Six Rounds With Matej Muza
 Matej Muza of Virginia Tech currently sits with the fifth best mark in the nation and a personal best of 68.83m. He burst onto the scene as a freshman after throwing a personal best for a six place finish at the NCAA Championships. Now, as a junior, he is one of the nation's frontrunners. The native of Croatia took a few moments to talk with us last week.
Round 1 - Congrats on starting the season off strong. What were your expectations heading into this season and how feel your season has gone so far?
Since the coaches and I decided to redshirt indoors, we focused more on the hammer than the previous years. After a successful preseason and throwing a personal best in the weight, I was really excited about the outdoor season. Even though I opened up the season with a personal best and was throwing pretty consistent every meet, I can't say I'm pleased with the season so far. My technique has'nt been as good as previous years but with corrections I am starting to make, I think I will be able to throw a lot farther.
Round 2 - This year's NCAA championships looks to be very competitive. Cory Martin and Jake Dunkleberger have thrown very well, but another six athletes are right threre with a best between 68 and 70 meters. What do you think will give you an edge during the postseason?
The NCAA championships are always competitive. What is most impressive about these high level marks is some of these guys have been throwing the hammer for only few years. Since there are so many factors involved in hammer throwing, it is hard to say what can give an edge to someone on the day of the meet. Perhaps consistency and experience put me ahead of some of those throwers, but you can?t take anything for granted. The plan is that once the training volume goes down my technique will be where it needs to be to be competitive with the top guys.
Round 3 - Virginia Tech has recently emerged as one of the elite throws school and has produced many good hammer throwers over the past few years. What led you to choose to attend school in America and what made you choose Virginia Tech over other schools?
Many throwers from my club back home went to the U.S. as scholarship athletes and they all had great experiences. They told me if I threw 60m by the end of high school someone would offer me a scholarship. Coach [Greg] Jack found me on one of the forums and was very persistent in getting me to Virginia Tech. One of the main reasons I chose Virginia Tech was the good throwing squad they had and the improvements those throwers made under Coach Jack. Also, I thought having Spyridon [Jullien] and Mohsen [Anani] as training partners could help me out a lot since they were throwing much further than me. As well as being part of a prestigious university, I was attracted to the fact that many international athletes chose Virginia Tech. I hoped that this would help make the transition a little easier.
Round 4 - When did you begin throwing the hammer? How were you first introduced to the event?
When I was 12, our gym teacher took us to an elementary school track meet. I threw a 200 gram ball and got second place. Ivan Ivancic, a local club's throws coach invited me to join his throws group. Coach Invancic is a very recognized thrower and a coach. He owns a world record for 45+ age group, throwing the 7.26k shot 2.77m at the age of 47 and he has trained several world junior/youth medalist and record holders (Edis Elkasevic, Ivana Brkljacic, etc.). He had me throw the hammer since I was one of the shorter and less talented guys. His enthusiasm and care for his athletes kept me motivated all those years. Ivancic would take us to the training camps a few times a year and some of those were the best time of my life. Between my coach and the awesome throwing group, a special atmosphere with many athletes of different ages and different levels came together. We all got along and worked together which helped us be successful.
Round 5 - What have you found is the largest difference in your training in Croatia versus your current training program?
There is quite a difference between the two programs but both worked great for me. In Croatia, it was more about the big volume of training. I would throw the hammer almost every day and would take a lot of throws all year round. I would lift 4 times a week with an olympic lift each of those days. I believe this was great for a beginner and got me to 60m really fast, but towards the end I started to get used to it and the transition to Virginia Tech came at the right time. At Virginia Tech there was a lot more variation in the program especially with conditioning and lifting. We throw a lot in the fall but once the season starts we decrease the volume and focus on quality. In general, training volume at Virginia Tech is not as high but there is much more focus on quality and intensity of each workout.
Round 6 - You flew under the radar for the past year after fouling out a NCAA regionals this year and then redshirting the indoor season. Obviously you have made a lot of progress during that time. Have you been focusing on anything specific in your training?
I've always had some issues with sector fouling, mostly because my throwing was based on going for the big turns and hoping for the best in the finish. This year I worked more on finishing the throw which sometimes required me to decrease the speed throughout the turns to get it. It has worked great for me in preseason and with the weight, but once the outdoor started my old pattern surfaced again. Other than that, the rest of the training remained the same, since it has proven to work in the past.
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Great Interview!
15:32, 1 June 2008
.. Posted by Laura Gerraughty, UNC
Always great to see a thrower in the headlines. Nice job - your responses were very well-written. If I don't see you before you throw, best of luck at Drake next week!
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