SUMMER SPORT ON FILM

Volleyball Pre Season Photos

hard in the weight room to surpass her old max for power clean. While the weight room may look empty she had teammates on the other side cheering her on.

BY MEG HOWELL

Soaring through the air with tremendous strength, there was no doubt Maclay freshman Elizabeth Dowdy was a contender for the Florida 2A pole vault state title. However, becoming a State Champion is not easy to achieve. Pole vault demands perfect technique, time and effort: both mental and physical. Dowdy possesses all of these qualities to reach the top, and she did just that.

Attributable to her background as a gymnast, Dowdy excelled in other Maclay sports before track and field began in the spring. She was a member of the 2021-22 Maclay girls weightlifting team. Additionally, Dowdy participated in the first girls lacrosse team Maclay school has ever had. After impressive seasons in weightlifting and lacrosse, Dowdy chose to pick up a new sport, pole vault.

“I decided to do pole vault because I knew my gymnastics background would be beneficial towards [pole vaulting] and I wanted to start something new!”

Dowdy said.

A family connection to pole vault added to Dowdy’s excitement as her sister Katherine Dowdy, a 2019 Maclay graduate, also participated in the sport.

“I also chose pole vault because my sister used to do it and it looked like so much fun!” Dowdy said.

Although motivated for her freshman season, Dowdy recognized that training to become an elite pole vaulter was nothing shy of difficult. Dowdy had to become familiar with the warmup routines, drills, and techniques before she was able to compete and reach the next level.

“My average practice starts with a warm-up of jogging a lap and stretching,” Dowdy said.“Then, I do some pole vault drills from fewer steps. Then, once I’m ready, I jump from my normal run and jump over a bungee at a certain height.”

Perfect technique is the most important skill to learn in pole vault as failure to bend the body in specific directions will result in the inability to clear a certain height and make it over the bar. In most cases, athletes who fail to clear the bar will not advance to the next stage of a competition.

“The hardest part of pole vault is learning to do all of the techniques correctly and to make sure every single part of the vault is done well with correct form,” Dowdy said.

On top of perfect technique, pole vaulting is also a major time commitment. The Maclay pole vaulters practice for at least two hours almost every day of the week. The team even travels to cities such as Destin or Santa Rosa to put in extra hours of technique practice.

Even throughout the challenges that Dowdy faces in pole vault, her joy outshines the adversity.

“The best part of pole vault is getting to practice and just trying to jump as high as you can!” Dowdy said.

After a tremendous regular season, Dowdy set a goal of making it onto the podium and improving her personal record at the FHSAA 2A State Championships. Dowdy was thrilled with the outcome of her performance, as she earned the first-place medal and got to stand on the top of the podium.

“I went into state wanting to make it on the podium, yet I did not know what place I would earn,” Dowdy said.“I just wanted to try my best to set a personal record, so after I did I was super shocked and excited to win first place.”

While setting a Maclay School record, Dowdy became one of the few freshmen women to clear 3.71 meters. She plans to continue her pole vault career for the remainder of high school.

“It feels so exciting to win as a freshman knowing I have three more years to improve and see where that can take me,” Dowdy said. “I will most definitely continue pole vault next year and for the rest of high school to see where it leads me.”