うたぴょんスポーツUta mostly runs. That is what this blog is usually about — her times, her races, the ekiden events, a road relay where team-mates pass a sash. But every now and then she tries something completely different, and this was one of those days.
This time it was javelin throw. Not something she has ever done before, not something she trains for, just a new thing to try.
What happened that day
Uta is 9 years old, born in early 2016, so she is one of the younger kids in her school year here in Japan. She usually trains and races in middle and long distance running — she actually finished 10th nationally in the 1000m for third-grade girls in the 2024 school year ranking, which is still the number she is most proud of.
But this video was not about running at all. It was her first ever attempt at a javelin-style throw, the kind of safe, blunt-tipped throwing implement kids use instead of a real javelin. She had never picked one up before filming this.
You can see her figuring out the motion from scratch — how to hold it, how to step into the throw, how to actually let it go instead of just pushing it forward. There is no technique to show off here, because she has none yet. That is kind of the point of the video. It is just a kid trying something new and working out, throw by throw, how to do it a little better than the last one.
She also makes a brief appearance in a different context this month — a local TV segment called Nスタ included a clip of her alongside another young runner, around the 10:29 mark of that broadcast, linked in the video description. That was filmed separately and is unrelated to the javelin day, but it happened around the same time, so I mention it here too.
What the parent thought about it
Watching your kid be bad at something new is oddly enjoyable when you are the parent. Uta is used to running — she knows her pace, she knows what hard effort feels like, she has a result she can point to from last year's rankings. With the javelin throw, none of that counted. She had zero experience and it showed, and she did not seem bothered by it at all.
I think that is worth more than it looks like on camera. A kid who only ever does the one sport she is already good at can start to feel like performance is the whole point. Watching Uta flail around with a throwing implement she had never touched before, laughing at her own bad throws, reminded me that she still just likes moving her body and trying things. The running results are nice. The ranking is nice. But this had none of that pressure attached to it, and she clearly had fun anyway.
I do not think this was the start of some new sport for her. She will be back to running soon, probably already was the next day. But I am glad I filmed it. Nine years old is a good age to throw something badly, laugh about it, and move on to the next thing.
If your kid does one sport seriously, it might be worth letting them be a total beginner at something else once in a while. It is a good reminder — for them and for you — that getting things wrong is still part of the fun.