May 2014 Vaulter Magazine with Slippery Rock University

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May 2014 issue

contents

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FROM THE EDITOR

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My Great Pole Vault Adventure

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“The Rock” Stands Strong

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Sidney High School: Making Great Moments

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When Your Routine Becomes a Rut

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Photo by Robert Clark

Photo by Steve Yockim

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FROM THE EDITOR Hello. Happy spring! We are excited to announce in this May issue that our own Penny Hanson got out there with Bubbas Sparks and tried pole vaulting! At the age of 58 she has fallen for the sport. We are happy to have her aboard. You will thoroughly enjoy reading her account of her adventure.

team. You will definitely want to see what the Eagles have going on.

Lastly, but as always not least, Slippery Rock University in Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania is earning its name of “The Rock”. Coaches Bill Jordan and CJ Morgante are great teachers with a lot of heart. This article gives an in-depth look at how these vaulters work and the experience behind them.

Encouragement is the best way to describe what you will

Bubba is with us once again as well. This time he is teaching us how to overcome being stuck in a rut, or a routine. We have all been there. Vaulters, along with anybody else who knows this feeling, will gain much wisdom Renaud Lavillenie from this article.

World Record Holder Do not miss it.

Our High School feature this month takes us to Montana.

Sidney High School in Sidney, Montana is doing well in the world of pole vaulting.

Their coach, Steve Yockim, has been with SHS for 19 years now. He is doing amazing things with his

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get from reading about this school’s vaulters and coaches.

It’s nice to know places like this are out there. Do not miss this one either.

Thanks again. We always appreciate our readers and supporters. Enjoy the warmer weather and we will talk to you next month when it is getting very warm. Take care!

Editor Doug Bouma editor@thevaultermag.com

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75 SC STATE CHAMPIONS, 10 NATIONAL CHAMPIONS, AND 3 “TEAM USA” (WORLD TEAM) SINCE 1998.

www.ShealyAthletics.com Rusty@ShealyAthletics.com

803-315-5998

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Lacey Jai Henderson

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My Great Pole Vault

Adventure

When I started writing my College Connections column for Vaulter magazine, I said “I am a college consultant, not a pole vaulter”. Well, that has changed! I am now a newbie pole vaulter who is having a blast with the sport!

One day last summer, at the age of 57, I decided that I would like to participate in Masters Athletics. I grew up as a gymnast and I pursued that sport through college. I attended Southwest Texas State University on a full ride gymnastics scholarship. I lived, breathed and surrounded myself with gymnastics until my 30s. I looked at senior gymnastics and there was no way that I could compete in gymnastics at 57! Throughout my life, I had participated in many sports, eventually settling into snowshoeing, skiing, biking, and tennis. But the sport I loved the

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most was running and so when I learned about Masters Athletics, I decided that I would become involved as a runner.

That lasted for about 12 hours; just long enough to take a look at the times the women my age were posting! As much as I loved to run, I was just not in their league. I made the decision to pole vault because I had never done it before. I thought that with my running and gymnastics background, I would be able to at least get over a small bar. If it were only that easy!

My first pole vault practice was at the Above the Bar Track Club in Boulder, Colorado. This is Pat Manson’s club and it is superbly run by John Carmony and Kenley Brunsdale. My college friend, Bubba Sparks, arranged for me to meet them and give it a go. John took me through the first steps: holding the pole, pole plants, jog-

ging pole plants, measuring my steps, and finally doing an actual takeoff and landing in the pit! I make that sound like it all came together smoothly, but you know better than that.

I consider myself an athletic and fit older woman, but pole vaulting is a huge challenge.

You have to remember where to hold the pole, what each piece of tape on the pole signifies, to keep your right hand next to your hip when you run, run fast, jump up, not hold on too tightly, run fast, not hold on too loosely, “explode” your arms up, keep them straight, run fast, vault to the back of the pit, swing your left leg, use your lower abs to extend up the pole, hold on as long as possible, not look at the crossbar, stay in the air as long as you can, and then the most important part…push the pole away so it doesn’t hit the cross-

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barn and borrow someone else’s pole. I do not use a large pole (10’/90lb) so I ruled out 99% of the poles in the barn. I finally found one pole that was bigger than mine, but looked like it might work. It belonged to an 87 year old male vaulter from Mexico. I checked that pole out and went to compete.

I put tape where I thought it should go and took my chances with this foreign pole. And I vaulted out of my mind! It was the best I had ever jumped: 1.55 m (5’1”). I am only five feet tall so that was a big deal for me. The thing about vaulting over a bar is that my 5’1” looked like 18’ when I was attempting it. I felt like I was soaring! The world record for women in my age group, and there aren’t that many of them, is 3.20m (10’2”). That woman took first place in my competition. I placed second. Second place in the World Championships?? In the current Masters Rankings, I am second in the world now. I won the silver medal. Nobody was more surprised than I was!

