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New technique plus old strength equals records
By JAMAL THALJI, Times Staff Writer
NEW PORT RICHEY -- With every toss of the shot put, with every spin of the discus, Adamm Oliver shatters school records. Most of which he now owns. The 6-foot-4, 245-pound Ridgewood senior has learned how to combine the strength that made him one of the area's top football players with the technique needed to compete with the state's best. That combination is helping Oliver reach new heights -- and distances. "Last year, he set the school record in the shot put with 52 feet, 11/4 inches at the district meet," coach Joe Breinig said. "This year, every single time he's gone out, he's beaten his own record, 52-11, 53-4. Just the other day at Mitchell, he threw 54-103/4. Like I said, he just keeps topping himself." His first few seasons, Oliver got by on pure strength. The kind that led to 1,201 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns. But Georgia Tech wants him on the line; and no wonder after leading Pasco County with 109 tackles and 42 assists at end. Oliver can bench 345 pounds, the kind of strength that helped him win the heavyweight division at last week's Sunshine Athletic Conference weightlifting meet. "What can you say about Adamm?" Breinig said. "He's a physical specimen. He's a hard-working kid. His credentials in football speak for themselves. "He's the first one in the weight room. When the bell rings at 2:05 p.m., he's the first waiting in line to get in." But strength can get you only so far. Technique. Leverage. Torque. Now that's what makes a good hurler. "Adamm is a very strong kid," assistant track coach Chris Taylor said. "The one thing he has not been able to do and is starting to do this year is get his hips involved. "The hips are the most powerful part of your body when you're throwing the shot and disc. And if you can get his technique down, he's very dangerous." Dangerous enough to rank fifth in the state in the shot put, in which his 54-103/4 is less than 3 feet than the state's leading mark. Dangerous enough to suddenly be a factor in the discus, too. Before, Oliver said his use of the discus "was a joke." "All I did was muscle it," he said. "I didn't spin or anything." Now Oliver is 15th in the state at 150-10, which he threw at the March 13 Wildcat Fast Times meet. That broke the 15-year-old school record of 149 set by Mike Holden. The difference? Taylor, who competed and coached in Iowa, broke down and rebuilt Oliver's technique in both events. "Technically, with the body he has, he should be a better discus thrower than a shot putter," Taylor said. "Where I come from, anything more than 150 feet in the discus is pretty good." Oliver expected continued success in the shot put. But not the discus. "I've been increasing (my shot put) by 4 feet every year consistently now, and my freshman year, I was only doing 42 feet," Oliver said. "But I'm really surprised in the disc. I never really concentrated on the discus, and now I'm learning the form and taking time to do it." He hopes to throw the shot put at Georgia Tech but isn't sure if he'll have the time. He enjoys the events nonetheless. It helps him stay in shape, and more important, it gives him a way to test himself as he waits for fall camp to open for freshmen in Atlanta. "It's not that it's so important to me to the point where I'll get down on myself," Oliver said. "It's more like a fun sport. It's something extra to do. "It's something that keeps me going, keeps me competitive because I'm a competitive person."
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