Long Beach State University Athletics
Riech Knows his Javelin
5/25/2006 12:00:00 AM | General
Riech Knows His Javelin Thirty-five year-old Todd Riech has dedicated a large portion of his adulthood to the javelin throwing it and teaching others how to throw it well. Then, again, consider that: Lisa Riech, the wife of the Long Beach State track and field assistant coach, gave birth to the couple's first child last month, Carly Lynn Riech. "Lisa picked that one out," the Fresno State graduate and 1996 Olympian said Tuesday afternoon on Jack Rose Track, before putting throwers Kim Heinz and Alex Shaw, and their male counterparts, Tyler McCoy and Chris Richardson, through workouts for this weekend's NCAA West Regional meet in Provo, Utah. He grinned. "I tried out 'Java Lynn' on her, but that didn't' work," he said. "My wife was upset with me the other night," he said, somewhat sheepishly. "We were sitting in the kitchen and she was trying to talk to me. And I'm sitting there, thinking about 'technique and form," like 'Tyler's right arm' or 'Kim's right foot'." None of those things surprises Heinz, a junior who has won consecutive Big West championships in the javelin. "Todd thinks about it (the javelin), 24/7," she said. "That's why he is so good at what he does he thinks about it all of the time." Riech, in his fifth year on Head Coach Andy Sythe's 49er staff, has coached five conference champions over the past three seasons. And Sythe doesn't expect things to slow down anytime soon under the guidance of the three-time All-America at FSU, who was top-ranked, nationally, in the event in 1994 (and No.'s 2 in '96 and 3 in 2000) and won a bronze medal during the 1995 Pan American Games. "Everything about Todd is quality," Sythe said. "He is phenomenal at what he does, not only because he is very patient but also because he's involved to the nth degree. He gives everything he has, and there is never a break or lack of focus at any moment." Riech, who earns a living ("He receives just a small stipend to coach, with money we get through fund-raising," Sythe said) as a Rancho Santa Margarita-based personal trainer, came to Fresno State in 1989 by way of Polson, Montana, as a decathlete. "Then I started getting whipped in a lot of 100s and 200s, so I thought maybe the javelin was the way to go," he said. While competing for spots on U.S. national teams and "spending a lot of time over in Europe for meets," he said, Riech never gave too much thought to a career as a coach. "I was a big-time competitor who just hated to lose," he said. "I never thought about coaching just throwing." But, after Riech retired from competitive throwing in 2001, Sythe who had been introduced to Riech by Riech's wife, a former UCLA high jumper who competed in the Beach Track Club broached the idea of his joining the Long Beach staff. "He fulfilled a major need for the program (Riech also coordinates the strength and core conditioning for all of the 49ers' jumpers and throwers) and we just clicked," Sythe said. "He had an understanding of what he was capable of bringing to the program and he fit in well with our staff and goals. It's been a seamless transition for him and it's worked out great." McCoy was competing at Clark Community College in Vancouver, Wash., a few years ago combing the Internet for information about the javelin. "I really hadn't been coached before (in high school or junior college) and I knew he (Riech) was one of the best there was in the event," he said. So McCoy e-mailed Riech, sent him some videotape, shortly thereafter, McCoy was Long Beach-bound. "He's 'been there, done that," " McCoy said, explaining one of the lures of competing for Riech. "I can't begin to tell you how much I'm learning from him. He probably teaches me 10 new things about the event every week. "But he's more than just a 'coach' for me. He's more like a big brother. He understands what an athlete has to go through to compete, with school and jobs. And, for someone who didn't know anyone when I came here, he's been a real friend to me." And Riech has obviously found the same kind of passion in teaching the event as he did in trying to prove himself one of the America's best for the better part of a decade. "I just love this," he said. "If I could coach a different kid every hour, for 20 straight hours, I'd do it." The adrenalin will be flowing in Provo this weekend. And, no doubt, Heinz, Shaw, McCoy and Richardson will be jazzed as well. "I do miss those comps (competitions as an athlete), with the adrenalin running," Riech said, smiling. "I've been pumped since yesterday (for the competition at Brigham Young University). But I've got to try to keep this at a low level. I don't want to freak them (his athletes) out. I'm just going to give them a few things to think about and then turn them loose this weekend." The 49ers' traveling party (which includes 22 athletes, 16 of those male) is scheduled to leave for Utah early this afternoon. One can imagine what Riech might dream of if he dozes on the flight … "Sometimes I'll be in my car, visualizing things to help them (his throwers)," he said. "And then, suddenly, I'll be home. And I don't remember driving. That's scary." |
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