Throwing the javelin is a DeMers family legacy
SANDPOINT — Soldiers in ancient Greece would often carry three javelins, along with a shield, and would launch the sharp spear projectiles at the enemy when in combat.
Had the DeMers clan lived in those ancient times, it’s a safe assumption they would have made exemplary soldiers — the kind you want on your side.
When Eric DeMers qualified for the 2009 NCAA Division 1 West Regionals recently in the javelin, he became the third member of his family to leave his mark in the storied track and field event, which oddly enough, isn’t even allowed in Idaho high schools. It was a fitting end to a stellar track career for DeMers, who as a decathlete at Boise State won five Western Athletic Conference team championships.
The javelin had been secondary to the decathlon for most of DeMers’ track career at BSU, until he surprised himself as a junior by coming within one meter of the NCAA qualifying mark. One person who wasn’t surprised by the feat was Broncos assistant track coach Chris Huffins, who won a bronze medal in the decathlon at the 2009 Olympics in Sydney.
“He’d shown good progress throughout the course of his career,” said Huffins of DeMers, calling him an absolute joy to coach. “He’d only ask a few questions, like ‘how hard’ or ‘how many?’ And he’d end every sentence with ‘yes coach’ or ‘thank you coach.’”
DeMers, who recently graduated from Boise State with a Health Science Studies degree, finished 16th at the Regionals in Eugene, Ore., with a throw of 199 feet and one inch. His best-ever throw of 209-6, a prodigious heave, is merely good enough for third place in the family pecking order.
Sandpoint High School track coach Dave DeMers, who coached his son Eric in high school, threw the javelin 212-9 as an athlete at Boise State in the mid-1970s. DeMers was a quarterback on the Broncos football team, but after blowing out his knee, decided on a whim to turn out for track, eventually setting the BSU javelin record at the time.
As far as that distance was, it paled in comparison to that of Dave’s uncle Jim DeMers, who uncorked a mammoth heave of 222-9 in 1930, setting a new world record. Jim DeMers, who like Dave was 6-foot-3 and 240 pounds, lettered in every sport available at Sandpoint High School in 1926, and still owns the Idaho high school all-time record in the javelin. That he threw a heavy wooden spear more than 10 feet further than either Dave or Eric ever have is nothing short of amazing.
“Here we’re throwing these high tech javelins and here’s uncle Jim out-throwing us with this wooden stick,” marveled Dave DeMers, who still owns the javelin that Jim set the world record with.
Track and field seems to be in the DeMers DNA. Eric’s sister Brooke DeMers is the latest in a track legacy at Boise State, where she is a sophomore competing in the heptathlon. Eric credits his father with being very instrumental in his success as a decathlete at Boise State.
“He has always been a motivating force in my life,” said Eric, who hopes to attend graduate school in physical therapy. “He has taught me so many things inside and outside of track and has had a tremendous hand in my success.”
Both father and son echoed similar sentiments when asked what they love most about track. Dave said you can be as good as you want to be, with nobody to blame but yourself, and points to Eric as a prime example as someone who succeeded through sheer hard work. Eric said he loves the simple fact that there is nothing to hide behind.
“Track is measured in seconds and centimeters,” he explained. “If you have a bad day, you can’t hide it. If you have an amazing day, that performance is recorded and everyone knows it.
“It makes athletes accountable for themselves to strive for that extra inch, and that is when you can see and do some truly amazing things.”