Going Unattached

[asaleh]

Hello. I am considering going away from my schools track program. Is it possible to do that.
I live in NJ. Thank you.

[rainbowgirl28]

You could jump in summer meets, but there are probably not any meets during the season that you could jump in. Unattached athletes generally cannot compete in regular season high school meets.

[VaultPurple]

It would not be too difficult. One of pole vault powers posters did it a few years ago when he was in high school in Jersey. There are a lot of indoor meets in that area that take unattached athletes.

However there is a difference. If you are 14+ guy or 11+ girl it is a lot easier to do than a 11'6 guy and 9' girl. That is because bigger meets usually have minimum mark requirements and if you are still learning to jump higher the only place for you to compete is probably small high school meets.

The only reason I would really recommend leaving your high school though is if you do not have a pole vault coach/poles and the team does not allow athletes to seek outside coaching while on the team.

[rainbowgirl28]

It would not be too difficult. One of pole vault powers posters did it a few years ago when he was in high school in Jersey. There are a lot of indoor meets in that area that take unattached athletes.

However there is a difference. If you are 14+ guy or 11+ girl it is a lot easier to do than a 11'6 guy and 9' girl. That is because bigger meets usually have minimum mark requirements and if you are still learning to jump higher the only place for you to compete is probably small high school meets.

The only reason I would really recommend leaving your high school though is if you do not have a pole vault coach/poles and the team does not allow athletes to seek outside coaching while on the team.

Yes but indoor season is basically over, and there are little to no spring outdoor meets available to a 9'6" unattached high school boy...

[asaleh]

Well the reason why I want to go unattached is because I have faced a lot of disrespect from my coaches and teamates. Also, my athletic director has denied every single request I made for a new pole. Right now I'm jumpin 13 ft, haven't changed my pr yet. Lastly I'm renting my own pole and I'm goin to a club. So I decided why would I have to face the hate from my team if I could just do this myself.

[rainbowgirl28]

Well the reason why I want to go unattached is because I have faced a lot of disrespect from my coaches and teamates. Also, my athletic director has denied every single request I made for a new pole. Right now I'm jumpin 13 ft, haven't changed my pr yet. Lastly I'm renting my own pole and I'm goin to a club. So I decided why would I have to face the hate from my team if I could just do this myself.

That's not a very good reason to quit your team. Lots of kids can't get their school to buy them poles. They take on summer jobs or babysit or do fundraisers and figure out a way to make it work. You need to either work on ignoring your teammates or perhaps it is your own attitude that needs fixing.

It's fun to win meets against other HS kids. It's fun to get out of class early and take the school bus to a meet. It's fun to qualify and advance at League/Districts/State. It's fun to earn a varsity letter and other awards that come with being on a team.

It's lame to train on your own. You probably won't be able to use the track while the team is having practice if you quit. You'll have to figure out odd times and places to practice. The bulk of your training will end up just being with your club, are they prepared to meet your needs? One of the biggest things that all vaulters need to do to improve is get faster and stronger, and it's extremely difficult to do as good of a job of that with no one to push you.

You'll be stuck in school while the rest of your track team goes to meets. You probably won't have any meets of your own to go to all spring. Ask your club coaches, maybe they'll know of some, but it's not like indoors, you won't be able to go to any of the same meets as your HS team.

What do your club coaches think of this idea?

[asaleh]

The only meets I could think of off the top of my head is a beach vault. To be honest I don't want to leave my team. It is just the constant negative messages my coaches tell me. For instance, this indoor season hasn't been the best. I've been only clearing around 11ft. And when I show up to talk about pole vault the next practice, my coach tells me that I suck and if I listen to him I would be in a better position. Though you are right about the meet and practices situations. It would be difficult to practice and go to meets if I were to go unattached. Also, I bet it would be harder to talk to colleges. Thank you for helping me assess the situation . I don't think I'll be going unattached now.

[rainbowgirl28]

Learning to work through challenging situations with coaches and teammates will teach you valuable life skills that you'll use throughout life. It sucks that not everyone is supportive of your passion, your best bet is to keep a positive attitude and try to find common ground. If you're not doing any other events for your team, you should really try to run some sprints and/or long jump at your smaller meets. That will help you vault higher, and your coaches might like you better if you do more to contribute to the team (if you're not already).

[asaleh]

Thank you. I really appreciate the advice i've always wanted to try triple jump so ill try that at my dual meets. And again thank you for helping me.