Field Reports With Gina Flint
May 23, 2017 | Track & Field
Junior Gina Flint wasn't sure she would ever throw again just a handful of weeks ago. Since then, she has returned to the ring and tossed PRs in the shot put and discus, and finished as the Pac-12 runner-up in the discus. It's been the most surprising and inspiring part of Washington's 2017 season, as Flint and the Dawgs travel to the NCAA West Preliminary meet this week in Austin, Texas.
GoHuskies.com: What was your outlook on the season and throwing two months ago? Did you think you had a chance to compete this year?
Gina Flint: I wasn't quite sure. The doctors weren't really sure either. They had told me to be prepared that I wasn't going to throw ever again. I was kind of mentally preparing myself for that. Then one week they told me that they had discussed it and that they thought that I would be able to throw again. And a week later I got cleared to start practicing. That was exciting. So the week before the Dual Meet I got to start practicing again which was a big turn in a month's period.
GH: How hard was it to do the workouts and stay motivated not knowing if it would result in anything?
GF: There were some days that I didn't want to go do my work, but if I did have the possibility of being cleared, I didn't know if it would ever happen, but I would regret not putting in the hard work when I was on the sideline. So doing my rehab, if I just stopped doing that and I got cleared, then I would have to continue rehab and not throw as soon as I thought. I would do bike workouts because I couldn't run. They aren't the most fun thing to do.
GH: How were you able to come out and do as well as you have, technique-wise, without being able to really practice either event?
GF: A lot of visualization. Watching videos and critiquing my form in my head, just visualizing what a good throw is definitely helped a lot. Also, I coached clinics during winter quarter so just explaining to the students what they needed to do, explaining it to them also helped me realize what I need to do in my throw and just keep constantly thinking about it because I can't physically do it but I can visualize it. I'm also a very visual learner so that helps a lot.
GH: How exciting was it to just get back out there?
GF: Very, I was very happy to be able to throw again. Not being able to, it wasn't very fun because I love throwing. Being able to support my teammates though definitely helped me get through not being able to throw. Just supporting them was big for me.
GH: Have you not felt as much pressure in these meets since there was a good chance you wouldn't be competing at all?
GF: Well the thing that my mom told me is just go out there and have fun and just do what I've been working on for the past three weeks because I didn't even know if I was going to be there. So that really took a lot of pressure off. Yes there was pressure at Pac-12s because I came in ranked fourth in discus so the potential ability to place in the top three was right there but at the same time, just not putting as much pressure on myself and realizing a month ago I didn't even know if I was going to be here. Just having that aspect really helped as well.
GH: When did you first start having trouble with your knee? Is it something you're always going to have to deal with?
GF: October of my junior year is when I started having knee problems. Then I was out for a little bit and ended up coming back for the end of last season and then having to scratch discus at Pac-12s last year because my knee gave out in shot put, I couldn't put any pressure on it. I ended up having surgery last June. I don't really know how to explain it but I don't really have cartilage in my knee anymore. My knee cap slides and it has basically created its own little groove. So they said you can compete, but running stairs, running hills isn't the best thing. So staying in shape was definitely a hard aspect. For cardio I did underwater treadmill stuff, which was fun, and lots of biking which is not the most fun for me. Just maintaining and strengthening the muscles around the knee also was really important, so all of my rehab I did a bunch of hip strengthening, doing a lot of quad strengthening and making sure all of the muscles surrounding it can support it more.
GH: Did you have any setbacks during the rehab process?
GF: A couple months after the surgery I started doing rehab and my knee started causing me trouble and giving out again so I took all of fall off, I did nothing except for upper body lifting. I didn't even do rehab. That seemed to help because a lot of cartilage things need a lot more time to heal. Not being able to do anything at all in the fall besides lifting was definitely the hardest thing. I didn't go to practice most of the time because I would just sit there, so I would go maybe twice a week. But I ended up getting an internship, so that was fun and it was related to what I want to do.
GH: What was the internship?
GF: It was over at Bellevue College, I worked with students with autism and just navigating college for them. Just helping them stay organized, checking in and making sure they're getting the accommodations that they need for each class and through the teachers. Major wise I'm a double major in ECFS (Early Childhood and Family Studies) and Disability Studies and I plan to go on and do music therapy, mostly working with kids who have autism. I've worked in a Pre-K special education classroom where most of the kids that were in there had autism. So being able to work with a different age group and show the different perspectives, that was really good.
GH: Did being away from throwing make you appreciate it in a different way? How tough was it to stay connected to it?
