Kaufman to throw javelin at WAC meet
By Cindy Luis
Amber Kaufman tossed a javelin for the first time in college last Saturday, throwing 98 feet, 7 inches. (Wichman throws around 142-6)
Kaufman is going to do both the javelin and the high jump. She equaled equaled her seasonal best Saturday when clearning 5-10.75.
UH coach James told the S-B’s Dave Reardon that she thought Kaufman had great potential as a heptathlete.
May 14th, 2008 at 11:57 am
Hmm. Sounds a bit like Russ Francis when he was at Kailua High. Picked up the javelin, and set the national high school record shortly thereafter.
Maybe the javelin throwing motion will enable Amber to get more velocity on her spikes. I am a believer in cross-training (i.e., playing different sports). If she develops strength while continuing to maintain flexibility, the opponents may need to issue helmets when Amber is in the front row.
While Dave Shoji probably prefers it if his team focuses on volleyball 100% of the time, I think playing other sports (like Tara Hittle and Amber are doing) is actually a good thing physically and mentally. And wouldn’t Jim Bolla love to have Jamie Houston on his squad.
May 14th, 2008 at 2:57 pm
Amber didn’t miss any spring volleyball so it was a win-win for both sports.
Kari Gregory would have been a big help too. She was recruited by Tennessee for bkb.
Pretty funny. sometimes Shoji would let the team do layup drills to loosen up. there were a few years where the Wahine volleyball team probably could have beaten their basketball counterparts.
May 14th, 2008 at 4:32 pm
Tennessee? Wow! I seem to recall that Kari Gregory was All-State in basketball in Nevada as a sophomore and junior (I think she missed her senior year with a knee injury). She looked pretty strong, and as they say, you cannot coach height (i.e., cannot coach someone to grow taller). I kind of hoped (purely from the fan perspective) that she stuck around after volleyball season was over to play a season of hoops. My recollection is that she had already graduated and was ready to move on with her life.
A front court of Gregory, Houston and Hittle (All-State Nevada, All-State Alabama and All-Conference Colorado) would be quite formidable. Dave Shoji continues to recruit athletes, but they seem to be strictly volleyballers now. Am I wrong about that?
May 17th, 2008 at 5:52 am
Well,she came in 11th out of 16 according to the WAC live Stats link.Her distances were #1-FOUL #2-32.55m #3-34.63m