Coaches Log, October 3rd. After 15 years of camps, VIP sessions, club coaching, and film breakdowns, (And let me tell you i can feel all the coaching in my old bones. LOL)

I’ve documented 7 Distance Killers that keep showing up—different Coaches and athletes from different states (even several different countries) and the same technical problems rear their ugly head.

Distance killers look right, sound right, and get passed down like family recipes… but they kill speed, erase power, fight physics, and wipe out potential... rep after rep.

If you’re grinding in the ring, smashing the weights, and binging throw videos at midnight on Instagram and youtube—and your improvement is moving at a snails pace—this is probably a big part of the problem. 

What do I mean by “Distance Killers”?

They’re the self-applied limiters that coaches and thrower intentionally apply.

I’ve seen coaches and throwers lose entire seasons to Distance Killers. 

I've even see kids never come close to their potential as a result as well.. 

One or two Distance Killers will have you competing at 'plateau city' for the entire season. 

Five at once? Say hello to Limitation city...indefinitely.

When you are using multiple Distance Killers, you may never be able to achieve what you're capable of because your Shot put and Discus technical foundation is so broken that you can't retrain or re-establish the right pattern.

So what happens when you remove distance Killers? here is a small sample of some typical results. 

Proof in the ring (just some of our throwers from this year):

• +33 ft discus PR in 8 weeks (151 → 184 ft; Mar 30 → May 28)

• +50 ft in a season 2024 to 2025 (110 → 160-5)

• Girls 62 → 146 ft in two years (42 ft/year average)

• Shot +10–14 ft by fixing Core Ability + removing Distance Killers (44 → 58 soph) (41 → 51  2nd-year thrower)

• Glide → Rotational conversions adding 12–18 ft in one season

Same kids. Same work ethic. Different results. They stopped sabotaging themselves.

Why “one problem = two+ fixes” 

A throw happens in less than 2 seconds. You cannot fix five things in two seconds. 2 focuses is pushing the limit. You fix the origin point... and the actions/motion that happen after are automatically better..

That’s what the Throwing Chain Reaction® gives you: a simple, proven structure to simplify the technical complexity of the shot put and discus throw, so you can spot the problem where it truly begins and fix it.

How to spot a Distance Killer (quick field test)

When you’re watching live or on video, ask:

1. Balance: Are hips under shoulders out of the back, or is the athlete already falling into the ring?

2. Separation: Is the lower body isolated while the shoulders wind (slingshot handle still (legs)+ sling stretched (upper body)), or do the hips turn with the shoulders? (Distance Killer)

3. Radius & Orbit: Is the implement behind the hip into the entry, or is it creeping up to the sweep side hip?

4. Entry Hinge: Is the entry side turning then dropping (Pillars 2→3), or is it a squat-and-turn that tilts the vertical axis and throws you off balance and limits speed into the middle (Distance Killer #1) 

5. Block Integrity: Is the block side stopping the motion of the throw, or is the block arm/leg leaking and pulling you out of position?  Distance Killer #6

If you notice any of those, odds are you’re you have a minimum of 1 distance killer and as i hinted there are more than 1 (7 total)

Why this shows up everywhere

the Trap in our sport is the Hand-me-down culture. A lot of cues were built around the top 1%—athletes who can self-correct even when taught incomplete, limiting information. The other 99% need clean mechanics based on proven science. That’s why we’ve structured the 6 Pillars and the 6-position sequence for setting up the Chain Reaction.... for years: teach  proven science, let the athlete style develop. Watch improvement fast-track 

What to do next (today)

• Film 3–5 throws from start (looking into the sector) + throwing side.

• Freeze the wind: is the right foot/hip turning with the shoulders? If yes, separation is gone before you start and you are off balance. 

• Analyze the first position of the entry: are you turning then dropping (good) or squatting and turning together (Distance Killer)?

• Audit the finish: does the block arm stop or does it open/pull around? (Distance Killer)

This is the easy, low-hanging stuff to look at.

Are you smelling what I'm cooking?

In Part 2: We will talk about Distance Killer #1 — “Chest Up” Trap

“Chest up at the finish” is correct—how you apply that, determines everything. Done wrong, it opens the upper body (=Lost tension) , kills ground contact (=Loss of Power), and Pops the release angle too high and out of the money zone. I’ll show you exactly how this creeps in, the physics behind the miss, and the fix.

Want the full list of 7 with demos? It’s inside the TCR System Distance Killer Assessment (and it's your first TOOL in the System) and the METHOD Program (Athletes) | ACADEMY Program (coaches)

We can do things the easy way or the hard way...

And for 15 years, we just keep showing our coaches and throwers how to achieve the big technical jumps, BIG distance jumps, and a new level of consistency.

Coach Johnson
Be sure to check in for Part 2 and be sure to check out our Camp, VIP coaching, Club, and of course  👉 Check out the METHOD Program (Athletes) | ACADEMY Program (coaches)