A family tradition

Sometime before Izzy Granger threw the discus Friday at the Division II state track meet in Pickerington North High, her father, A.J., went to check on her. He reminded her this was it: competition day.Izzy, a junior, didn't flinch."She was like, 'Don't worry about it,'" A.J. said. "There must be something in the genetics."That's because 25 years ago, A.J was in the same position as his daughter: Competing in the discus at the state meet. He said his attitude then was identical to the one Izzy displayed Friday."Jack Quisno, he was my head coach at that point," A.J. said. "And he used to get so nervous, and he still does. But you know, I'd look at him and say, 'Don't worry about it. It'll be fine. I got this."But if a cool attitude is part of the Grangers' genetic makeup, something else might be, too.Winning.A.J. won a Division III state championship in the boys discus in 1996, throwing 180-0. Izzy won the Division II girls discus title Friday, going 146-1.A.J. stood at the top of the podium and got his medal back in '96. On Friday, he put a medal on his daughter as she stood at the top of the platform."Getting to stand on the podium and be on the top, it's a different feeling," Izzy said. "We won a state championship in volleyball, but there's no podium in volleyball, so just to stand up there and know that you're at the top … it's very, very different and it's an exciting feeling to have."It's a feeling A.J. knows well. Like his daughter, he won a state championship in a team sport – he was part of the 1995 L-B boys basketball championship squad. After that, A.J. moved on to Michigan State, where he played a key role in the men's basketball team's national title in 2000.Like her father, Izzy has kept a busy athletic schedule. She plays club volleyball while participating in track. While steps were taken to limit the work load, Izzy remained busy all spring."Toward the end there it got to be quite a lot," Izzy said. "Once we started tournaments for track, I did take time off from volleyball, just for those weeks, so I could focus on track a little bit more. I think that helps for sure. It can be a lot at times, but I don't think I'd do it any differently."A.J, who played AAU basketball while participating in track, can relate."It was similar to what I was doing, too," he said. "It's hard to say no to something when you're good at it."And Izzy is good at track and field. She not only excels in the discus, but was also part of the Eagles state qualifying 4x100 relay team.But Izzy said she was drawn to throwing early."It didn't necessarily come like second nature, but I was good enough at it," she said. "I think having (A.J) there really helped further my love for it."It may not have been second nature to Izzy, but A.J. saw the potential quickly."You can kind of see when people throw that they have a bit of an ability," he said. "She did show an aptitude earlier on to be able to throw, so we just kind of stuck with it."A.J. worked with Izzy in middle school, and continued to do so in high school, although Izzy had another coach by then.He was Zack Smelcer, whose father, Jeff, was A.J.'s throwing coach at L-B."Another piece of symmetry for you," A.J. said.This season, Izzy got off to a strong start in the discus, throwing 142-2 at the Liberty-Benton Relays in early April. Two weeks later, she threw 144 at Ottawa-Glandorf.But then, she went into a bit of a slump."It was just a grind the rest of the season to try to get her back to those distances," A.J. said. "We didn't throw very well in really, 60-70 percent of the season. Threw very well early on, and then we were a 120-125 thrower all the way up ... she almost didn't make the state meet."In fact, it wasn't until Izzy's final throw – a 127-1 – that she secured third at the Lexington Regional and a spot at Pickerington North.So, the Grangers and Smelcer spent the next week tweaking things."We changed her form. Not the way she throws the discus, but the way she lifts into the throw, and all her preparation stuff," A.J. said. "It wasn't anything she was doing the rest of the season. "And we're not trying to take credit for that. She battled, she was a good listener, and she was able to put it all together."Izzy said she was open to the adjustments."It was there; it was definitely all there," she said. "I just needed to get it to transfer into competition. So, we focused on the little things really hard in the week before. Just little technical things like staying balanced in the ring and things like that."Needless to say, it worked, and it was evident on Izzy's first state attempt. "I need to have a strong first throw," she said. "If I have a strong first throw, then everything is gonna fall into place."Izzy's first toss went 133-3."I may not have been in the lead (then)," she said, "but I was able to remain calm and cool and just focus on myself."And her throws kept getting better. Her third throw reached 136-11, her fourth was a 142-9, and her final one – the championship winning distance – went 146-1.Izzy matched her father by winning a discus crown. And – as she was sure to remind A.J – she won the title in her junior year. A.J did it in his senior season."That's actually one of the first things I said: 'Haha. I beat you,' Izzy recalled telling her dad. "But, all in fun."That's another thing A.J said he's used to."She's pretty pleased as well that her state volleyball team picture is above mine in the gym from when we won in basketball," he said. "She pokes me every once in a while about that kind of stuff. I don't mind it at all really. It's her time, not my time, now it's her time. It's pretty special to watch her have that success."In the Granger family, there is plenty to go around.Maybe it is genetic.