Path to Nationals: Amber Monroe
By David Villavicencio
Path to Nationals is a five-part feature series profiling the five student-athletes who will represent the University of Miami track and field program at the 2014 NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Track and Field Championships.
Amber Monroe always dreamed of representing the University of Miami on a national stage.
From a young age, Monroe was always involved in sports and she knew she wanted to wear an orange and green jersey when she began her collegiate athletic career.
But Monroe did not envision herself as one of the top throwers in the country.
“In high school I was like a die-hard Miami volleyball fan,” Monroe said. “I used to come to a lot of the games because I used to play club volleyball and some of the college players would come and coach us.”
While Monroe was a standout thrower at Miami Northwestern Senior High, she quickly fell in love with volleyball and had a desire to play in college.
“I always wanted to play volleyball,” Monroe said. “But it was one of those things where you had to start very young to play volleyball at that level and I didn’t start that young. I was better in track so I had to go where I was strongest.”
Monroe’s dream to represent the Hurricanes became a reality when she accepted a scholarship to join the track program at Miami. She qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships as a freshman in her favorite event, discus.
But Monroe has worked hard to improve in the shot put and she has seen excellent results this season. Miami director of track and field/cross country Amy Deem is impressed with the exponential gains Monroe has made in the shot put.
“She’s made a tremendous progression in the shot,” Deem said. “She has a real passion for the discus outdoors so to see her build has been great. She had a big throw early and then stayed the same for a little bit and then really popped one at ACCs. “I think there’s still room for improvement and the confidence she gained at ACCs is going to go a long way for her at the national championships.”
Monroe’s big throw at the 2014 ACC Indoor Championships clinched her first conference championship and secured her spot in the field at the NCAA Indoor Championships. The personal-best mark of 17.18m ranks fifth in the NCAA this year and second in UM history.
“It has been a really great year,” Monroe said. “I came in to this year changing my technique and I just kind of knew it was going to be different. In my first meet I had a personal-best by seven feet so that was huge and I was happy with that. Then my goal was just to be consistent so I kept on hitting the same numbers and I kind of knew I had more in me. When I threw at ACCs I was really happy, but I didn’t know it was going to be that big.”
Miami associate head coach Cory Young knew Monroe had a big throw in her. As the throws coach at Miami, Young has helped develop the talented junior into a national contender and he expected her to step up in a big way at the conference meet.
“She put a big emphasis on getting her technique better and getting stronger,” Young said. “Amber has the will to compete and the will to win. At ACCs and even moving forward, she now knows that she’s capable of doing that. She now knows that it’s there and she’s going to be able to compete with anybody out there.”
The new technique allowed Monroe to start fresh. It was also easy for her to learn because of a similarity to her mechanics with the discus.
“With something new then you kind of get to just wipe it clean and focus on building good habits,” Monroe said. “All the other bad habits you might have formed are gone. I am glad that I made the change. I originally did it because I thought it would help me in discus because it’s kind of the same form. I didn’t know how much or how fast it would help me in shot but it has been good. I am really happy I did it.”
The rapid results Monroe has seen assured her that the new technique was the way to go. Her quick success served as motivation to see just how far she could go.
“After that first big throw I felt like I had more in me,” Monroe said. “That just like told me I had to keep working and improving my technique and improving my strength. I knew it worked and it definitely pushed me to get better.”
Get better is exactly what Monroe did, vaulting herself into the elite group of throwers who will compete at the 2014 NCAA Indoor Championships in Albuquerque, N.M., next week.
“I know it’s going to be a lot of competition,” Monroe said. “Those girls are really strong and really good. Hopefully I am just as good as them and I can keep up what I have been doing and get on that podium. That’s my goal.”
Young believes Monroe had what it takes to reach her goal. After the huge strides she has made, Young expects her to continue trending upward at the NCAA Championships.
“I think it’s a confidence thing and now she’s becoming more confident in what she’s doing,” Young said. “As a competitor she’s always been very good at what she’s done, but she rose to the challenge at ACCs and I think she’ll be able to run with those good kids. Being at nationals with all those kids, she’ll rise to the occasion and do well.”
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