The Coach

I took Friday off work and decided to go out and play some disc golf. Got to the park about 9:00 am walked up to the tee pad and there are a couple of guys there just chilling and talking. We said “Hi”, chatted for a little bit and I decided to throw a disc. As soon as I threw it, the conversation took a different turn-

Tim in the green shirt, Sonny in the grey

Tim saw me throw and said, “You should hire Sonny to be your coach.” Not that there was doubt that I needed a coach, just a statement of fact that Sonny should be my coach.

I was interested in the idea, but I didn’t know if having a coach was truly right for me. I kept throwing out excuses, Tim just kept telling me to hire Sonny as a coach. They saw me throw, they knew my game needed changing- I couldn’t hide that.

Sonny really is an excellent coach.

Tim had to go home to help with his kids, Sonny and I decided to play a friendly game.

“Okay, let’s just make this a coaching session right now.” We agreed on the deal, and off we went.

Sonny was really patient and went over things repeatedly until I started to get them right.

Sonny got into the coaching mode right away. He broke down my throw, tearing it all apart and starting from scratch. Since he was my coach, I really wanted to listen.

In the beginning, it started out horribly. Sonny was really patient and methodical in how he was explaining everything. We flowed through the course and on every hole I would throw 3 or 4 discs as Sonny coached me.

We worked on at least 7 or 8 different core parts of the throw- backswing, follow-through, disc angles, nose up, nose down. With someone helping me, little bits started to fall into place.

After one of the lessons I was getting ready to make a throw and Sonny asked me, “What are you thinking about right now?” I told him, “I’m imagining myself as Bruce Jenner. Olympic decathalon and Wheaties box Bruce Jenner, not reality TV Bruce Jenner.”

“Okay” he said. “But I meant the nose angle.” “I don’t know. Maybe flat?”

And then I had a pretty good throw.

While we were near the tee pad for #7 Sonny reached down, picked something off the ground, and then ate it. I asked him what it was. “This tree, this tree, and this tree (pointing to 3 different trees) drop really good walnuts” . Sonny was a coach, and a tour guide.

Eventually we reached the 8th hole, which has been a big issue for me. I told Sonny, “I usually land on the top of the hill, right by that small tree.” I want to see a bit of progress on this hole, maybe just 15 more feet than I had been throwing would be great.

I got ready with my new throwing style. I got my disc lined up. I put the anhyzer on it. I set my eyes on my target (the round bush to the right) and I ran up and did everything I had learned in the past 45 minutes. I had a follow-through, I had a good release.

And the disc went. And it went. And it went. Not just 10 or 20 feet further than I’ve ever thrown it- but maybe 35 or 45 feet further.

I stood there for a second, super proud of myself. Sonny gave me a high-five. I stood there for another few seconds, and we high-fived again.

Sonny really put a lot of effort into making me succeed, and I appreciated that. Not just the mechanics of the throw, but the patience and the encouragement.

And now I knew what Tim meant when he said, “Take some lessons from him man, he’s the best coach ever!”

The follow-through

A couple days later I finally had the chance to go out and throw again. I wondered how I would do- would I keep the magic going? Were there any lasting effects of my coaching session?

I’m happy to say that yes, when I went out a couple of days later, I was consistently throwing 20 feet further than my furthest shots before.

Hole #6. I've parked this hole before, but I've never thrown past the basket!

I overthrew the basket on hole #6. I have never overthrown any basket on this course. And I did it twice today!

So a little bit has stuck with me. My throw on hole #8 wasn’t as amazing as it was Friday morning, but today was my second longest throw ever on that hole.

Snack of the Week

This one is a super-jumbo snack.

I got this Veggie Shawarma Wrap from Swagat Indian cuisine on Court street. I wanted a full meal but I didn’t want a heavy burrito, so I went with this veggie shawarma.

Outstanding. This was super flavorful (medium spice level) and saucy and gooey and the vegetables were really good. Just an all round excellent sandwich. Super messy, so plan on washing your hands afterward!

Lighter than a burrito, tastier than a burger. Veggie Shawarma from Swagat: Snack of the Week