Star javelin thrower gets new level of competition

Tom Lang has always neglected his legs, which is odd because he's 6-foot-7.

That lanky build, though, has served Lang well in the track and field event that he picked up just three years ago: javelin. He has always been somewhat of a natural, and through three years of high school, he couldn't have been more successful.

As a junior, Lang set District 1 and PIAA Class AA state records in consecutive weeks, with throws of 207 feet, 10 inches and 213-10, respectively.

But Lang, 17, has other frontiers to conquer, especially now. He spent his first three years of high school at St. Pius X in Pottstown. But when the school was forced to close last spring, Lang enrolled at Pope John Paul II, where the St. Pius X coaching staff landed as well.

With the change in schools came another transition. It meant a jump in classification, with Pope John Paul II competing in Class AAA, where the schools are bigger and the competition is greater.

It posed a provocative opportunity for Lang: the chance to set state records - and win state titles - in two different classes over two seasons.

And the key might be in those long legs of his.

Lang wasn't always certain he'd have a throwing coach at his new school. Before it was certain that Pope John Paul II would bring on coach Ed Dobry - who had been at the Pius X post for 30 years - and his staff, Lang was worried.

Specifically, Lang wanted to know if Bob Reismiller would be coming with Dobry. Reismiller had served on Dobry's staff for 28 years at Pius X, and introduced Lang to the event when the athlete was a freshman.

Reismiller saw potential in Lang - the perfect build, the long wingspan, the flexible shoulders.

"His body is built for throwing javelin," Reismiller said.

Lang always has worked hard. Reismiller calls him "obsessed." He's as coachable as any athlete Reismiller has worked with. It's an "honor" and a "privilege" to coach Lang, he said.

But to add large distances to his throws after a superb junior season, strength building this offseason was paramount. Lang had to address an area from which he had always shied away.

"He absolutely hates doing legs, so I have to push him," said Reismiller, who stands 5-6. "I told him, 'That is a big part of your program. If you train legs hard, everything else will follow.' "

Lang was nationally ranked as a junior, and his record throw of 213-10 was the fourth-best high school mark in the nation. It's 10 feet, 4 inches short of the PIAA Class AAA mark of 224-02.

Duke offered him a partial athletic scholarship, which he accepted, and he'll enter the university this fall to pursue a degree in mechanical engineering.

Lang made giant strides between his sophomore and juniors seasons. His best throw as a 10th grader was 174 feet, a distance Lang now considers pedestrian. But, as Lang concedes, the better you become, the more difficult it is to increase distances.

He looked for an edge in the weight room. So Lang and Reismiller hit the gym four times a week - for sessions of an hour to an hour and a half - this winter.

"I'm not a huge fan of lifting legs," said Lang, who is invariably the tallest thrower at high school meets. "But if you do, it's going to pay off and in a big way. You can be faster on the runway; your steps can be longer, smoother; and then at the end, you can hit your block a little bit harder and put a little more energy in what your arms are doing."

He also built core strength and bolstered his bench press to 240 pounds. Two weekends ago, Lang attended his first throwing clinic on the suggestion of his future coach at Duke. Among the attendees were Kara Patterson, the U.S. women's record holder for the javelin, and Bill Schmidt, who won the bronze medal in the javelin at the 1972 Olympics.

"[Schmidt] "told him there's no reason why he could not throw 240 feet this year," Reismiller said.

Last Saturday at a meet at Great Valley, Lang opened his season with a 195-8 throw - in cold weather and a hindering wind. That was 11 feet farther than his opening mark last year.

Expectations are soaring, and Lang concedes that he's feeling the pressure. Dobry already calls him the best javelin thrower he has had. But Lang keeps an even keel. He has said he's eyeing that Class AAA record.

"I think most other guys my height are playing basketball," Lang said.

He's trying to cement his place as one of the best high school javelin throwers in Pennsylvania history.