University of Minnesota Athletics
Warm-Up Lap: Q&A with Kiley Sabin
1/26/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
MINNEAPOLIS - Redshirt sophomore Kiley Sabin made significant technical changes to her shot put approach in the off season, and she has already seen the rewards of her efforts and hard work just two weeks into the 2017 season.
The Slinger, Wis., native broke Minnesota's program record with a winning throw of 17.17m (56-04.00) to help the Gophers to the team title at last weekend's Minnesota-Wisconsin Dual and was honored as this week's Big Ten Conference Field Athlete of the Week.
GopherSports.com caught up with the thrower as she and her Gopher teammates prepare to host this weekend's Jack Johnson Classic.
Gopher Sports: What has your training been like since you left off last spring?
Sabin: After regionals, we hit the weight room four days a week, trying to get stronger over the summer. Then, come fall, it was a lot of focus on throwing this year. The heavier stuff came later. I think the big things I've worked on were getting stronger in the weight room and getting technically better. This fall, we focused a lot on changing some parts of my technique, some major changes. With my entry, we changed the way I enter the ring, which changes the whole throw. It was really interesting to see how that's come along and how it's helped my throw.
GS: What has the adjustment been like for you with such significant changes to your technique?
KS: I started rotation freshman year, so we were just trying to learn how to do that, going from the glide to the rotation is kind of a difficult transition. Changing the entry changes every part, how you go into the middle, how you strike the ball at the end, and so by changing the way that I did my entry, I'm able to go faster and different parts of the throw line up better.
GS: How are you handling the changes mentally?
KS: It's a lot better now. It was a little difficult in the fall. It happens every year where the coaches change something and I feel like it's the worst idea and I can't do it. It's a hard transition, but then come December everything starts lining up, and I realize it was a good idea. Lot of trust in the process.
GS: How exciting was it to break the program record last weekend and see what's possible?
KS: It was great. I was kind-of shocked at first. Everything lined up. My throws kept going further and further, so it was great to hit that mark so early in the season.
GS: Walk us through your throwing series last weekend at the Dual.
KS: Well, my first throws are never the best. I always just want to get a mark in and then build from there. My first throw was right about at 50 feet. The second one was a foul because I was trying to go at it a little harder, and I just couldn't catch the end. Then after that, I just found the strike and it kept building. I wasn't really thinking of anything, just focusing on trying to go quicker and trying to strike it a little harder. It kept going further.
GS: Where do you go from here? Do your goals change having broke the program record so early in the season?
KS: I'm going to try to throw consistently in that range. I wouldn't say necessarily that far, but I would like to find that consistency considering it was so much further than what I've thrown before. I didn't except to throw that far so soon. I have a little goals list, and I had a mark on there that I've already had to erase because I already reached it. It was kind-of a shock to me how everything lined up and everything felt great. I hope that, come the end of indoors, I can find that again.
GS: What do you have to do to grind through the season both physically and mentally?
KS: I know I have to trust the process. It's going to be a hard couple of weeks here, so I'm obviously not going to have the big marks that I would want, but I just have to try to hit parts of my form that I've been working on, get more technically consistent, and trust in the strength training and the throwing.
GS: What are your academic and career goals?
KS: I've decided to major in physiology. I am interested in doing something in the medical field. I've been looking into things like becoming a physician's assistant, a physical therapist, and a chiropractor. It's everywhere right now, but I'm exploring my options.
GS: What's your class load like this semester?
KS: This semester is a little easier than last. I am taking three five-credit classes, but I think I'll be fine in them. They are all subjects that I enjoy, so I think they will be fun to take. I'm getting into my major classes now, including an anatomy class. That will be a lot more fun than other science classes because I actually get to learn about the human body now.
GS: What's the team vibe like from your perspective this year?
KS: Going into meets, we always make sure we're staying loose and having fun because that's when we throw the best -- when we're relaxed. We try our hardest to keep each other from getting too serious. We'll make each other laugh if we see someone tightening up.
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Players Mentioned
