SE: Love of Teaching Helps Taylor Latimer Build on Big 12 Title

By: Austin Siegel

You have to be a student of the sport.

That's how Taylor Latimer approaches the shot put - even as the Big 12 champion in the event and a fourth-place finisher at the 2019 NCAA Outdoor Championships.

"You have to constantly be learning," Latimer said. "I find myself coaching my other teammates quite often, jumping in and coaching them, because it's truly a passion of mine. It also helps me understand what I'm coaching and things I can be working on as an athlete."

It's more than just a mindset. Latimer is also, quite literally, a student of the sport as she pursues her physical education & health degree at Kansas State.

Every student-athlete in Manhattan is balancing their sport with coursework, but few have developed the relationship between their work in the classroom and their athletic success quite like Latimer.

"The biggest part of being a teacher is that relationship with your students. I've taken that to heart with my teammates. I might only be here for another two years, but they're still my teammates," she said. "I want to have a strong relationship with them and help them be the best they can be before I leave."

Latimer has already established herself as one of the best throwers in K-State history. An All-American in the shot put, Latimer also competes in the weight throw, discus, hammer throw and javelin for the Wildcats.

She arrived in Manhattan from Valley Center as the state champion in the shot put, adding distance to her throws until she came within a centimeter of the K-State record at the Big 12 Outdoor Championship in 2019. It was more than enough for her first conference crown.

For all her success in the shot put, Latimer's foundation as an athlete came through playing multiple sports at Valley Center High School.

"I was dead-set on going to college for basketball," Latimer said. "I changed my mind and haven't looked back, but I'm a big believer in not specializing."

Latimer won 11 varsity letters in high school between track & field, basketball, golf and tennis. Valley Center was also where she found a career that allowed her to build on an impressive understanding of the values behind her favorite sports.

"I didn't really know what I wanted to do degree-wise and then I started shadowing my P.E. teacher. I kind of fell in love with the job," Latimer said. "You learn so much from those sports. You learn how to work with a team or even individual sports like golf, that was the first sport to mentally challenge me."

Golf might not seem like a sport where Latimer could find much to bring back to the throwing circle, but she said there are plenty of similar challenges to the shot put on the golf course.

K-State SO Taylor Latimer competing in the Womens Shot Put at the 2019 Big 12 Track and Field Championship at the John Jacobs Track and Field Complex in Norman, Oklahoma on Friday, May 10, 2019

For one, they can both be punishing in the results-driven world of college athletics.

Latimer said she enjoys golfing for fun, but the sport is full of mental hurdles for student-athletes who are playing in tournaments where one shot can make or break a round.

"In throwing, you've got six throws and then you're done," Latimer said. "In golf, you've got 18 holes and who knows how many strokes. You've got to be telling yourself, 'next hole, next hole.' That can be tough."

Latimer has been able to draw on her experience in both sports to find a mental edge.

"Track is probably one of the hardest mental sports I've done. When you step in the ring, it's only you. Your coach can only help you so much," Latimer said. "Such a big part of that is just believing in your athletes, because honestly, they don't believe in themselves most of the time. You have to be the one to push them."

In her pursuit of a physical education degree, those principles have guided Latimer. She said that her most influential coaches recognized that track was "more than just a sport."

Professors like Dr. Be Stoney and Mark Ellner have played an important role in her academic career at Kansas State. Latimer said it was these professors who helped her understand the importance of building relationships with her teammates, and one day, her students.

"At the end of the day, when everything else is gone, all you have is your relationships," she said. "That's your legacy."

Back in Manhattan, Latimer is moving from a summer of COVID 19-adjusted workouts to practices at the K-State track & field complex. Her 2020 season will be an important one, after she redshirted the 2019 indoor season and lost her junior outdoor season to COVID.

Whether it's a national championship or the Olympics Trials – "I keep forgetting about those. That would be interesting." – Latimer is still focused on studying her sport.

"I took fourth at nationals two years ago, so my goal is to come back and win it. I would like to see us get a team championship. I think we have a good shot at it with a solid team and a lot of great competitors," she said. "But for me personally, I'm going for that ring."

Kansas State University Athletics

SE: Love of Teaching Helps Taylor Latimer Build on Big 12 Title

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Taylor Latimer

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