Poly Senior Julia’Belle Reyfman is committed to the early decision  process to continue her academic and athletic career at Brown University. Reyfman has excelled in javelin-throwing throughout her time at Poly. She discussed the time and effort she has put into javelin-throwing, and what it took for her to succeed in the sport.  

Reyfman explained that she picked up the sport in the winter of eighth grade after talking with a family friend. “At the moment, I wasn’t involved in a sport seriously.” Her family friend gave her some advice: “You’re tall, you should give [javelin] a try.” Reyfman relayed that she understood how to throw javelin quickly and that she “was lucky that Poly had the facilities and coaching to help me really get into the sport.” Her early days of competing were not easy. She shared, “track meets notoriously take forever.” Reyfman added, “when I was in eighth grade, there was a meet that started at four and I started competing at eight o’clock.” 

However, Reyfman has grown to love meets: “they are so much fun, especially with the rest of the track team.” She explained, “the most exciting time to be a javelin-thrower is during the season.” She said that a day in-season is a draining one. “I try to get a workout in the morning before school because I don’t end up lifting a lot after school.” Her schedule is: morning lift, school, after school practice, and homework of course. It is a long day, without much time for breaks or relaxing. 

Another element of competing for Reyfman is the many places she’s traveled. She stated, “last year, for training, I went to LSU in February for the American Javelin Project. They hold javelin training camps.” In addition to flying across the country for training, meets are not always close. Reyfman elaborated: “I have been all over for meets. I have been to Florida, North Carolina, and all over the East Coast.” 

When asked about the hardest aspect of throwing javelin, Reyfman said it was precision. She explains, “javelin looks simple when other people do it, like you’re throwing a stick.” She tells us it is a deceptively difficult skill to master. Reyfman said, “it is complicated, everything is timed down to a split second.” She describes the intricacies of the technique she has learned. Reyfman elaborated, “when you place your foot down, and when you release it, the timing has to be impeccable.” 

The key to Reyfman’s success has been understanding the technique and then implementing it. She divulged that there have been many highs and lows: “It has been frustrating at times, when I couldn’t get a specific skill down and it would take a lot of time.” The work that Reyfman put in day in and day out has been strenuous. She stated, “being able to focus on the details, not simply throwing far is important.” A common misconception Reyfman says is inaccurate is that being able to throw javelin is a talent that simply comes from strength. She said, “obviously, if you are strong you can throw it far. But, in competition it really does come down to the technique.” 

Reyfman conveyed her love for the sport when she expressed, “javelin is not a sport you hear about every day.”  She mentioned that she herself did not know much about the sport before she started. Reyfman stated, “I like when someone asks me about what sport I do, and I get to say I throw javelin and they say: what is that?” The unique nature of her sport is intriguing to many, and when people ask Reyfman is happy to tell them about it. We wish Julia’Belle the best of luck in her collegiate athletic endeavors.