Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

SOLON – The phrase ‘trusting the process’ has become popular among coaches and athletes across many sports over the past several years.

Throwers in the Solon track program have been trusting the process laid out by assistant coach Brad Wymer for as long as they can remember.

“It’s easy to trust coach (Brad) Wymer because obviously all the success his throwers have had and what he has done with other guys,” Solon senior Coal Flansburg said. “If you trust in him and the process he has he will lead you in the direction you want to be in later in the season.”

Flansburg is the latest in a long line of Wymer-coached throwers at Solon using the tested and true process to turn in impressive performances.

A state medalist in the shot put and the discus as a sophomore and junior, Flansburg is on his way to the best season of his career in his final prep go around.

Flansburg credits the process set forth by Wymer for the senior season success that includes the seventh-best mark in the state in the discus this season at 162-10 feet entering Friday’s competition at the 110th Drake Relays.

“It’s a lot easier this year after being through it two years,” Flansburg said. “My sophomore year I remember getting frustrated because I wanted to be throwing further all the time. This year I know that I just have to keep grinding and watching video and doing everything I can to get my technique down.”

Flansburg recalled his frustration as a young thrower when he didn’t log a personal best each meet and sometimes went several competitions during the season without reaching his best mark.

After two years of going through the season-long process Flansburg better understands what it takes to be at his best at the state meet in May.  

“Especially in the throws they want to be at their best at all times so if they take a little step they look at it as a big step back,” Solon coach Mark Sovers said. “Everyone of Brad’s throwers go through that process where you have to take a step a step back so they can take two steps forward. They have showed great patience and believe in the process. When you believe in the process great things can happen.”

Great things area already happening for Flansburg in his final prep season.

He won the discus title at the Hollingsworth Relays at West High on April 13 with a season-best toss of 162-10.

Three days later he was runner-up in the discus at Solon’s Denny Gruber Relays and won another title at the Ron Maxson Relays last Thursday.

“I think he is in a really good spot,” Sovers said. “Throwers have very high expectations so when they go through coach Wymer’s process of throwing, which is a process, they know what the end result is. To see them show a little bit of joy and enthusiasm for their performance is going to pay big dividends.

The mid-season success is nice but two years in the varsity throwing program has taught him there is more out there.

First up is another shot at the Drake Relays on Friday.

Flansburg qualified for the Drake Relays last season but didn’t register a distance after scratching on three prelim attempts.

The end of the process comes on three consecutive Thursday’s in May at the WAMAC, state qualifying and state meets.

That is when Flansburg hopes to see the process pay off.

“I know I can still throw a lot further,” Flansburg said. “I’m just focusing on improving. The big, huge throws aren’t going to come until later on in the season so right now we are just grinding and getting everything going in the right direction.”

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