After the final of Midwest Throwdown against Purdue, one thing was very clear about NUT as a team. Perhaps more clear than at any other point I can remember with the program. We are truly awful at throwing. We have maybe two people that are above average throwers in the college game, and no elite throwers at all. Every single player on the field for Purdue was able to complete passes that even our best throwers struggled with. The wind was strong, but not absurd by any measure. The Bruns scale of throwing would put our team average at about a 3 or 4 out of 10. It was that simple. A 15-4 loss comes down to one thing. They didn't have a better gameplan, or better conditioning, they simply were much better throwers top to bottom.
A question that we've been asking ourselves for a while is, how do other teams develop throwers? What do they do that we don't? We haven't found many answers to that. I feel as though we have developed a number of cutters in the past 5-7 years, so it's not impossible to develop skills (obviously). But the only above average throwers we've had have been good throwers coming in, or have spent their own time to get better. None have been a result of what we've done as a program or as leadership. Maybe that's it. Maybe people have to spend their own time and there isn't anything to do specifically as a program. In that case, what we stink at is inspiring people to want to spend their own time to do that.
Either way it is clear that if it is windy at regionals, our season goal will be in jeopardy. It is disheartening to know for multiple years in a row that the biggest problem is throwing, try numerous ways to increase the level, and see virtually no results year after year. Seems to me the only reason we're better than average teams is because of our athleticism and conditioning. Our throws are that of a very low level regional team.
ARC
