Tired of the &^%$it, I quit

[Livininthepast]

Tired of the _______it. I am frstrated with not having a high bar, or chin up bar. I am tired of not being able to construct a chin up bar in the pole vault area. I am tired of not being able to use the pits with the athletes on a weekend. I am tired with dealing with problems when taking the athletes to the YMCA for trampoline work.
Our national school system is in a shambles. We are cowards bowing to lawyers.
I want to train an athlete until sh/she says "stop", and not a lawyer.


I used to train year round in the snow of NJ. I cannot even run my athletes a month before "official" track and field season begins.

I think I must coach in another country in order to properly bring an althlete up to world stnadards.

To all, I say good bye.

[rainbowgirl28]

There's no reason to quit, just run a club instead of coaching at a school. Then you don't have to deal with the BS.

[AVC Coach]

Hold up on that quitting idea! Who said coaching the pole vault was easy? If it was easy, girl scouts would quit selling cookies and come do it for us! What kind of message are you going to send to those kids you coach by just quitting because there were obstacles in the way? If you're willing to put in the time and effort, there are a ton of ways to find the loop-holes you need to be successful. I've never met a good pole vault coach that couldn't build a toaster out of a 2x4. They all seem to find or invent what they need when they need it. You'll figure it out!

Good luck!

[vcpvcoach]

OK, sit down.....take a deep breath.....think of puppies.....think of summer days.....Now, are you relaxed?
When I got the school that I'm right now, we had ten poles. Two were cut, one was a training pole, three were 184 lbs, one 155, one 127, one 140, and one 127.5.
I had two girls and three boys that wanted to vault. None were good athletes. All had big hearts.
Today, after five years of working with my AD and head coach, I have a series of pole 12' on the fives for 100 lb to 150 lb and 13' from 140 lb and 184 lb.. I have a high bar outside (which we can use at the beginning of the season because of the weather) off the track. Still no chin up bar but I can hope.
Explain why you need the things you do. You as a coach are an insurance policy for the school. You make vaulting safe. That's what make your request important.
Another way to get what you need is to volunteer to raise the money you need. Bake sales, car washes, whatever you need to do. It will go a long way to show that you take this serious.
About the kids. Where will they be without you? Gosh, knows that we don't coach for the money. Last year I tracked how much time I put in and I made .30 an hour by the end of the season. But, my vaulters, from the first year I got to the school, still come by on their spring break from college and thank me for the time I spent with them.
Don't lose sight of the kids.

[ashcraftpv]

Don't lose faith! I'm in the same situation you are. everytime I bring up high bars, ropeswings. rings, etc.... I'm constantly given the whole liability spiel. I've not let it get me down, just find alternate ways of accomplishing the same thing. In the end, this ultimately about the kids and not about us coaches. I've learned to make do with what I have and still have produced some decent results. Would I like to have all those things? Sure, who wouldn't, but I'd rather still coach without those things than sit at home doing nothing.