GF: It actually helped me decide what I want to do in the future. Not being able to throw, being able to focus more on school. Originally, I wanted to be an elementary school teacher and when I actually had time to focus on school moreso than just going to class and doing the assignments, actually processing my future and different ideas, I actually thought about it more and realized that I don't want to be an elementary school teacher. I still want to work with kids but I wanted to incorporate my music into it somehow. So I started researching and having the time to do that. So it actually helped me find the career path that I wanted to go on, which was nice. But definitely being able to come back now I have so much more of a love for it because I didn't have it for such a long time. It makes me appreciate it more.
GH: After Pac-12s how has the knee been holding up?
GF: It's good, it's a little sore but it's not painful which is good. It is just a little tired.
GH: Going to West Prelims what's your outlook?
GF: It's definitely helpful that I've thrown in those rings before so I know what it's going to be like which is nice. I'm going to go out and have fun and take my three throws and if I make it to Nationals, well I wasn't even supposed to compete this year so it is just an added bonus to that.
GH: Is coming back for a fifth year in the plans for you again and was it always the plan even with the injury?
GF: Because I just added my second major a couple quarters ago, I wouldn't be done with school in four years anyway, and I added my second major so that I could continue for a fifth year of track. If I hadn't I would have been done this past fall quarter, so adding that other major, and it was after fall quarter, so figuring out what I wanted to do and then looking at classes that related to it, I found out that I only needed six more classes to have the disability studies major, so I decided to add that in there.
GH: What was your support system like as you were going through everything?
GF: Definitely my teammates, they've been a big support throughout all of this. Some of my friends and my family has always been there as well. They tell me just go out and do your best and we know that you're trying your hardest to get back to where you were. Also just the faith that I have, trusting that there's a plan that God has for all of us, was definitely a huge support. I know He has a plan for my life and it might not be what I want at the time but I know there's a greater future for me, so that was definitely a big help.
GH: Now that you've been practicing a few weeks, are you enjoying working on the nuts and bolts of your throws more than before?
GF: Yeah, all the nitpicky stuff. The first week back, it was moreso just trying to get back into the natural feeling of it, and now that we've progressed further it's working on more specific ideas, and "holding my block", and "turning my right", and focusing on that to potentially make it go farther, if I do it correctly!
GoHuskies.com: What was your outlook on the season and throwing two months ago? Did you think you had a chance to compete this year?
Gina Flint: I wasn't quite sure. The doctors weren't really sure either. They had told me to be prepared that I wasn't going to throw ever again. I was kind of mentally preparing myself for that. Then one week they told me that they had discussed it and that they thought that I would be able to throw again. And a week later I got cleared to start practicing. That was exciting. So the week before the Dual Meet I got to start practicing again which was a big turn in a month's period.
GH: How hard was it to do the workouts and stay motivated not knowing if it would result in anything?
GF: There were some days that I didn't want to go do my work, but if I did have the possibility of being cleared, I didn't know if it would ever happen, but I would regret not putting in the hard work when I was on the sideline. So doing my rehab, if I just stopped doing that and I got cleared, then I would have to continue rehab and not throw as soon as I thought. I would do bike workouts because I couldn't run. They aren't the most fun thing to do.
GH: How were you able to come out and do as well as you have, technique-wise, without being able to really practice either event?
GF: A lot of visualization. Watching videos and critiquing my form in my head, just visualizing what a good throw is definitely helped a lot. Also, I coached clinics during winter quarter so just explaining to the students what they needed to do, explaining it to them also helped me realize what I need to do in my throw and just keep constantly thinking about it because I can't physically do it but I can visualize it. I'm also a very visual learner so that helps a lot.
GH: How exciting was it to just get back out there?
GF: Very, I was very happy to be able to throw again. Not being able to, it wasn't very fun because I love throwing. Being able to support my teammates though definitely helped me get through not being able to throw. Just supporting them was big for me.
GH: Have you not felt as much pressure in these meets since there was a good chance you wouldn't be competing at all?
GF: Well the thing that my mom told me is just go out there and have fun and just do what I've been working on for the past three weeks because I didn't even know if I was going to be there. So that really took a lot of pressure off. Yes there was pressure at Pac-12s because I came in ranked fourth in discus so the potential ability to place in the top three was right there but at the same time, just not putting as much pressure on myself and realizing a month ago I didn't even know if I was going to be here. Just having that aspect really helped as well.
GH: When did you first start having trouble with your knee? Is it something you're always going to have to deal with?
