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Help from Sports Psychologist Pays Off for Kwong
by Derek Arild, Marin Independent Journal
April 10, 2007
EZRA KWONG is not likely to walk through the Great Wall of China or remain
encased in a box of ice for days on end, but he's learned some new tricks
of his own.
Working with a sports psychologist, the San Marin High grad has learned
visualization and breathing techniques that have helped him in his endeavors
for the Long Beach State University men's track and field team.
Kwong, a senior, was recently named Big West field athlete of the week
for his NCAA regional mark of 56 feet, 51Ú2 inches in the shot
put and a conference qualifying mark of 159-9 in the discus at the USC
Invitational.
"A big part of track and field is the mental part ... especially
at a big meet," Kwong said. "To know how to relax. It's the
big thing that I've worked on. To be able to control breathing and anxiety
and heart rate ... I see it helping."
Kwong knew all about the physical preparation for his field events - weight
training, aerobic conditioning and eating right - but he had never worked
on the mental aspect until this season.
So now Kwong spends between 20 and 30 minutes a day at the end of practice
standing in front of a wall while he visualizes throwing.
"I thought it was out there at first. I saw that it was helping and
now we're doing it (on a regular basis),"
Kwong said.
Kwong has already earned a trip to the NCAA regionals at the University
of Oregon on May 25 with his shot put mark and qualified in the discus
when he threw 171 feet in winning the event at the Stanford Invitational
on March 31.
Now he's trying to go for the trifecta by reaching the 181-foot qualifying
distance in the hammer throw. His best mark is 180 feet, but he's confident
that he can match that goal during the final five meets leading up to
regionals.
Out of his three outdoor events, Kwong's strongest is the shot put and
feels he has the best chance to finish in the top three during regionals
to make it to the NCAA nationals in Sacramento in early June. Kwong is
ranked in the top 20 nationally and top five in the region in the shot
put. He's also vying for a spot in the senior nationals in the shot, if
he can clear 60 feet.
"I hit (60 feet) all the time in practice. ... It's just a matter
of putting it together at a meet," Kwong said. "Any day I could
do it. ... It's just a matter of time."
Time is winding down on his college track career, but he will leave school
after this year with a number of impressive marks.
He holds the No. 2 all-time indoor school mark in shot (58-6 1/2) and
No. 9 outdoors (56-7 1/2) as well as No. 4 in the indoor weight throw
(56-10).
After graduation, he's planning on spending a year in Guangzhou, China
to teach English for a year. His dad, Bill, has several friends living
in that area, so Ezra won't feel totally alone in the Far East.
When he returns he wants to go to graduate school at either Cal or USF
to get his masters in education so he can teach multi-cultural literature
at the junior-college level.
While his throwing career will be over, Kwong's probably got a few more
tricks up his sleeve for future endeavors.
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