Am I good? Can I vault in college?

[JDog777]

I'm a junior in high school right now and my PR is 10'8". This is my first year really doing pole vault, I did it last year in a few meets fooling around but my PR was like 8' or 8'6" because i never practiced it. But I have no pole vault coach, I pretty much taught myself and learned from a teammate of mine who is very good. I cleared 11' in practice today easily and came pretty darn close to getting over 11'6". Its really my first year doing it. I'm 17 years old. Am I good enough to compete anywhere in college? Or do I need to break like the 13' barrier first or something? Thanx for your help, I'm really curious.

[JDog777]

I'm a 17 year old male by the way.

[rainbowgirl28]

That's not exactly going to earn you a scholarship at a DI school... but if you want to vault badly enough, there are schools where you will be able to.

Make a list of schools you want to go to academically, contact the coaches, and find out what it takes to vault there.

[JDog777]

Can D2 schools give scholarships? I know D1 can and D3 can't.

[bjvando]

actually based on my knoledge D1 is the only school that can give money. I've never heard of a D2 or D3 give money. D1 brings in more money because those are the bigger schools, so there is more money available for athletics..... hope that helped..

Jump high..

[rainbowgirl28]

I am pretty sure DII can give scholarships. Most probably just don't have as much money available, and probably less scholarships overall.

Go for the academic/merit type scholarships. That is a better bet for almost ANYONE

[indestructo]

I went to a DII school and yes some can give out scholarships. Ours couldn't due to inadequate funding, but I'm certain that schools such as Grand Valley State U., or UW-Lacrosse, or many higher ranked squads in the nation certainly do. I agree tho that you will want to focus on academics if you want a scholarship (unless you have a stellar senior season). I vaulted 13'6" in hs, and there wasn't a school out there that would give me a scholarship.... But you can join just about any DII or DIII team. As long as you are willing to make a commitment and have the desire to improve, thats what they will look more at.

Hope that helps...

[TeddyVault]

While it would seem that UW-Lacrosse gives scholarships, they do not. They are Div. 3. Academic, sure. For sports? No. When will they bump up a division or two? They could. They got a guy in the four hundred under forty six seconds. Really, really fast for Div. 3. Heck, really fast for anywhere! Oh yeah, and a seventeen six or so vaulter.

[PVJunkie]

Lets get back to the original question. "Am I good enough to compete anywhere in college?" Well...............prob not at a DI school. For DI to be reasonably safe - 15'0" (of course that all depends on the program and YOUR percieved potential). DII, DIII and NAIA are a little less demanding (not in all cases but generally you wont need to jump as high to get looked at). For a scholarship.............16'0" and higher will get you some smaller offers unless the school really needs vaulters or they may be missing something. The reality is YOU are interviewing schools not the other way around. Make sure they have a VAULT coach (grad assistants are ok but they are usually 2 yr programs, so if they are recruiting you your sr yr you will prob only have a coach for one yr.). Make sure they support your sport (ask to see thier pole selection and ask them if they will buy you the poles you need if you need them). Make sure they have both indoor and outdoor track (there are 2 seasons and the trend has been to cut one of them to meet gender equity requirements). This is all after you make sure its a school the meets your acad requirements. Good luck!!

[JDog777]

Thanks alot, that really helps. Last year a kid from another school broke (shattered actually) our league's pole vault record. He vaulted 13'6" and nobody has even come close to that since him. So I realize now I can only walk on somwehre (not that I was looking for money anyways, just wondering). But I would like PV to maybe help push me over the edge into getting accepted to a school that I normally wouldnt get into, but now I will because of PV.