When spinning class was in session in the kitchen of the Block house, it was all hands on deck — or, to be more precise, all the big boys on the hardwood floor, practicing their shot put and discus moves together.
Uh, but no throwing allowed, right?
“It was about who had the best technique,” said Lake Park junior Dan Block, making those weight sessions sound a bit like a cutthroat “Dancing With the Stars” competition.
Block, the defending state champion in the discus, said he owes a lot to brothers Tom, 24, and Scott, 22, who paved the way as top-notch weight men and mentors.
Tom, who now stands 6 feet 8 inches, took up the sport at the suggestion of his junior high coach, and it wasn’t long before the rest of the clan was weighing in. Scott, who’s 6-3, went on to win the 2003 Class AA state title in the shot put and is a Division II All-America at Southern Illinois-Edwardsville in the discus. Younger brother Greg, a Lake Park freshman, is catching up fast.
“He’s already beaten my [freshman] records,” Dan Block said.
Block soaked it all in, starting in the 4th grade, when he became a regular at his siblings’ meets. It all paid off last May when he won the Class AA discus title with a throw of 183-4, nearly 8 feet more than his closest competitor, and added a fourth in the shot put with a toss of 57-7 1/4, making him the top returning competitor in both events.
“It was awesome,” said Block of his double-barreled show of strength at Eastern Illinois University. “Everything you worked for all year, to have it all come together like that felt great.”
As a freshman, Block’s best shot-put distance was 47-7 and his best discus effort 152 feet. But with help from his brothers and Lake Park coach Jay Ivory on the all-important techniques of throwing heavy objects long distances and dedication in the weight room, the 6-4, 200-pounder chipped away at his flaws.
“I think I’m more of a technique guy,” Block said. “But I’ve been trying to get stronger the last three years. I can bench 240 now, do 280 in the hang-and-clean and can squat 450 pounds. Discus is probably my favorite because it doesn’t take a lot of strength. I’m taller and lankier than most, but with both events you need to be pretty strong and technique-wise pretty solid.”
Lots of high school weight men dabble in the discus and the shot put. What makes Block special is his ability to perform at such a high level in both. Long term, he dreams of a college track scholarship and, of course, the Olympics, but first there’s the matter of proving he can do it again.
Competitors are all lined up hoping to knock Block down a leg this season. Leading them are Upstate Eight Conference rival Brett Einbecker of Waubonsie Valley, a runner-up in the discus as a junior last year, and Cahokia senior London Davis, who was a foot shy of Block’s winning shot put.
Block, though, is off to a strong start in his bid to win two state titles this spring. He threw the shot 59-6 1/2 at the Feb. 23 Proviso West Invitational, topping his fourth-place effort at state in 2007 and the state-title distance of 59-5 by Mascoutah’s Adam Ruiz.
“Am I feeling pressure to repeat?” Block asked. “Actually, I am. I’ll probably see Einbecker once or twice this year. And like I always say, it doesn’t matter what you throw during the season: It’s all about the sectionals and state.”
