Newport
Leave it to a cerebral athlete like Thibault to seize an opportunity when it presents itself.
If anything, Thibault, a junior who attends school at Mount Royal Academy, but participates in Newport athletics, is more focused a year after becoming the first thrower in Newport High history to earn a spot at the New England Outdoor Track and Field Championship, held last June at Veterans Stadium in New Britain, Conn. Thibault finished 30th out of 36 competitors in the boys discus as a sophomore in a senior-heavy field, and walked away determined to return to the New Englands as a junior.
Perhaps most importantly, he wants to be convinced he belongs in an elite group of throwers.
“For me, track — especially after my first year and everything — was more of a sport to stay in shape and have fun,” Thibault said during a Wednesday practice under overcast skies at Newport High. “But after seeing some success and realizing that I have the potential to be pretty good … it definitely changes it to focusing on the fact that this is a real sport and you’re good at it, so put the work in.”
Thibault’s change in mentality is illustrated in the way he practices. On Wednesday, he and Tiger throwing coach Brad Palmer, a former thrower for Newport, spent an hour focusing on footwork and other minute details of Thibault’s technique. Thibault, who also is a lineman on the Newport football team, first picked up throwing in middle school and admitted he’s come a long way.
“You’re not getting low enough, dude,” Palmer preached. “Bring your leg around.”
Palmer, who joined the Tigers’ track and field staff four years ago, has a policy of not measuring throws in practice, though Thibault was clearing 120 feet by the measurements on the grass behind Newport’s football field. When he began throwing in the eighth grade, his goal was to reach 100 feet.
Something else, other than a continued progression, clicked for Thibault late last season just before the NHIAA Division III state meet, a feeling that he equated to a sense of realization. He finished third in the discus and fifth in the shot put at the D-III meet and sixth in discus at the NHIAA Meet of Champions.
“All season long, we were working hard on the spin with the disc, especially, just trying to figure it out,” Thibault said. “There were some meets where I’d throw a lot better and others where I wasn’t as great. It was actually at the D-III divisional meet, I threw a bad throw and (Brad) said, ‘Just relax. Don’t even worry about it. Just go throw.’ So I didn’t really think about it. It was like muscle memory.”
Added Palmer: “That’s when the planets aligned. That’s when he realized that if he just relaxed and did what he knows he can do, it happens.”
Thibault took that relaxed feeling to the New England meet, where he said many of his fellow competitors seemed nervous competing in front of college scouts.
“I remember all these seniors were, like, super serious,” Thibault recalled. “Brad said, ‘You’re only a sophomore. Just come here and throw. What do you have to lose? You have two more years.’ All these guys were throwing fouls. They were just so stressed out.
“I was pretty surprised (to make New Englands),” he added. “There’s a lot of pressure, obviously, competing against a bunch of older guys. … I always find that I throw better when I take a deep breath and don’t really think about it.”
Over the summer, Thibault received letters of congratulations from colleges. He was named first-team all-state for track. Thibault’s success pushed Palmer to expand his coaching knowledge, sending the Newport coach to YouTube for throwing tutorials on a more advanced technique that focuses on a faster rotation in the throwing circle.
Tyler Hill, a senior, joined Newport’s throwing team this spring and threw 107 feet, 4 inches in the discus at Windsor High’s Vacational Meet on April 18, giving Thibault the additional competition that could push him over the top.
“It was toward the end of the season (last year) that I was gassed out,” Palmer said. “Everything my coach (Don Filkins) had taught me, that’s where we were at. It was like, ‘I don’t know how to make him better.’ I didn’t have anybody to call and ask, ‘What am I doing wrong?’ So I went to YouTube.
“I watched some Olympic throwers. I watched their form, I watched their feet, I watched all kinds of stuff and dissected it a little bit on my own. … You can ask all the kids this season: The throwing style for discus, which was my favorite event, is completely different than last year. They’re all learning new footwork and everything.”
Palmer’s new technique, for Thibault at least, picks up the tempo of his rotation. Instead of a swinging, twisting motion, it’s a shorter sprint for a windup. Thibault said his goal is to clear 130 feet this spring.
Thibault threw 115 feet on Thursday in his first event of the spring at the Bellows Falls field relays, good enough for second behind powerful Bellows Falls hurler Reno Tuttle.
Palmer seemed pleased with the performance, particularly with the fact that it now gives something for his junior thrower to build on. But Thibault’s ultimate goal is to earn another spot at the New Englands.
“I like the feeling of setting a goal and reaching it,” Thibault said. “I love track. Just the whole attitude that everybody has. It’s less relaxed. Even though it’s a team sport and you’re working together, it’s very personalized. I like to focus on, obviously, getting points for the team, but focusing on myself more, which is kind of cool. It’s very different than anything else.
“I hadn’t really thought about it at all, but when I’m finally thinking about it looking back, being the sixth-best discus thrower in New Hampshire as a sophomore was pretty crazy. I didn’t really think about it when I was doing it.”
Josh Weinreb can be reached at jweinreb@vnews.com or 603-727-3306.