Throwing themselves into it

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This article was published 23/02/2020 (1521 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Barnych boys know a thing or two about breaking provincial records.

When he was a student at Sisler High School in the 1980s, Dale Barnych ruled the throwing scene in Manitoba and broke at least seven provincial records. Dale did everything from javelin to hammer throw, leading to him continuing his track and field career at a community college in Iowa before ending up at Minot State University in North Dakota.

Fast forward to today and Dale, 48, is still finding ways into the provincial record book, only this time it’s through coaching his 14-year-old son Dylan. The Grade 9 student at Stonewall Collegiate Institute is already making a name for himself despite competing against older competition. Dylan owns the under-16 provincial records in the 4kg hammer throw (47.64 metres), the 5kg hammer throw (42.97 metres) and the 20lb weight toss (16.97 metres).

“Almost everything I’ve learned so far I’ve taken from him,” said Dylan, who got into the throwing sports in Grade 6. “With my technique, he showed me little minor steps and big steps to getting really good with them… So far, he’s showed me everything that I know.”

You’d have a tough time hunting down Dale’s records because in the 2000s, the weights were changed for high school students. With that, Dale’s records were retired and aren’t up for grabs for Dylan or anyone else. For Dale, it means a lot that the Barnych last name can now reappear in the books.

“It’s kind of nice Dylan is learning this and winning and doing well. People at meets stop to watch him throw and they go ‘Holy, look at that kid.’ It feels great cause our name is back on the boards,” Dale said.

“My name was erased from there because they were all swept under the carpet. Now, he’s in the records and people are knowing him and he’s going places and making friends who throw. It’s awesome. I get to live it a little longer through my boy.”

But it’s not like Dylan, who will be one of more than 1,300 athletes competing in the 39th Boeing Indoor Track and Field Classic Feb. 28-29 at the University of Manitoba’s Max Bell Centre, is barely etching his name into the record books. In fact, he is shattering previous highs.

The previous record for the 5kg hammer throw in his age group was 27.44 metres and was set nearly 20 years ago. Dylan’s toss beat it by nearly 20 metres.

Even though he’s several years away from graduating high school, Dylan already has high aspirations in the sport.

“Probably make a big team. Like national, Canadian, Olympic or world championship team,” said Dylan on his long-term goal. “Just to kind of show what I’ve done over my lifetime. I want to do something big and achieve something like that.”

Dylan very well may be on the road to get there as in the 20lb weight toss, as he’s already a top-five ranked under-18 thrower in Canada. Outside of lifting weights at home, Dylan spends about 10 hours per week working on his form with his dad, who is a coach for Winnipeg Optimist Athletics.

“I would eat, sleep and crap throwing. Like, my uncle bought me a javelin when I was 13 years old and I would go to the park in my spare time and throw javelin,” said Dale, who teaches at R. B. Russell Vocational School.

“We never had video games. Any time I had a chance, I’d go to the park. He’s not quite like me, but if I tell him to go out and throw, he’ll go have fun and tell me how he did. Unfortunately, kids got Xbox and all that these days, so we’re fighting that all the time. I didn’t have a VCR until I was 17… But he’s committed to it. There’s days when he’s sore and he doesn’t want to do anything and I tell him to work through it. Then he realizes ‘Hey, this is a pretty good day for me.’ He’s a hard-working boy.”

At this week’s Boeing Classic, Dylan will be focused on reaching personal bests, although he wouldn’t mind bringing a medal or two back home to Stonewall. But the real question is, who’d win today between the father and son?

“Me,” said Dylan, without hesitating. “Probably by a little bit.”

Any rebuttal, Dale?

“I got a fake hip and I’m getting another one. But in a couple years, I might throw as a master, so we’ll see.”

 

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @TaylorAllen31