Decision to Vault

[superchau88]

i was given a choice of go run laps...or pick up a pole and try to pole vault. and the choice was obvious

[xtremevaulter]

well i just wasn't good at any other event...so my coach told me to try pole vaulting...and i wasn't even good at that...but i had fun and know look where i am...pole vaulting or at least soon to be once i get healthy again for WWU.

[PVJunkie]

I tried out for EVERY event (in 7th grade) and made it to the fianal "cuts" (yes back in the 80's they had CUTS). The list was posted and I was not on the team................Well I begged the coach to let me work out over spring break and he said "your not on the team, its an open track, I cant stop you, but you are NOT on the team". So that week I got my dad to take me to practice every day and at the end of the week the coach suggested I stick around. I won all but 2 meets that yr..........went on to set my HS record, College record and eventually make a career out of vaulting/coaching/sales of vaulting stuff.

There is a lesson in there somewhere.....................Im just glad my parents were understanding that week way back when or who knows where I might be right now.

[Crazytrackbabe06]

I've never pole vaulted before but I am going to be learning soon, and it sounds like fun!

[completemadness]

Snapped achilles tendon sprinting
Slipped a disc long jumping

Doctor suggested "why not try pole vault, at least that way you will really hurt yourself if you get injured!" - so I did.

Still learning every day 20 years later.

[Carolina Extreme]

I was very small, 5' 3" maybe 100 lbs, in the 9th grade, but thought I was fast for my size. I thought track might be fun so I showed up for the school meeting for anyone interested. They talked about all the events and I was getting a little bit discouraged because I wasn't big enough to compete in throws, fast enough to come close to the speed of the sprinters, and distance just seemed like to much work (I had a bike for that). The last event the coach talked about was pole vaulting. He paused and said, "What can I say about pole vaulting... if you are crazy enough to run and put a stick in ground and fly through the air, maybe you need to be a pole vaulter." I was hooked on the spot. It just seemed natural to go from jumping from tree to tree, or tree to house and back, to vaulting. I worked at it very hard and by my junior year when I hit my late growth spurt my HS PR went up quite a bit.

Now I get a tremendous amount of satisfaction helping athletes to take their vault game to higher levels, as well as opening college doors for them. Which is something I never had anyone help me with.

[ashcraftpv]

i wasn't given a choice.

The PV coach tried to get me to vault in 8th grade, but I passed becasue I was more interested in high jump and long jump. The next year he ended up being my JV basketball coach and wouldn't let me play until i agreed to try vaulting at the end of the season. I actually rode the pine for half the season before I gave in.

At the end of the season, we went out to a barn in rural indiana and i learned how to vault. the barn wasn't very big, and we had to start outside the barn in the gravel driveway and run itno the barn and jump between the rafters. good times.

[lonestar]

I remember growing up watching my brother throw the discus every weekend when I was still in elementary and thinking, "this is boring...whoa, check out those dudes flying off a stick!" Became fascinated with the vault, and when 7th grade rolled around, I had to try it. I remember no-heighting at 5'0 that year, and seeing the look in my coach's eyes like "please try something else." He never said that though, and kept encouraging me to work hard at the vault. It wasn't until my junior year that I became competitive and won my district, which fueled the fire for an enjoyable college vaulting experience and so on, but if it wasn't for Coach Joe Iatauro's encouragement, I wouldn't have remained in the sport that I dedicate my entire life to these days, coaching other kids and young adults, continuing to pr in my own jumping, and trying to learn and spread as much knowledge as possible. One good coach can make such a difference in a young person's life.

[Carolina Extreme]

One good coach can make such a difference in a young person's life.

A tremendous difference indeed. It will be interesting to see where they end up in years to come. And if we were able to be a positive influence. I've already seen it in at least a few. It does the heart good.

[vaulter580]

i dont ike the pole vault!!
i keep on keeping on because it makes me mad

[stavhoppare]

[b]Why do we pole vault?

If you are a vaulter, you don't have to ask the question.

If you are not a vaulter, you wouldn't understand the answer![quote][/quote]

[PV Knox]

My dad was an awesome high jumper in college who jumped 6' 10" in a meet and 7' 0" in practice. I went out my freshman year in high school to high jump and I wasn't very good at it but my coach saw how crazy I acted in practice so he made me pole vault. It was the smartest thing I ever did. There is no better feeling than the couple of seconds you are in the air clearing a bar while the croud cheers.