Fawn Washington is hunched over with her right foot forward and left foot back. In one motion she pivots on the heel of her left shoe, turns and extends an arm upward, simulating a discus throw.
After 15 years of practice, it's a motion the coach and former high school track standout is all too familiar with, even though it's one she's had to reacquaint herself with after having both legs amputated below the knee.
She stands on prosthetics. Though her shoes are slick and her core strength isn't yet what it used to be, she simulates another throw with grace.
The injuries that took her legs are but a distant memory, but technique is something Washington has not unlearned. It's something she hopes to pass on to the next generation of throwers even as she nears 30 and continues to pursue her dreams of competing in the Olympics.
In an empty gymnasium where their voices gently echo off the concrete walls, Kiauna Facemyer copies her mentor's movement.
It's a little awkward as the 16-year-old Capital High School junior is still warming up.
"All right," Washington says, stepping aside to the court's baseline. They're practicing on one of the Charleston YMCA basketball courts. "Give me 20."
Hunching over, Kiauna goes through the motion again and again.
There are times Washington doesn't like what she sees in Kiauna's throwing technique, so she steps in to offer advice.
"Make sure you stay low until you turn around," she says, showing Kiauna a proper starting stance.
"Practice makes perfect."
The coach and her student have done this several times a week for the last six years since Washington discovered Kiauna as a middle schooler.
Before graduating from Capital High School in 2006, Washington was a three-time state champion discus thrower. She went on to compete in college at the University of Charleston, and, from there, went on to coach for the Kanawha County School system.
Washington had a personal goal to compete in the London 2012 Summer Olympics.
Things changed when she injured her right leg that year playing basketball. Because her bones wouldn't heal properly, doctors agreed an amputation was needed, a procedure that all but ended her Olympic aspirations.
Even though Washington is diabetic, something she said complicated her injury, amputation is not typical of the injury she sustained.
"It was a freak thing," she said.
Washington continued to compete following her surgery, but things got worse.
Another injury, this time to her left leg, ended in the amputation of two toes. An infection then led to the amputation of the entire leg.
Instead of being overcome with defeat, Washington determined to pursue her dream, all while helping youths she mentors form and follow theirs.
"I could have stayed home and felt sorry for myself," she said. "But I told myself, 'I'm 28 and I can't just sit here.'"
It took six months of recovery after the second surgery before Washington was able to compete again.
Part skill and part determination, Washington is now the No. 1 double-amputee shot put discus and javelin thrower in the world. She plans on competing in the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics for the U.S. Paralympic team.
"I'm about on track," Washington said of her Olympic goals. "I said I wanted to compete in 2012. I'm only four years off."
Washington competes four or five times a year, depending on what events she can get sponsored. When she's not doing that, she coaches and mentors about 10 middle and high school throwers. And she doesn't just prepare them for their next meet.
"We help them get ready for college as well," she said, later adding she helps students learn how to market themselves to potential colleges. "We want them to get scholarships and realize there is hope here at home for them to be talented athletes and be successful."
Even before her injuries sidelined her, Washington had an ability to relate to younger students. As a high schooler, she was known for being personable, "a natural with younger kids who flock to her for her wisdom in the shot put and discuss ring" as former Charleston Daily Mail sportswriter Tom Aluise wrote in 2005.
Part of that ability, she said, comes from her desire to give back.
"Growing up, I participated in mentorship programs in the area that helped students get on their way to college," Washington said, adding that many of those programs are no longer available.
"So, anything I can do to bring that type of programming back, I want to do it."
Washington said it's rewarding to see students like Kiauna set goals and achieve them.
"Right now, kids see a lot of disappointment," she said. "If you don't catch them early on, you kind of lose them."
Washington's advice to underdogs like herself, regardless of what may disadvantage them? Find a niche and pursue it.
"Find something that makes you happy and be the best that you can be," she said, adding that people are more likely to work toward something if it makes them happy.
She also says it's important to stay focused because facing challenges is never easy.
"I still can't drive a car or swim," she said, adding it's something she's working toward. "You take it one step at a time."
While competing internationally was always a goal for Washington, she said she had doubts she'd ever reach this level.
And now that she's experienced what it's like to compete on a national stage?
"It'll push me forward to compete until I can't compete anymore," she said.
Washington is an assistant youth development director for the YMCA of Kanawha Valley.
Reach Samuel Speciale at sam.speciale@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-7939 or follow @samueljspeciale on Twitter.