One throw-in inevitably prompts numerous gasps from the soccer spectators.

Some fans oooh and aaah. One person even commented “Well that’s putting drama into it.” Others marvel at the feat.

This wasn’t your average soccer throw-in. Most tosses have the player standing upright, hands over their head with a follow-through that sends the ball back into play. It is a facet of the game most fans hardly notice let alone oooh and aaah over.

This St. Dom’s girls’ soccer player did nothing like that. She started a forward motion, put the ball on the ground, did a somersault and flung the ball into the air when she came back on her feet. It was a flip throw. It’s a feat a few teams have the luxury of having but it is one that some fans don’t get to see all that often. When they do, it can be a bit surprising.

I recall one local television sports anchor who had video footage of a local soccer player doing the flip throw. He called me that night for the score and raved about this amazing feat he had seen on the video. He rambled about this throw-in this player did where he did a somersault and slung the ball halfway across the field.

“I’ve never seen anyone do that,” he said, barely containing his excitement and lack of soccer knowledge.

“You mean a flip throw?” I asked, hardly believing this so-called sports journalist was unfamiliar with such a facet of the game.

I usually cover two or three local teams per season that have a flip-thrower. Since I saw a girl from St. Dom’s do the flip on Saturday I’ve seen a couple others this week, a boy from Mt. Ararat and St. Dom’s. I even heard about a player at Ellsworth that does a cartwheel throw. Now that’s something I haven’t seen too often.

What amazes me is that I don’t see more of  the flip.

Whenever I’ve covered a team that has a flip-thrower, it has been a significant advantage. A good flip-thrower can fire the ball from the sideline right into the box. It’s like a corner kick or a free kick. It’s an instant opportunity to lead to something bigger. A team with that kind of advantage can create far more opportunities than one that doesn’t have that kind of throw. There are boys’ soccer teams that might have a thrower that is strong enough to use the traditional method and fire it that far. Those are few and far between.

Knowing that a flip-throw can enhance a team so effectively, I don’t know why all teams don’t develop that skill somewhere in the system. I remember a few years back that Edward Little had two or three girls that could do it. Of course, they really only needed one. She was very good and was a constant advantage for EL during her career.

I did a story on her at one time and she said that she had learned the flip at a young age. A youth soccer coach had taught her that and she had perfected it over the years.

Why more soccer programs don’t teach and develop that skill at a young age, I don’t know.  I’m sure it is not an easy skill to master. I can imagine all kinds of bones I could break or muscles I could tear just trying it. Of course, doing somersaults and cartwheels were never high up in my skill set, but there certainly are kids that would have a knack for that.

Knowing that the flip can be such a significant part of a team and a good flip-thrower would certainly warrant extra consideration from a coach, I would think more coaches and parents would develop that skill in kids at a young age.

Of course, if everybody was doing a flip throw maybe it wouldn’t be so out-of-the-ordinary to see now.

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