A critical part of delivering accurate and powerful distance tosses is where the shoulder is when the disc is released. If you look at all of the big throwers out there, men and woman alike, all of them have one thing in common with their technique: when the disc is released, their shoulder is closed to the target.

There is No Flick

The Flick Myth is totally in effect here. The arm starts at 0% speed/power to 100% speed/power over the course of the discs’ arc around your body as you throw. The last moment the shoulder is closed to the target is the last spot where speed and power are 100%. The moment the shoulder starts to move from closed to open, the speed and power rapidly decreases to 0% as the arm is no longer moving towards the target. This is a bottom out point, and serves to set your flick.

Wrist Rotation

As the arm gets out away from you, out to your side, an extreme open shoulder, the wrist and thumb start to roll up. This, combined with the over stable nature of most dog discs really forces an extreme right curve. The really sharp and aggressive right curve is almost always caused by an open shoulder.

Power is Going Where?

If you look at Laura in the video, it’s especially apparent in slow motion, her power is nearly totally oriented out to her right. That’s where the stick is really cranking towards. It’s quite easy to see with this big lever. She’s putting far more power and emphasis to the right side than towards the target.

You want to bottom out on your target with the closed shoulder. That’s where you want your whoosh to happen. That’s where you want to be releasing. All of your power gets directed towards the target and the disc pops off because the arm can no longer move forward (there is no flick…).

Follow Through

It is very important that you understand that you are not avoiding the follow through. What very frequently happens is that the thrower, when given this closed shoulder instruction, tries to stop their shoulder on their own, at the moment it’s moving from closed to open. This is a very weak stop, and only serves to remove power.

You want to drive to that bottom out point, to the last moment of the closed shoulder, let the disc pop out of it’s own accord, and go ahead and let your arm continue on around as it will.

I think of putting my hand on the target – all the way to the target – as fast as I can once the arms are freed up.

About Ron Watson

An accomplished dog trainer, dog sport coach and dog behavior expert, Ron Watson of PVybe spends every minute he can collaborating with dog lovers all over the world.

Specializing in canine performance, learning theory and behavior, Ron along with the fabulous Apryl Lea, run real world and online seminars as well as personal training, clinics, and Hangouts.

He lives to talk dogs, so go ahead and ask Ron a question via our contact page, Facebook or on Google+.

distance throwing