Kandace Arnold relaxes only for a second.

She is nervous before she throws, but that is nothing new for the senior thrower on the Eastern track team.

But the real nerves and tension came for her and Eastern assistant track coach Jessica Sommerfeld last season.

A new coach, new techniques and a new environment at practice were conditions Arnold was not used to.

Eastern hired Sommerfeld to assist with the men and women throwers in August 2008 to replace Mary Wallace, who moved into Eastern’s sports administration.

But Sommerfeld got in Arnold’s face – something Arnold was not a fan of – last season.

“Last year was a nightmare,” Arnold said. “It was hard for us to get along. I would hate for us to have to go through that again.”The coaching change for both the athlete and the coach was somewhat tense.

“She was a 180 from coach Wallace,” Arnold said. “Coach Wallace was chill, laid back. (Sommerfeld) was in your face,

‘Yeah, let’s get pumped up.’ I was like, that’s not how I am.”

After the end of the outdoor season, the relationship changed. The two had plenty of chats and those conversations have roused Arnold toward finishing with a strong senior season.

“It took awhile for her to gain confidence in me,” Sommerfeld said of last season.

While the atmosphere is not Arnold’s top choice, she enjoys Sommerfeld’s coaching.

“I kind of wish I could start over with when I first met her,” Arnold said. “It was so bad but we really enjoy each other now.”

Besides the adjustment period with a new coach-athlete relationship, Sommerfeld had Arnold rehaul her technique.

That did not help matters in their once rocky relationship, but eventually Arnold adjusted.

“I did a lot of changing, a lot of thinking,” Arnold said. “She knows what she’s really talking about.”

Those techniques included getting her hips wider and preventing gliding, which produces the opportunity for a bigger throw.

Arnold’s chance to finish as the top women’s thrower in program history is almost planted, given her Ohio Valley Conference titles and school records.

Arnold started strong this season, with three first-place finishes, and in the first meet of the season, taking the indoor shot put record.

She owns the indoor 20-pound weight throw and outdoor discus records. She also has the second best mark in the outdoor shot put and hammer throw in program history.

She won the shot put and weight throw as a junior during the indoor season. Also, she won the shot put and placed second in the weight throw as a sophomore during the indoor season.

She holds the top marks in the OVC in both indoor events this season.

In the outdoor seasons, Arnold won the shot put as a freshman and sophomore. She also took the discus title as a sophomore.

Last season, she took second and third in the shot put and discus, an event which motivates her for this season.

“Last year, I was really sad. I cried,” Arnold jokingly said. “That hurt. You can’t win everything. That’s going to make me go even harder. I can’t control what other people do.”

Sommerfeld, a former conference champ, knows Arnold has no ceiling for her senior season.

“She hasn’t reached her potential by any means,” Sommerfeld said. “54 feet is not impossible for (her). She’s a very athletic person, and I don’t think she’s come close to her potential yet.”

Kevin Murphy can be reached at 581-7944 or [email protected]