Furey Athletics

This past weekend at the 5th Annual COR Athletics camp, Barry gave a presentation to a large group of developing javelin throwers that outlined a year-round approach to javelin training that gives athletes a structure to follow while also reminding them that no plan should be followed blindly. Every athlete has a different situation. Some have great facilities. Some train in cold weather. Some have a javelin runway. Some throw off grass. Some are playing soccer, football, basketball, or another sport during the fall. Some have high school coaches writing training plans. Others are largely training on their own.

Because of that, Barry’s philosophy is not simply, “Here is the plan. Follow it exactly.” Instead, his message is: understand the plan, take ownership of it, and adapt it to your situation.

The Big Ideas

Athlete Ownership Comes First

One of the biggest themes of Barry’s talk was athlete ownership. He encouraged athletes to use a journal, sit down before the week begins, and write out a plan. Even if a coach has already written the program, the athlete should rewrite it, understand it, and show up each day knowing what they are trying to accomplish.

Progress is much harder when an athlete simply waits for a coach to feed them the workout. A good coach can provide direction, but the athlete still has to take responsibility for the process.

That sense of ownership also applies to technique. Barry emphasized that athletes should identify two or three technical priorities they want to improve from one season to the next. Those priorities should be written in a positive way.

Instead of saying, “Don’t open up early,” an athlete might write, “Stay closed longer.” Instead of saying, “Don’t rush the arm,” the athlete might write, “Let the block create the throw.” The mind needs a clear action to pursue.

The Four Phases of the Training Year

Barry’s annual plan is divided into four major phases. Each phase has a different emphasis, but technique remains present throughout the entire year.

Phase 1: September–October

Conditioning and Technique Training

The first phase is a nine-week cycle focused on building a sound physical base and correcting technical flaws.

Barry and Sean both emphasized that throwers have to be good athletes before they can become great javelin throwers. This phase includes general conditioning, running, jumping, medicine balls, weighted balls, javelin throws, technical drills, weights, circuits, games, and gymnastics.

The running in this phase is not about becoming a distance runner. It is about getting the feet, ankles, legs, and mind ready to train. Easy runs, tempo work, strides, and general conditioning help athletes become more comfortable being uncomfortable.

This builds fitness, but it also builds mental toughness. Athletes learn that discomfort is manageable, and that lesson carries over later in the year when training becomes more intense or competition becomes more stressful.

Barry was also clear that athletes playing a fall sport should not try to complete the entire javelin plan on top of their sport. That creates unnecessary fatigue and can lead to overtraining. If an athlete is playing soccer, football, cross country, or another fall sport, the goal may simply be to maintain technical contact with the javelin through simulation drills, medicine balls, or a light technical session once per week.

Phase 2: November–December

Power Development and Technical Improvement

The second phase shifts toward strength and power while continuing to improve technique.

Barry’s plan lists the goals as increasing strength and power, continuing technical correction, and maintaining conditioning. The methods include weight training, medicine ball throws, weighted ball throws, shot throws, normal and heavy javelin throws, running, crossover drills, jumping, bounding, technical drills, and simulation exercises.

A key point from the talk was that strength and power do not only come from the weight room. Weight training matters, but javelin throwers need strength in the positions required by the event. They need to be strong through range of motion, strong in posture, strong through the trunk, and strong enough to hold technical shapes at high speed.

Power is the ability to express that strength quickly. That is why Barry emphasized jumping, bounding, medicine ball throws, and special javelin exercises. These methods help connect general strength to the speed and coordination needed to throw.

Barry also reminded athletes that winter can be a great time for technical development. Even if athletes cannot throw outside, they can still run with a javelin, use broomsticks indoors, perform simulation drills, throw medicine balls, and practice positions. A lack of perfect facilities should not become an excuse.

Phase 3: January–Mid-March

Technique Refinement, Speed Improvement, and Explosive Power

The third phase begins moving the athlete closer to the competitive season. The goals are to hone technique, improve speed and quickness, and improve power.

