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Coach Block Leads SIU-E Throwers Through Transition

Published by
Martin Bingisser   Dec 21st 2009, 4:33pm
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When the indoor season began a few weeks ago, one new name appeared at the top of the results.  Ben Bishop, a junior at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville (SIU-E), entered the season with a personal best of just 60-feet, but that soon changed at the Bob Timmons Challenge in Lawrence, Kansas, where he threw a massive new best of 21.11m (69-03.25).

The throw also broke the SIU-E school record, held by first-year throws coach Scott Block.  Block just graduated from SIU-E in May with a kinesiology degree and had planned to start a master’s program last Fall.  However, his former coach took a position at the University of Wisconsin, opening up a position for him on the SIU-E staff that he jumped at.  “Opportunities like that don’t come along very often,” Block said.  He produced quick results too, watching his school record fall in the first meet of the season. “Nothing in the world could have made me happier.  I learned quickly that a coach experiences the highs of his athlete’s victory almost as much or more than if he had achieved it himself.”

Unfortunately, you won’t see Bishop’s name on the start list at the NCAA Championships in March.  SIU-E is in the process of transitioning from NCAA Division II to NCAA Division I.  As a result, the school is unable to compete in postseason competition for the next three years.  This can be tough on the athletes, as Block himself realized. “I personally experienced it last year here when I did not get to go to Nationals.” Block said.  “But I try to explain to my throwers that a mark is a mark; you go out there and throw far and your distance will speak for itself.”

Rather than the NCAA Championships, Block has set his sights on the U.S. Championships.  Bishop’s mark already qualified him for the U.S. Indoor Championships and plans to travel to Albuquerque for the competition at the end of February.  Block hopes a few other athletes will also get qualifiers this season.  In the long run, the move to Division I should prove beneficial, as it will allow SIU-E to compete against the nation’s best schools.

All Block can do now is just keep on coaching and learning.  He has found his first few months to be both exciting and challenging.  The biggest challenges have been the transition from peer to coach and balancing his job with the master’s program he is enrolled in.  Block was a former teammate of many of his athletes, including Bishop, and thankfully they have made the transition to coach a smooth one.

While he is young, Block feels he has used that to his advantage.  He has the athlete’s mentality fresh in his memory.  Combined with his background in kinesiology and an open mind, Block has been trying to find out what works best for each of his athletes, often individually tailoring their workouts to their strengths and weakness.  This is also a challenge, but a fun one.  As Block puts it, “I absolutely love every minute of it.”

Bishop has been his star thrower so far.  This Fall Block and Bishop implemented a new lifting program to focus on explosiveness and they worked more one-on-one to improve Bishop’s weight throw technique.  Clearly, the changes have already paid off for Bishop.  Block’s other throwers are also making good progress indoors and he expects a few more athletes to stand out in the javelin and discus once the outdoor season gets underway. Block hopes this recent success will help build the foundation of a solid Division I throws program.  While many schools offer great track teams, Block thinks SIU-E sets itself apart as the program is actively growing, but still maintains the small-school atmosphere in regard to athletics.  The school ensures the athletes’ needs are met academically, socially, physically, and emotionally.  That is what made the school a good fit for Block as both an athlete and now as a coach.

 

 

 

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