Indy pole vault camp article

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http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a ... /603280470

pole vault gains prominence
Coaches, athletes help opponents
Addition of girls event helps it spread

By Andrea Cohen
andrea.cohen@indystar.com
It's difficult to imagine Indiana's top high school football coaches getting together to share their playbooks, or the state's basketball coaches holding clinics to teach their future opposition how to beat their press.


keep teaching 'em: As Collin Coffer makes his approach, Lawrence North coach Bob Potter shouts instructions. Potter and his coaching brethren in the Fort Wayne area have quite a competition between them. - Kelly Wilkinson / The Star


But the pole vaulting equivalent of this has happened annually for 12 years at the Indy Pole Vault Camp, and it happens on a regular basis as less experienced coaches around the state call on the old pros at Lawrence North, Lawrence Central and numerous Fort Wayne schools to ask for advice, safety tips and old equipment.
Perhaps it's because pole vaulting is often a family tradition. For example, former Lawrence North coach Bob Potter's son, Ryan, is the vaulting coach at Hamilton Southeastern.
Maybe it's because it's such a small community. Most schools are limited in numbers because equipment is so expensive. Landing pits can cost as much as $12,000 per set and poles cost between $200 and $300 each.
The fact that it's a dangerous sport if taught incorrectly surely factors in.
Then there's the addiction factor.
"Vault guys love the sport," Lawrence Central boys coach Mike Holman said. "You find that they just stay with it, that they want to help everybody."
A cluster of prominent coaches in Fort Wayne -- including Northrop coach Bob Shank and Carroll coach Brian Kimball -- have created an extremely strong vaulting community in Fort Wayne, particularly on the girls side. This winter an indoor facility exclusively for pole vaulting was opened in the city, and in last year's state meet, the top three girls were from Fort Wayne.
But don't tell Bob Potter that Fort Wayne is dominating the state.
"Hey, now, look at last year's boys," Potter said. "They have some pretty good coaches and some good vaulters up there, but I would put the Indianapolis area up against them. Not that I'm competitive."
Last year's boys state champion was the Wildcats' Dorrian White, and Brownsburg's Jeremy Brading was the runner-up.
Brading went 16 feet, 6 inches in this month's NSR State Indoor Classic, and is expected to be one of the top vaulters in the state again this year.
Chris Thoman of Lawrence North is another local vaulter to watch. Thoman cleared 16-3 at the NSR to finish third.
Brading is coached by Denny McNew at Brownsburg. McNew works with the boys and girls pole vaulters, working not only on their actual vaulting but on speed and gymnastic ability, also important skills.
Several coaches, including McNew, said the sport has gotten a major boost in recent years from the addition of the girls pole vault, which became an IHSAA event after former Lawrence Central athlete Tori Allen sued the association so it would include the girls. It was an exhibition event in 2003 and '04 and became a scored event in '05.
Last summer, two Indiana girls won national titles -- Katie Veith of Homestead winning the 15- and 16-year-old Junior Olympics title and Brianna Neumann, a 2005 Northrop graduate, winning the 17- and 18-year-old title.
"Girls vaulting saved the sport," said Kimball, a former state record holder whose daughter, Abby, was third behind Neumann and Veith in last year's state meet. "You had so many people worried about safety and the financial side of it. But with the girls, you add more participants, so it's more cost-effective, and as long as you have coaches who go to camps and clinics and learn the basics, it's no more dangerous than football."