This is where the work becomes more specific. Medicine balls, throws, weights, running, jumping, bounding, simulation drills, and special javelin exercises are still present, but the emphasis begins shifting toward sharper, faster, more explosive work.

Barry stressed that technique is always present. It is not something athletes work on for a few weeks and then abandon. Technique should become the athlete’s strongest weapon.

He also reminded athletes not to panic if early-season throws are not immediately impressive, especially in cold-weather states. Many high school throwers begin the season on wet grass, mud, or soft runways. The ground matters in javelin. Confidence in the block matters.

When the weather improves and the runway becomes more reliable, the distances often improve as well. The message is patience. Do the work before the season begins, keep refining technique, and understand that early conditions do not always reflect your true ability.

Phase 4: March–June/July

Technique Mastery and Speed/Power Maintenance

The final phase is the competitive season. The goals are technique mastery and maintaining speed and power.

Barry’s approach here is based on quality. During the season, athletes cannot simply keep adding more and more work. Meets matter. Recovery matters. High-quality technical sessions matter. Practices should become more focused, not just harder.

As championship meets approach, athletes may need fewer total reps but greater focus on execution. Javelin throws, medicine ball throws, simulation drills, crossover work, sprinting, lifting, jumping, and special lifts are still present, but the goal is to sharpen the athlete rather than wear them down.

Barry also encouraged athletes to compete often when healthy. Meets provide lessons that practice cannot. Early-season competitions are opportunities to learn how to transfer technical changes into competition.

At the same time, athletes must be smart. If the ground is terrible, the runway is unsafe, or the athlete is beat up, it may make sense to shorten the approach and focus on quality rather than forcing full-speed throws in poor conditions.

How Training Methods Shift Through the Year

The Weight Room Is Important, But It Is Not the Whole Plan

One of the most important messages from the discussion was that the weight room should not dominate the entire training year.

Lifting is useful, but it is only one piece of the plan. Javelin throwers also need to run, jump, throw, drill, move, recover, and develop technical skill. If an athlete builds their entire life around the weight room and lets technical training fall away, the lifting may not transfer to the runway.

Strength for javelin is not only about a maximum squat, bench press, or power clean. It is about being strong in the positions the event requires. It is about holding posture, creating separation, accepting force, transferring energy, and moving fast through good positions.

Technique Should Be Your Strongest Weapon

Barry returned to this idea throughout the talk: technique should be your strongest weapon.

Simulation drills, position drills, javelin running, medicine ball throws, elastic cord drills, and special javelin exercises all give athletes opportunities to build technical skill without needing to take full throws every day.

Those repetitions matter. They may not always be exciting, but they build the positions, rhythm, and feel that allow athletes to throw well when it matters.

The goal is for the javelin to become an extension of the body. The more comfortable an athlete is running, drilling, and moving with the javelin, the more natural the event becomes.

Competition Is Part of the Training Process

Barry and Sean both emphasized that meets are valuable. Practice can develop technique, rhythm, and confidence, but competition teaches lessons that practice cannot.

Athletes learn how to manage adrenaline, apply technical cues under pressure, deal with weather, handle officials, compete for their team, and adjust when things do not go perfectly.

Early-season meets are part of the learning process. They may not always produce personal bests, especially in difficult weather or poor ground conditions, but they help athletes learn how to compete.

As the championship season approaches, the goal becomes protecting quality, managing volume, staying healthy, and allowing the best throws to emerge when they matter most.

The Bigger Lesson

Barry’s yearly training philosophy is built on balance.

Train the whole athlete. Build fitness, strength, power, rhythm, coordination, mobility, and technical skill. Use medicine balls, running, jumping, gymnastics, weights, javelin drills, and competition. Do not let the weight room dominate the entire plan. Do not sacrifice technique for lifting. Do not ignore recovery. Do not follow a plan blindly.

Most importantly, take ownership.

A good annual plan gives athletes direction, but the athlete still has to think, adjust, journal, communicate, and commit. The goal is not to create athletes who simply follow instructions. The goal is to create athletes who understand their training and learn how to build themselves over time.

That is the heart of Barry Krammes’ philosophy.

Throw Far!
Sean Furey