net cost to recovery
• Ultimate goal is to raise throw results to highest level by any
means appropriate
• Ideally, general characteristics and competition results will
improve in parallel
• Realization must be made that we do not control majority of
variables at this program level, so control what can be
controlled
• One variable we control from the beginning is reduction of the
gap between current abilities and maximum transfer numbers
• This stage represents the typical role of a Strength and
Conditioning Coach for throwing
General Program

5. Model Characteristic of General Physical Preparation of High
Level Athletes Specializing in the Shot Put
Exercises Result
Men Women
Standing Long Jump (m) 3.40-3.60 2.90-3.10
Triple Jump from Place (m) 10.00-10.50 8.50-8.60
Vertical Jump (cm) 95-100 85-90
20m Run from Flying Start
3.1-3.2 3.4-3.5
(sec)
Power Clean (kg) 180-190 110-120
Throwing the Shot Backwards
(m)
Men-7.260 kg
Women-4 kg
21.50-22.50 21.50-22.50
Squat with a Barbell (kg) 270-280 180-190
Bench Press (kg) 240-260 140-160
Barbell Snatch (kg) 135-140 100-105
General Transfer Numbers
Taken from “Transfer of Training in Sport” by Anatoliy Bondarchuk. Table 17.

6. • 4 day per week upper/lower split
• Box squat and bench press are main lifts/indicator
exercises
• Submaximal loading
• Auxillary work serves dual role
• Support main lift
• Support general physical development
• Athlete may stay on general program from 1 to 3 years
General Program
Qualities

7. Example General Team Program

8. • At some point, for any multitude of reasons, the athlete
may be progressed to a more individualized program
• Some reasons for this switch may include but are not
limited to; increasing sport result to a certain level,
advancement of general qualities up to or around
maximal transfer levels, increasing disproportionality
between general characteristics and sport result, physical
limitations
• Nature of program from this point forward is completely
contextual based dependent on athlete, athlete history,
needs, goals, input of throws coach etc.
Divergence from General
Program

9. • At this point, program may or may not resemble the general team
program
• Main goal is to further increase sporting result with more emphasis
placed on the specific areas of need of athlete
• Majority under this category of programming are in the category of
having increased general qualities beyond proportion to technical
ability/sport result
• Loading would be reduced to allow for more allotment of stressors to
technical advancement
• Ideally, most athletes would spend as little time as possible in this
level of programming
• At this stage, suggestions are made to the athlete on more global
scale
Personalized
Intermediate Program

10. • 3-4 days per week, usually 3 days per week
• Loading is lessened
• Main lifts become variations that are more difficult
variations that will lessen the overall load
• Lifting takes on even more of a supplemental role to
allow even more to be put towards practice
Personalized
Intermediate Plan
Generalities

11. • Showed up very strong for a Freshman, now a Junior
• Since in the general program, has achieved a 725 box squat and 380 bench. Current maxes
are 725 and 435
• Deadlift replaces one squat main lift session to reduce load with a familiar movement that is
not as developed
• Squatting is very submaximal, but as he is from a powerlifting background, the term
dynamic effort is used to lessen overall concern on bar weight/lower training loads
• Bench press can still be improved, but at time of this program was not a limiting factor to
sport result. Decided to concentrate on bench at other time than the season. Therefore, bench
still receives two sessions/week, but loading is reduced
• Auxillary work used for structural support, as well as to address some specific issues
• At the time, he is very fast in the circle and had tendencies to blow through the block,
couldn’t handle his own speed. So training designed to allow greater volume of throws in
practice to work on technical abilities, the biggest need. Also was designed to help
strengthen block positions to help achieve the ability to handle his own forces created going
in to the block.
• It was suggested to him that he take a greater volume of throws, and to focus on improving
his block
Example Intermediate
Program

12. Example Intermediate Program

13. • This represents the ideal end goal from a
planning/programming perspective
• Assume Program Manager role
• Control or have big say in all stressors, planning, programming
• Work closely with throws coach as one staff
• Athlete, context, needs, and central governing way of
thinking/methods becomes the only necessities
• Means, methods, philosophies just become tools to be used
• Athlete becomes the philosophy
Personalized Advanced
Plan

14. • Role in which the person in this position manages all stressors,
programming, planning, etc. and oversees the developmental process
• Concept taken from James Smith, who has written and shared his
ideas on the topic extensively
• Must be in a global mindset where everything exists holistically, and
all factors interrelate and interact collectively. Nothing exists in
independence of anything else
• Main driving thought is the development of the athlete, betterment of
sport success, and achievement of competition goals, both short and
long term
• Essential to the success of a program manager approach is the
support of the sport coach, as well as the understanding of the
process
Program Manager

15. • Context is everything
• As it pertains to the athlete, training age, training history,
history in sport, developmental history, all important
• The needs of the athlete to achieve goals, technical
deficiencies and strengths, physical deficiencies and strengths
• The intermediate to shorter term training past, present and
future
• Goals both of the athlete and for the athlete
• Temperament and personality of the athlete
• All are important considerations to keep in mind at all times
• If work with an athlete long enough, much of the context
becomes second nature thought process
Athlete Context

16. • A cartoon metaphor
• All of these things become nothing more than tools to use
when needed
• No Dogma
• Never be married to any means, methods, systems, or
“philosophies”, and this is never more important than
with an elite athlete. No emotion, no attachment
• Bruce Lee esque approach to programming
• All context, athlete, needs will determine what is used,
and only with best fit
Philosophy, Means,
Methods

17. • At this stage, the athlete is the philosophy
• All means, methods, philosophies are applied to the
athlete, the needs, and all context and factors. The athlete
is never fit to a system/philosophy/method/dogma
• If the athlete is the philosophy, there is great freedom.
Everything can be a potential tool to be used if needed
• If an athlete is fit into a system, it greatly limits training
solutions
Athlete is the Philosophy

18. Example Elite Shotputter

19. Example Elite Hammer
Thrower

20. Example NFL Athlete