Canavan focusing intensity in return to greatness
It was a hot day in the Tucson sun. The warm breeze brought smells of sand and grass to the nostrils, as well as the clatter of spikes pounding the track and skimming over hurdles. Men and women were leaping over high jump bars, javelins were flung into the sky and coaches were clicking stopwatches as they frantically shouted encouragement to their relay teams. Just outside the University of Arizona’a Roy P. Drachan track stadium, one man warmed up for his first throws of the outdoor track season.
Little did this thrower know at the time, he would win his event at the Willie Williams Classic that day. His shot put mark of 17.59 meters (57-08.50 feet) currently leads the Western Athletic Conference by more than eight feet, and ranked him with the fifth-longest distance in the nation.
Joe Canavan has been a member of the Utah State track and field team since 2008. He is a two-time conference champion. In 2009, Canavan placed 21st at the NCAA West Regional meet in the shot put. He has been named WAC Men’s Outdoor Track and Field Athlete of the Week three times in his collegiate career.
Joe Canavan is one of the best shot putters Utah State has ever had.
Imagine having something you love taken away from you. It could be a hobby, a pet or even a friend. Imagine being forced to sit on the sidelines and watch as everyone else gets to do the very thing that gives you purpose and prestige in college. Imagine never feeling well, feeling broken and unable to control your life.
Imagine how Canavan felt when he was injured during the 2010-11 indoor season and had to redshirt.
Canavan said the week before school started, he was teaching at a clinic for high school athletes when he tore his soleus muscle in his calf. He said not competing has been “absolutely terrible.”
“This is the third year in a row I’ve been hurt longer than three months at a time,” Canavan said. “The first throw I had in Tucson, I had only been walking without a boot for about a month. I’m always busted.”
Just months before the outdoor season started, Canavan was consistently throwing distances of 63 to 65 feet, marks that would have ranked at the top tier of the NCAA National Championship meet.
“Pretty much what it comes down to is if I wasn’t hurt, I should have won nationals this year for indoors,” Canavan said. “I should have showed up and cleaned house, but I was hurt.”
USU throwing coach Matt Ingebritsen said Canavan was the kind of guy he wanted on his team when he recruited him from Palm Desert High School in California, where he was a state champion in the shot put.
“You want that very strong alpha-male dominant personality,” Ingebritsen said. “When I watched him in high school, that’s the kind of guy he was. When I brought him in here, he’s pretty much been that since he got here.”
This season with the injuries and advice from Ingebritsen, Canavan said he does not warm up like he used to in high school, which included anything to get himself mad.
“(There was) lots of yelling,” Canavan said. “(Now) I’ll get the yell in when I get a big throw. Stomping and screaming and stuff like that. Just gotta save it for the big throws now.”
Ingebritsen said he used to have to keep Canavan on a leash until he learned to get “jacked” at the right time.
“When an athlete is getting ready to throw, there is such a thing as overstimulation,” Ingebritsen said. “Sometimes he would surpass that and get so excited and so pumped that he would actually take himself out of that.”
USU head track and field coach Gregg Gensel said Canavan works hard and plays hard.
“Some people may say ‘Why is he so loud?’ or ‘Why does he do this?'” Gensel said. “He’s just excited about life and the things he’s passionate about. He likes to share those things and I appreciate that passion in athletes. I wish all my athletes had that kind of focus.”
Ingebritsen said it was hard for him to see Canavan sitting out the meets while recovering from his injuries.
“That individual personality brings the team together,” Ingebritsen said. “They can hear Joe yelling and screaming and stuff over at practice or during a meet and it makes everybody else get excited. That’s what Joe brings to our team.”
Gensel said it has been fun to watch the growth Canavan has experienced at Utah State.
“Having Joe for outdoors will help us,” Gensel said of Canavan’s return to competition. “There’s no question about it. Whether we win or not because we won indoors and we won last year, none of that matters. What matters is what are we gonna do to take care of our own business. Joe will be a big part of that.”
Canavan and the Aggies will next compete in the New Mexico State Invitational in Albuquerque, N.M. this weekend. Utah State’s lone home meet will be the Mark Faldmo Invitational on Saturday, April 16, at the Ralph Maughan Track Stadium.
“There’s nothing stopping me except for injuries,” Canavan said.
– tavin.stucki@aggiemail.usu.edu