In January I attended the National Pole Vault Summit in Reno. This was spectacular! I was on the pit with the open vaulters, all of whom were in college or mid to late 20s. One girl said to me “You inspire

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me. I am so impressed that you are doing this.” That made me cry…..mostly because I knew she was going to be very surprised when she saw me vault! The girls were super supportive, as was every other vaulter in that arena. I got to watch Renaud Lavillenie do amazing things. I saw 79 year old Don Islet attempt to break his own world record with a bloody lump the size of an egg on his forehead from hitting the crossbar. I watched 14 year old Mondo Duplantis vault a PR of 14’10”. Inspired by all of this, I actually vaulted my new PR of 1.80m (5’11”)… way above my head! The Pole Vault Summit was a fabulous motivator for me.

People often ask me if I get hurt pole vaulting. After the Brazil meet, I was in serious pain. I spent the next two months doing physical therapy on my left leg. Pole vaulting can be a brutal sport, especially for old people. To perform a vault, you utilize every muscle in your body…at least I do! I have been bruised and pit burned and unfortunately have broken most of my carefully manicured nails. I have a semi-circle mark on my right palm where I hold the pole.

But I love this! It takes me back to my gymnastic days when I

had similar sport markings.

It makes me feel alive. Next month I am going to attempt to jump at the USA Masters Indoor Track and Field Championships in Boston. I have connected with a couple of female vaulters and we are already set to get together for a beer. I very much enjoy being a part of this wonderful community.

I don’t know if I am any good at this or not, but I have a silver medal from the World Championships and All American status from my vault in Reno, so at least I am moving in the right direction. I am sometimes disappointed when I see videos of myself running down the runway more slowly than I think I am …. and even more slowly going over the crossbar. The video in my head is so much more impressive!

But I am pole vaulting and that is an amazing feat for this old lady! I love the challenge of this difficult sport. I am not a world record holder or a pole vault star. I am just a 58 year old woman with a wonderful new thrill in her life!

Penny Hanson Hanson College Consultants 720-883-6800 penny@hansoncollegeaccess.com

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Philippe D’encausse and Renaud Lavillenie

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Renaud Lavillenie World Record Holder

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Renaud Lavillenie World Record Holder

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“The Rock” Stands Strong By: Michelle Walthall

Typically called “The Rock”, Slippery Rock University is located in slippery Rock, Pennsylvania. The humble Coach Bill Jordan and his team have a wonderful program going. Coach Jordan says this about his coaching and background: “I’m not a big fan of talking about myself, because I try to put the emphasis on the kids and what they are doing, but here goes: At slippery Rock both CJ Morgante and I work with the pole vaulters. CJ is an excellent coach and we work well together with the kids on the run way. I know in many places people think that too many coaches will confuse athletes, but here it is a great situation. We have

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been working together for about 9 seasons and know how one another coaches very well. Also, we typically have a large number of athletes; so, in order to properly coach all of them, two coaches is a must.

Generally speaking we both love the process of watching a young athlete begin to develop and see their true potential.

I am very proud to say that our athletes always make improvements and become better vaulters as a result of our program.”

“CJ began coaching the LJ and TJ at SRU back in the late 90s as a GA. He coached a number of great athletes, most notably Nikata Lewis who won 4 NCAA national titles in the LJ and TJ. She also went to

the 2000 Olympic Trials in the long jump. CJ then coached at Butler High School from 2001 to 2006 where he coached two 12-foot high school vaulters and a hand full of 11-foot girls and 15-foot boys. As for me, I grew up on the track with my father who was the coach at nearby Grove City College. I went to SRU and competed as both a decathlete and jumper and had a good success. I went to the NCAA National Championships in 2005 as a decathlete and then began coaching full time the following season. I also coach the multi, jumps and Jave here at SRU, but only with help from many former athletes.

Throughout the years I have coached many All-Americans and conference champions.

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to train with the team and is seen in the picture wearing a coaching sweatshirt. Currently the vault squad is as strong as ever. Combined, CJ and I have coached 12 NCAA All-Americans, 20 NCAA national qualifiers, 43 NCAA provisional marks, and 18 PSAC Conference titles.”

Coach Jordan and Coach Morgante are happy to have much help with their team.