GF: October of my junior year is when I started having knee problems. Then I was out for a little bit and ended up coming back for the end of last season and then having to scratch discus at Pac-12s last year because my knee gave out in shot put, I couldn't put any pressure on it. I ended up having surgery last June. I don't really know how to explain it but I don't really have cartilage in my knee anymore. My knee cap slides and it has basically created its own little groove. So they said you can compete, but running stairs, running hills isn't the best thing. So staying in shape was definitely a hard aspect. For cardio I did underwater treadmill stuff, which was fun, and lots of biking which is not the most fun for me. Just maintaining and strengthening the muscles around the knee also was really important, so all of my rehab I did a bunch of hip strengthening, doing a lot of quad strengthening and making sure all of the muscles surrounding it can support it more.
GH: Did you have any setbacks during the rehab process?
GF: A couple months after the surgery I started doing rehab and my knee started causing me trouble and giving out again so I took all of fall off, I did nothing except for upper body lifting. I didn't even do rehab. That seemed to help because a lot of cartilage things need a lot more time to heal. Not being able to do anything at all in the fall besides lifting was definitely the hardest thing. I didn't go to practice most of the time because I would just sit there, so I would go maybe twice a week. But I ended up getting an internship, so that was fun and it was related to what I want to do.
GH: What was the internship?
GF: It was over at Bellevue College, I worked with students with autism and just navigating college for them. Just helping them stay organized, checking in and making sure they're getting the accommodations that they need for each class and through the teachers. Major wise I'm a double major in ECFS (Early Childhood and Family Studies) and Disability Studies and I plan to go on and do music therapy, mostly working with kids who have autism. I've worked in a Pre-K special education classroom where most of the kids that were in there had autism. So being able to work with a different age group and show the different perspectives, that was really good.
GH: Did being away from throwing make you appreciate it in a different way? How tough was it to stay connected to it?
GF: It actually helped me decide what I want to do in the future. Not being able to throw, being able to focus more on school. Originally, I wanted to be an elementary school teacher and when I actually had time to focus on school moreso than just going to class and doing the assignments, actually processing my future and different ideas, I actually thought about it more and realized that I don't want to be an elementary school teacher. I still want to work with kids but I wanted to incorporate my music into it somehow. So I started researching and having the time to do that. So it actually helped me find the career path that I wanted to go on, which was nice. But definitely being able to come back now I have so much more of a love for it because I didn't have it for such a long time. It makes me appreciate it more.
GH: After Pac-12s how has the knee been holding up?
GF: It's good, it's a little sore but it's not painful which is good. It is just a little tired.
GH: Going to West Prelims what's your outlook?
GF: It's definitely helpful that I've thrown in those rings before so I know what it's going to be like which is nice. I'm going to go out and have fun and take my three throws and if I make it to Nationals, well I wasn't even supposed to compete this year so it is just an added bonus to that.
GH: Is coming back for a fifth year in the plans for you again and was it always the plan even with the injury?
GF: Because I just added my second major a couple quarters ago, I wouldn't be done with school in four years anyway, and I added my second major so that I could continue for a fifth year of track. If I hadn't I would have been done this past fall quarter, so adding that other major, and it was after fall quarter, so figuring out what I wanted to do and then looking at classes that related to it, I found out that I only needed six more classes to have the disability studies major, so I decided to add that in there.
GH: What was your support system like as you were going through everything?
GF: Definitely my teammates, they've been a big support throughout all of this. Some of my friends and my family has always been there as well. They tell me just go out and do your best and we know that you're trying your hardest to get back to where you were. Also just the faith that I have, trusting that there's a plan that God has for all of us, was definitely a huge support. I know He has a plan for my life and it might not be what I want at the time but I know there's a greater future for me, so that was definitely a big help.
GH: Now that you've been practicing a few weeks, are you enjoying working on the nuts and bolts of your throws more than before?
GF: Yeah, all the nitpicky stuff. The first week back, it was moreso just trying to get back into the natural feeling of it, and now that we've progressed further it's working on more specific ideas, and "holding my block", and "turning my right", and focusing on that to potentially make it go farther, if I do it correctly!
Players Mentioned
Thr
/ Track & FieldRaising the Bar | Hana & Amanda Moll
Monday, August 04
Women's 1500m final - 2025 NCAA outdoor track and field championship
Sunday, June 15
Nathan Green | 2025 NCAA 1500m Champion
Saturday, June 14
Track & Field NCAA Championships | Huskies Highlights
Friday, June 13
