Hoffa's talent is unmasked

Reese Hoffa is no longer an unknown in the shot put.

Hoffa has gone from competing in a mask as the “Unknown Shot Putter” as part of a publicity stunt at the Home Depot Invitational last year to receiving due recognition by winning the silver medal at the 2004 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Budapest in March.

Hoffa has gained acclaim for his antics as much as his throwing; he took a victory lap with a turkey leg after winning the Drake Relays in 2000.

“I enjoy having fun with the throws and directing the showmanship towards the shot put,” said Hoffa.

Hoffa the latest US shot put standout

Hoffa, 26, has emerged as the latest bankable asset in the wealth of US shot put talent that includes world indoor champion Christian Cantwell, three-time world champion John Godina, collegian Dan Taylor of Ohio State and Olympic and World medallist Adam Nelson, all of whom threw 21.23m or better in 2003.

The shot put will be among the deepest events at the US Olympic Trials in Sacramento in July.

“In the US, it is so hard to be the No.1 shot putter,” said Hoffa. “There are so many guys that are really hungry to be No.1 guy. For me, the Olympics are the Olympic Trials. The No.1 focus in the Olympic Trials and my priority will change to the Olympic Games after that.’’

Indoor breakthrough

Hoffa made his biggest impact on the global scene indoors earlier this year. At the US Indoor Championships in Boston, Hoffa finished second to Cantwell after leading for the first five throws. A week later in Budapest, Hoffa unleashed a PB of 21.07m to finish second to Cantwell for his first global medal.

Hoffa initially planned to skip the indoor circuit but after encouraging early season results, he decided to go to the national meet.

While his indoor performances are a confidence boost towards his Olympic push, Hoffa is cautious about putting too much emphasis on his success.

“At the World Indoor Championships, I just wanted to go there and surprise the big guys and make them throw far to get that medal,” said Hoffa. “Yeah, the World Indoor Championships are huge but until you're an outdoor medallist, that’s where the prestige is and a good accomplishment where you put the medal on the wall.’’

Masked competitor

An avid professional wrestling fan, Hoffa trained for three months in a mask in preparation for his appearance at the Home Depot Invitational last May.

The black mask with a red “X’ across the face underwent numerous revisions. Hoffa widened the eye slots to improve his peripheral vision and around the ear for ventilation. He also trimmed the mask to allow him to rest the shot put on his chin.

Despite wearing the mask from the moment that he got off the athlete’s bus an hour before the event in sweltering California summer heat, Hoffa threw a PB of 20.90m, an improvement of 53 centimetres.

He later went on to place third at the US Championships to earn a berth at the IAAF World Championships in Paris. He extended his personal best to 20.95m in winning the Pan-American Games title with a meeting record.

“I don’t’ know what I would have done if I had not thrown without the mask on,” Hoffa said. “It was a big project to get it to work the way I wanted to in competition. It helped me focus and after that the shot to win some good money pumped me up.”

Hoffa plans a more extravagant appearance in this year’s Home Depot meeting on 22 May. He plans to dress in black jump suit with a white “X” across the chest.

Analytical approach to technique

Before Hoffa’s appearance as the “Unknown Shot Putter,” he gained a reputation for passing his time between throws with a Rubik’s Cube.

Hoffa has been fascinated with the Rubik’s Cube and has pursued algorithms to solve the puzzle since his collegiate days at Georgia. He has a large collection of cubes ranging from the classic 3x3 to a 5x5 Rubik’s Professor model.

Hoffa uses a similar analytical approach to the shot put.

“You need to get your mind in one direction with all the stuff going on out there,” he said.

World-class training partners

Hoffa trains in the college town of Athens, located 100km east of Atlanta, with Don Babbitt, his college coach at Georgia. Along with Hoffa and Nelson, the group includes Breaux Greer, Teri Steer, Canadians Jason Tunks and Brad Snyder and Grete Etholm-Snyder of Norway.

Hoffa said training with the group has helped his perspective in making the transition to the global scene.

“It helps big time training wise,” said Hoffa. “Brad is incredibly strong and makes me push myself in the weight room. Adam has a really good mind with the preparation it takes to whatever you are doing each day in settling yourself down and picking yourself up.”

Hoffa, who didn’t begin throwing until his junior year of high school, has thrown a PB in each of the past five years training with Babbitt.

During his senior season at Georgia in 2001, Hoffa won the Southeastern Conference title and finished third at the NCAA Championships and sixth at the US Championships.

He repeated his sixth-place finish in 2002 before finishing third in 2003 for his first World Championships berth.

“I was just earning my dues,” Hoffa said. “With the exception of John (Godina), who came out of college to be No.1, all these other guys have been through what I went through in my first full season out of college. I was lucky enough to be in their shadows. It’s a revolving door. When somebody goes out, as long as I was patient my time would come.”

Babbitt said Hoffa showed potential of surpassing 21 metres in training in 2002 and 2003 but it was just a matter of gaining that consistency during competition.

“He had a couple of throws close to 21 metres in practice where he found a rhythm and lined it up,” said Babbitt. “He only had that rhythm for two weeks. We knew he had a 21-metre throw in him. After indoors last year, he kept on rolling.”