My ability to throw a baseball is equivalent to Josh Freeman’s ability to throw a 16-pound shot put.

I challenged Freeman to a best of three throws shot put competition. In high school, Freeman was a two-time United States of America Track and Field All-American and won the 2012 3A state title in Illinois in the shot put and discus.

In first grade, I picked up a shot put at track and field camp.

Freeman won the outdoor Missouri Valley Conference championship as a freshman and came in second in the indoor MVC championship. This year’s indoor championships will be this weekend in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

When a shot put thrower does not use proper form, he or she can tear a rotator cuff. Freeman taught me how to throw correctly just before my attempt and showed me a six-pound shot put to throw.

Regardless of the huge weight advantage I had, Freeman still threw a 14-pound shot put more than twice the distance I threw the six-pounder.

It’s no surprise Freeman broke SIU’s shot put record in January, which was formerly held by throws coach, John Smith, for nearly 30 years.

Even though my shot put was one of the lightest ones, I still almost broke my arm.

Freeman won a gold medal at the Pan Am Junior Championships games in the summer and is in position to attend the national tournament as well. The NCAA takes the top 16 throws, Freeman has the 12th best mark with only one more week to qualify.

Smith said I reminded him of a high school shot put thrower who was just starting. He put it in perspective by saying he has a girl on the team who can throw the six-pound shot put more than 20 meters and Freeman could probably throw it 27.

I threw it six and a half meters, and clearly, did not train hard enough.

Freeman said throwers’ training consists of a lot of eating and lifting. He said he gets pumped up before his throws by listening to music and thinking of all the sacrifices he has made for the sport.

In January, coach Connie Price- Smith took Freeman’s and junior Curtis Wideman’s headphones until they threw a specific mark. At first, Freeman said he was upset at first, but it made him want to do better. He said long bus rides became more loathing without music and said Wideman is more upset because he still hasn’t gotten his headphones back.

Throwers have an interesting diet. In fact, Smith nicknamed it the “caveman diet” because they eat anything once alive. He said one thrower even ate four pounds of steak in one sitting with a baked potato and green beans.

Even with the unique training, Smith said track and field athletes usually do well in other sports, but athletes from other sports usually don’t do well in track and field.

I only played golf in high school, but Freeman noticed my potential in shot put. He told me to lift more and eat more, and to not throw the shot put like a baseball, which is why my rotator cuff hurt afterwards.

His encouragement was not surprising either. Track and Field is a universal sport. In big moments, athletes sometimes start slow claps for everyone to join, even the opponents. I started a slow clap for my final throw. Freeman and his teammates joined in. It gave me so much energy to cause a fault, but it was friendly competition.

Whether or not his words of encouragement were real, I have started the caveman diet, but probably won’t start with more than four pounds of food at a time.

Aaron Graff can be contacted at [email protected], on Twitter @Aarongraff_DE or 536-3311 ext. 269