Coach Jordan tells us, “Because the pole vault has always been a big deal at SRU, there are constantly people hanging out with us. The alumni base is great and they are always around to support us and help out whenever we need it. Cameron Daugherty comes around a few times a week to help out; both as a coach and just as a cheerleader at times. But most notably is Bob Clark: Bob is the father of Kay Clark who is a 12-6 sophomore jumper on the team. Bob never misses a meet and will always be their taking pictures of the kids, videotaping, cheering the kids on, catching steps, running the home meets, etc. He is a huge help to all of the kids and myself.”

The Rock vault team is even so popular that they have had to change their policies regarding joining. Coach Jordan tells us, “Until last season we let just about anyone who wanted to jump and work hard on the team. But, because of the overwhelming numbers that were starting to come out for the team, we had to finally make some cutbacks to the squad. I can tell you it was the hardest thing I have ever had to do as a coach. At this point we allow all freshmen one full season to work and try to get better.

At the end of the freshman year, if they have cleared 10-3 / 14 feet, we will allow them to stay throughout the next 3 seasons. We feel that this is a great way to give everyone a shot to learn and develop as an athlete. This year we had one girl who walked on as a 9-foot vaulter and has already cleared 10-9, so the

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system seems to be working well to both motivate kids and give everyone a fair chance.”

“Currently, we have 7 girl vaulters and 5 boys,” continues Coach Jordan. “Julia Cain (senior, 4-time NCAA national qualifier and All-American, PR 12-9), Emily Schubert (red shirt, sophomore, PR 10-9), Keriann Hill (red shirt, sophomore, PR 11-0), Kay Clark (sophomore, NCAA national qualifier, PR 12-6), Michaela Kasik (sophomore, PR 10-6), Megan Matrisciano (freshman, PR 10-9), Katie Platt (freshman, PR 9-6), John Piserchio (senior, PR 14-9), Keefer Reed (sophomore, PR 15-0), Cody Colagrande (sophomore, PR 15-10), Jordan Pacheco (freshman, PR 16-1) and Sam Shipley (freshman, PR 14-7).”

As far as equipment goes, Coach Jordan says this, “We use all UCS equipment for everything. Currently we have one indoor runway and 13 outdoor runways. During our summer camps we will have 4 pits set up on the D area with the run ways alternating directions. We also have 5 pole vault pits (4 nice ones): 2 Olympic-size pits and 3 college-size pits. As for poles, we have about 200 total poles, which include some of the weirdest poles you will ever

see; like an 11-6, 65-pound pole- not 165, really a 65.”

“Julia Cain and John Piserchio are great team leaders that have really helped guide the young athletes in the right direction,” brags Coach Jordan. “As I’m sure you know, there are a number of stresses for young college athletes: being away from home, school, relationships and of course the mental side of vaulting as well. The entire team does a great job of staying together and helping each other out with any issue that faces them throughout the day.

Throughout the year we will frequently do team building and corporative games to enhance the kids’ trust of one another and ability to communicate.”

And here is how competition shapes up according to Coach Jordan: “We compete in the NCAA Division II, which I think is a great place to be.

The athletes here are very humble and must rely on hard work and determination to become great. Like many other programs in Division II, our program has very little scholarship money to give out.

Because of this, we are not used to buying in the great athletes, but rather building great athletes from the ground up. I was at a big meet the

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other day where I heard a D I coach say to me that they ‘were sick of their one athlete and that they were not going to help today because it was a lost cause and she was just going to NH’. From what I can see, this mentality does not exist in the lower divisions; we value each of the athletes for more than just points and awards. I believe that D II and D III provide kids with a great opportunity to be a part of a team; and through this team they can learn values, work ethics, commitment, and dedication along with many other skills. Within D II we also compete in the PSAC (Penn State Athletic Conference). On the ladies’ side we have won all but 4 PV titles for the last 10 years and on the men’s side we are about 50 percent.”

endurance and less skill.

Eventually Jordan won the meet to the excitement of the entire team. Despite moving up and back down more than a foot, his opening bar was almost as high as his winning clearance. Like a true team

Jordan’s first reaction was to congratulate his teammate on a great effort and Cody’s first reactions was to celebrate for Jordan. Proving the point that teammates are what make victories memorable.”

This year has shaped up to be pretty interesting for The Rock vaulters also. “During the indoor PSAC Championships both the men’s and women’s competitions came down to a jump off,” says Coach Jordan.

“On the women’s side Kay Clark beat a vaulter from Bloomsburg to win on the 4 bar during the jump off.

