Chris Reed Looks Toward the Future

Chris Reed won the 2014 NCAA DII shot
championships on his last throw

Mankato State's NCAA DII shot put champion Chris Reed was looking at his Facebook page one day and he saw the announcement that the USATF Outdoor Championships shot put was going to be held on the grounds of the State Capitol in Sacramento.  Reed knew he'd be in the midst of preparing for his final season with the MSU football team, but "I wanted to do it," he said of the unique competition.

He arrived in Sacramento last Monday and was absorbed in the atmosphere around the event.  "It was amazing," he said.  It was a chance to "rub shoulders" with the elite US throwers of past and present.  John Godina, former UCLA shot and discus thrower who won three NCAA titles, three US Championships  in the shot, and a silver and bronze medal in that event in the Olympics, was there.

Reed met Kurt Roberts, the three time DII national champion in the shot whose indoor DII record Reed surpassed during the 2014 indoor season.  Roberts, who was also competing in the event, is better known "tongue in cheek," as the "face of shot putting" because of a picture taken of him as he releases the shot during the Olympic Trials in 2012(shown HERE).

Roberts finished second in the Sacramento competition, throwing 21.47m/70'5.25".  Reed, nick named "the Beast" by his MSU teammates, finished with the 16th furthest throw, 18.67m/61'3", well below his season best of 20.07m/65'10.25".  For Reed the Sacramento event was a view of the potential of the unique venue field event competitions that have been popping up around the country, including at Des Moines in conjunction with the Drake Relays in the high jump and pole vault, and coming to the Twin Cities in August with the Pub Vault in downtown Minneapolis.

"It's nice," Reed said on the State Capitol shot put, "because you get a lot of foot traffic.  People who wouldn't normally see such an event come by, they see it and say: 'Oh my god, it's cool.' The US is one of the top countries in the world (in the men's shot put), but we don't get much exposure."  In Sacramento though 300 pound men twirling on a concrete circle and tossing a 16 pound iron ball toward the Capitol Dome made for great visuals and was a crowd pleaser.

For Reed it was a glimpse, perhaps, of his own athletic future.  He was pleased, but not satisfied by his last year as a thrower for MSU.  "After I broke the record indoors, I was thinking about getting 70 feet,"  Reed said.  That goal, which seemed realistic at the time became more of a burden than an inspiration, however.

"I need to be more patient with my gains," said Reed.  "I was trying to throw too hard.  I got frustrated (when he wasn't throwing further than he had indoors).  You can't push it.  I still want to go 70', but I know that I'm probably not ready to do it yet.  I've got to learn more about technique.  I'm strong, but I've got to get stronger."

He has unfinished business to take care of in football where the MSU team is hoping to go all the way this year, a DII team title, but he's taking things one step at a time.  "I do love track," Reed says.   "After eight years of doing two sports(football and track). I've never had an off season."  The accomplishments in football and track have been many, but there has been a cost.  In the future, Reed says, he wants to do one event, one sport.  With one semester of football remaining, that will be football until that season ends.

His future choices will be determined by what happens on the field this Fall and Winter.  Ideally, Reed says, "the dream" would be to perform well enough to attract the attention of the NFL scouts.  A chance to play professional football, earn a good salary, and set himself up financially could then make possible another goal: "to go to the Olympics." Since I was successful in college(in track), I can find a coach.  I can see better gains. Get quicker and faster.'  Improve gradually.  Have the time to rest between seasons and stay healthy.

Last week Reed got a chance to see what may be the future of his chosen event.  The questions that remains is whether or not he'll be a part of that future.