Track coach's pitch led to good switch

By Leila Wai
Advertiser Staff Writer

Give credit to a smart coach, a softball, and a tape measure.

PINTZ

Pintz, a 2001 graduate of Kailua from Waimanalo, initially wanted to be a member of ASU's softball team and had never participated in track and field.

But ASU throwing coach David Dumble went to the school's softball coaches and asked if they had a player who didn't make the team but had good throwing ability — and Pintz's name came up.

"He gave me a softball and laid out a tape measure," Pintz said. "I ended up throwing the ball about 190 feet. The next day I got a call saying, 'Welcome to the track team.' "

Dumble said that last year the track and field program had a girl in a similar situation, and her success led Dumble to approach the softball coaches again.

"(Pintz) had a lot of skills to throw something far, so we built off of that," Dumble said. "She has a very good arm."

Pintz competed in her first outdoor track and field meet, the Bill Sawyer Invitational, on March 6. Her throw of 39.20 meters (128 feet, 7 inches) was good for second place.

Last Friday in the Baldy Castillo Invitational, she earned a berth into the NCAA West Regional with a throw of 43.15 meters (141-7), and finished in sixth in the Invitational.

The qualifying distance for the West Regional is 42.61 meters.

"The javelin is not about throwing and it was really hard for me and I'm still adjusting," says Jana Pintz, who qualified for the NCAA West Regionals with a throw of 141 feet, 7 inches on Friday. "The harder you throw, it doesn't make the javelin go farther." Pete Lopez • ASU Sports Information

Pintz, who said she has played softball for 13 years, said what she has learned from playing softball — including competitiveness, mental toughness and playing through tough times — has translated into success as a javelin thrower.

"All the lesson I've learned from softball have carried me through this," she said.

But throwing the javelin like a softball wasn't working out when she first started.

She said that when throwing a softball, you use arm strength and arm speed. But a javelin is more about technique, using your body and momentum.

"The javelin is not about throwing and it was really hard for me and I'm still adjusting," said Pintz, who has two more years of eligibility in track and field. "The harder you throw, it doesn't make the javelin go farther."

That isn't the only adjustment Pintz has had to make.

She transferred from the University of Northern Colorado after playing softball there for two years. She was awarded a scholarship after a successful high school career during which she was a two-time member of the Advertiser's All-State second team. She earned the honors as a infielder her senior season and as an outfielder as a junior.

In her first year at UNC, she was the team's leading hitter a .373 average. Her sophomore season wasn't as successful, and she decided to transfer because, "my dream was to play at the D-I (Division I) level, so I went to a D-I school, for softball, initially."

But that didn't work out when she failed to make the ASU softball team.

"I had the wrong impression about my chances of making the team," she said.

Still, Pintz, who said she "had this need to be an athlete," is glad to be a part of the track and field program, a "big-time" school, and a part of the Pacific-10 Conference.

"The money is endless here," said Pintz. "It's night and day. I remember standing on street corners at UNC selling Krispy Kremes to make money for tournaments and road trips. It gives me a lot more time to focus on training and competing instead of worrying about how I'm going to pay for trips or (workout) sweats."

Reach Leila Wai at lwai@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2457.