Senior Charles Broomfield has felt that his accomplishments have been overlooked throughout his career. He’s set out to compete with the best of the best this season.
Senior Charles Broomfield has felt overlooked by the Midwest Conference throughout his time at Knox College, which made his award of the Performer of The Week that much more special.
“I feel like it was a long time overdue. I felt that my accomplishments have been sort of ignored by the conference,” Broomfield said. “Even in the first competition in the indoor season, I put down marks that were at the top of the conference, put [myself] in the top ten in the nation in the weight throw, and the winner of the performer of the week that week was a different thrower.”
The slight, however, doesn’t motivate Broomfield, the competition does. It’s been an up-and-down season for him. Health has served as a constant restraint against Broomfield achieving the success that he envisions for himself. The Colorado native, along with the help of head strength and conditioning coach Andy Gibbons, changed his approach this past year to keep him fresh for the duration of the season.
“We went from a powerlifting approach to a very explosive approach,” Broomfield said. “What I was finding was that, even as I was getting strong with a high benchpress and a high squat, I was moving slower and slower as the season went on. That doesn’t translate into throwing super effectively.”
Taking care of himself also includes maintenance throughout the week.
“I can’t point out one thing,” head track and field coach Evander Wells said when asked about what has contributed most to Broomfield’s success in the indoor and outdoor seasons. “One of the issues he’s had in the past is just staying healthy. We give him an extra day off during the week; the team goes five days a week and he goes four days.”
Broomfield, who runs the Indoor Track & Field men’s shotput, isn’t content with staying at his current level, which is still impressive.
“Defending my place in the conference,” Broomfield said about his ambitions for the rest of the season. “I placed third in everything last year, that was a big disappointment for me and I want to place first for everything this year. Coming off of two wins in the indoor season, I expect to walk away with 30 points for the team in the outdoor season.”
Broomfield’s success is impressive on its own merit, but then when you factor in that he doesn’t have a coach, it warrants a different type of adoration for his accomplishments.
“We don’t have an official throws coach this year, so as a senior he’s been helping the other throwers figure some things out,” Wells said.
In the past weeks, Broomfield has competed against some of the top NAIA athletes, which is a step above Division III. Even though they’re supposed to beat him, Broomfield keeps the same attitude that he has during conferences.
“The last couple of weeks we’ve been throwing against NAIA throwers, which are a step above Division III, and I feel like I have to prove myself to them and I’ve been beating them,” Broomfield said. “Even if it’s not the conference, I’m not looking behind me. I’m always looking above me.”