On the guys’ side the jump off came down to two SRU athletes (Jordan Pacheco and Cody Colagrande); after multiple attempts the jump off turned into a battle of

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Front Row, Left to Right - Emily Schubert, Keriann Hill Second Row, Left to Right - Katie Platt, Kaitlyn Clark, Julia Cain, MAGAZINE Michaela Kasik, Megan Matrisciano Third Row, Left to Right - Aleah Morgante held by Coach C.J. Morgante, Coach Bill Jordan, John Piserchio, Sam Shipley, Kieffer Reed, Jordan Pacheco, Cameron Daugherty

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“The kids get a full training packet to complete during the off season, and most of them stay in the area so that they can work out and vault together,” Coach Jordan continues of their schedule. “We are fortunate to have a few camps as well during the summer; that gives our athletes the opportunity to drill, vault and coach. I think learning how to coach is extremely beneficial for college athletes and only accelerates the learning process. We typically start training about the second week in September; this allows the athletes to get into school and settled for a week before practice starts. Form this point on the buildup of training, drills, and eventually vaulting begins and continues till the end of May.” The Rock alumni make the coaches just as proud as the current vaulters. Coach Jordan tells us, “Like I have said, the alumni are big supporters of the program and we are extremely happy that they continue to be involved with the program.

As for accomplishments for these alumni, Jen Hansen went PR of 13-6. She was a 6-time NCAA All-American and a two-time Runner up.

On the Men’s side Cameron Daugherty is unquestionably the standout. He is a 5-time

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All-American, a two-time NCAA runner up and the 2012 NCAA National Champion.

Others include great Slippery Rock pole vaulters: Nick Wapula (17-footer); Kurt Thompson, Tim Tray, Jimmy Schneider, Jim Course and Chad Eberhart (all 16-footers); Abby Mckissick, Kelly Fischer, Angela Schroeder and Katie Jones (all 12-footers).”

At 17 feet, Cameron is the closest athlete currently involved with the program that could be considered elite,” Coach Jordan continues.

“Neal Wojowski (referred to as WOJO) is also a 17-foot jumper that trains with the group from time to time. He is a former U Penn vaulter who was originally from this area and is now pursuing a music career.”

Fun is not out of the question for the SRU vaulters.

They are not all work. Here is what they like to do for fun according to Coach Jordan: “Slippery Rock is located by many very cool outdoor areas, as you can see in the picture. So it is not hard to find fun things to do. Over the summer the kids enjoy jumping off rocks and swimming in Slippery Rock Creek. We also vault into the pond at my farm, which can be great fun, but often

times results in the worst back smashers ever. As for the whole team, we take the entire team to Myrtle Beach for 10 days during spring break.

We compete in two Division I meets and train in-between weekends. On the way down we typically stop a few times for hiking at such places as New River and Pilot Mt. While on break the kids spend a lot of time playing games and hanging out on the beach. This is a great team building week and allows us to train in warm weather during the opening week of March when weather up North is typically bad.”

“We have a great pole vault camp at Slippery Rock,” says Coach Jordan. “The camp is from June 22nd to the 26th.

And interested athletes should go to www.rockathletics.com for more information.” Looks like all will have a chance to experience the Slippery Rock team. What a great opportunity.

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MAGAZINE Renaud Lavillenie World Record Holder

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Sidney High School: Making Great Moments By: Michelle Walthall

Coach Steve Yockim is going on his 19th year as a pole vault coach; all of those 19 years have been spent at Sidney High School in Sidney, Montana. The Sidney Eagles are located approximately 5 miles from North Dakota and it is

2014 Erin Harris doing drill work on the Rings

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only 90 miles to Canada from their school. Coach Yockim did not pole vault in high school.

He says, “I jumped in my back yard, with a bamboo pole from a carpet roll, into sand in the early 60s.” In addition to Coach Yockim, there is Levi Weltikol (who coaches middle school pole vault) and 4 other varsity track coaches: Steve O’Toole (head), Virginia Dschaak, Roger Merritt and Stacey Collins.

“All of these coaches help immensely with the overall conditioning of our athletes. Without them, none of this would be possible,” Coach Yockim tells us.

He also lets us know this of the SHS vault program: “Most Montana schools start outdoor track in the middle of March and run until the end of May. If the weather cooperates, we will get to jump in about 10 meets a year. If it’s snowing, raining, gale-ridden, or all 3, we might

only get the chance to jump in 5 meets. Our biggest challenge is the weather and the short season. Because of this, we jump on an irregular schedule. Any day that is decent we jump. By decent, I mean 45oF, little wind and some sunshine.

This year started poorly, as we were dealing with snow, wind and cold, 35oF, into April.”

“This year we have 11 vaulters. Some years we only have 5. Occasionally we get as many as 15,” Coach Yockim continues of his team. “Our school is medium sized for Montana with about 400 students, 9-12.” As for equipment, he says, “We have a USC pit and a good selection of Spirit poles. We are fortunate to have a school administration and board that supports athletics and makes good, safe equipment available for our student athletes.

