Robins rocks the OFSAA competition
What a difference a year made for Owen Robins competing at the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations track and field meet.
Last year, the Grade 10 student at Port Colborne High School finished 11th in the shot put with a personal best throw and had a heart breaking result in discus when he triple faulted.
This year at the OFSAA meet in Ottawa, the 15-year-old won gold in the junior boys shot put with a throw of 16.92 metres and just missed the podium in discus by placing fourth.
The Thorold Elite Track Club member attributes his change in fortune to throwing at Thorold Elite, by himself and with his mentor, Caleb Grover, and an intense winter of training in the weight room.
“All winter long, we were weight lifting really hard. I got a lot stronger and dropped probably 30 pounds and I have gotten way more athletic.”
Since joining Thorold Elite, his weight has dropped to 275 pounds from 337 pounds.
Robins wasn’t sure how much the ramped up training was going to help.
“It was tough in the indoor season because I was throwing into a net. It felt good but I didn’t know how far is was going. Also indoors, I was throwing the 1.5-kilogram discus so adjusting back down to the one-kilogram one for school took some time.”
In shot put, the results were clearly evident right from his first training session .
“I knew it was going to be crazy.”
And crazy it was at OFSAA.
“I actually sort of called it,” Robins said. “I had been talking to people and everyone was saying, ‘Look at the size of you. I can’t believe you are barely throwing 16 metres.’ I told them that I felt that I had so much more in the tank and if I hit 16 metres on one of my first three throws, the sky was the limit.”
His first throw was 15.91 metres, which was one centimetre under his personal best.
“I looked at Caleb and I looked at my other coach there and told them that it was about to be an amazing event. And then I just keep building up to 16.92.”
The throw beat both his personal best and his next closest competitor by one metre.
Robins was thrilled when the gold medal was hanging around his neck.
“It was surreal, especially because I kept relating it to my Grade 9 OFSAA where I triple faulted in discus and didn’t make it into the top eight in either event,” he said. “To win a gold medal a year later felt awesome and is showed that all the hard work is paying off.”
He is looking forward to the club season where he will be throwing a 1.5-kilogram discus and a five-kilogram shot put.
“I have been out to several practices since OFSAA throwing the heavy weights and I am ready to throw far this summer.”
Robins was hoping to throw internationally for Canada at the Commonwealth Youth Games but the Canadian team decided not to take any throwers to the event.
He is hoping to crack the Team Ontario roster for the Canadian championships in Sherbrooke, Que. At the recent district meet, he won hammer and shot put and placed second in discus.
His ultimate goal is to throw at the university level.
“It would be amazing to go on a scholarship somewhere south especially. That’s the dream.”
Robins started throwing in May of Grade 9.
“I was just practising for the school meets and I made it to OFSAA in Grade 9. Around SOSSA (Southern Ontario Secondary Schools Association) in Grade 9, I joined Thorold Elite. Caleb Grover got me into Thorold Elite.”
He loves throwing because it is an individual sport.
“If you do really bad, you can put a lot of blame on yourself. You can take responsibility. It’s all on you and that’s really motivating and it pushes you.”
Thorold Elite throwing coach Johnny Ahlstedt has been impressed with Robin’s work ethic.
“Owen has dedicated himself to the sport and his hard work is paying off. He lifts and throws five times a week and has completely changed his life around to achieve greatness. He should be an influence to all young sports athletes.”