We have no indoor jumping facility, so during the off sea-

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as possible. Simple formula: Work + Fun = Success. “

SHS has had an exciting year. “Our girls won their 12th State PV Championship since 1997, and capped it off by winning the last 7 State Pole Vault Championships in a row,” Coach Yockim brags. “The 12 State Championships is the best in the nation for girls, according to the ranking at polevaultstate.com. Here are the girls state champions: 1997 Melanie Prevost, 1998-2000 Leila BenYoussef, 2002 Ashley Taylor, 2007 Miranda Fehilly, 2008 Makayla Fink, 2009-10 Vanessa Bawden, 2011 Mikayla Minow, and 2012-13 Jalyssa Gorder. In addition, the girls have placed 2nd 8 times during that period.”

The off season is pretty flexible at Sidney High School.

Coach Yockim says, “I leave the PV pit up until early August and anyone who wants to learn to vault or work on their skills can come 3-4 days a week. I do not charge for my time and do not require our vaulters to participate; most come anyway. The emphasis is on skill development and having fun.

Occasionally, we end the summer by vaulting at the Big Sky State Games.”

And here is Coach Yockim’s breakdown of their competi-

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tion: “Montana has four divisions, AA, A, B, C, with AA being the largest schools. We compete in the Eastern A Division and the State A Championships. Although we are competitive with the boys and the girls, our girls have been exceptionally successful in Class A vaulting. They currently have a 44-meet winning streak, going back to May 2009. They have won 15 of 17 divisional PV titles since 1997, 12 of 17 State PV championships, and currently have won the last 7 state titles in a row. We’ve jumped at the Simplot Games 7 times since 1999, and had a top-10 finisher every year. Leila BenYoussef 1999-3rd, 2000-1st; Ashley Taylor 2002-5th, 20045th; Vannessa Bawden 20107th; Jalyssa Gorder 2011-9th; Mikayla Minow 2012-9th. This is a remarkable feat, since we usually have not jumped since the end of track season the previous summer. I’ve always felt that ‘head-to-head’ we have some of the most tenacious and competitive vaulters anywhere.”

All-in-all the SHS vaulters are quite impressive. We wish them the best of luck. Here are a few more fun facts to leave you with from Coach Yockim: “Favorite saying: ‘Tape your head’. Pole vaulters are notorious ‘head cases’. Long ago

I started asking vaulters if I needed to ‘tape your head’ when they started over thinking what they were doing.

Now, when I say it, my vaulters know that it means to clear their head and focus on the immediate attempt.”

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MAGAZINE 2014 Harmonie Hampton practing her form on 3-step drill

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MAGAZINE Renaud Lavillenie World Record Holder

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Sarah Sheppard

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When Your Routine Becomes a Rut By: Bubba Sparks

It’s often said that three letters in the word, “Routine” spell “Rut”. Of course, a consistent routine can bring great progress, but at some point, we seem to overstay our welcome and need change.

A great example of a rut comes about this time of year.

You have settled into a nice rhythm and slowly things just stop working. The biggest indicator you may be heading for a fall is when can either no longer move the same poles

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in practice or meets, or those poles don’t have the effect they used to have. As frightening as this poor timing can be, it is usually quickly correctable.

Last year I had a very accomplished collegiate vaulter reach out to me on this issue. I love this girl’s spirit and watched her progress as she overcame more illness and injuries than I had ever seen. She said to me, “My college career is about to end horribly as I am totally lost, and feel I don’t have any

control of my vaulting”. We had a nice long phone conversation and then got back to work.

My message was that you have to go back and visit what got you there. Your focus on big poles, grips and speed have killed your technique by glossing over the things you used to do very well. These great speed and strength skills were now covering up your declining control of your vault.

The solution was to move back in on tiny poles and start having fun vaulting again.

First, follow the technical keys I discussed in last month’s article. I suggested she warm up at three strides/six steps on a pole that she could easily turn up on every jump. I suggested she take 3-5 jumps from three, then 3-5 from four and then 3-5 from five. On day two she would jump from 4, 5 and 6 with 3-5 jumps per run. I asked her to stay away from her meet poles except on meet days. After week one she got out of conference and got to regionals.

The next week when she came out, she was to do the same thing but start up one pole bigger. By week three she was on the same pole from five that was rejecting her from

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the vaulter magazine 2014

May 2014 issue

www.thevaultermag.com

2014 the vaulter magazine

39

VAULTER

MAGAZINE

40

the vaulter magazine 2014