State Meet

[runway]

I attended the state track meet at Jefferson City, Mo this past weekend. I have read this site every day but never felt the need to post until now. The past 6 years I have been following District 4, I was a pole vaulter and set school records several years ago and it takes skill to vault, some days you just can't get on your game. I want to say I do not have anyone vaulting I just admire the sport. Pole vaulters are a type of family, you see the same ones usually at each meet and know their best vaults. I would like to say that Colby Snider may have won and set a state record but his fellow vaulters will only remember him by the way he treated them. His comments before and after the event were not called for and anyone sitting near the coaches box knows what I am talking about. He should have been DQ. I would also like to congratulate the Lee Summit pair, you have had a great season and the young man from Nixa that placed 5th you deserve a pat on the back for your season, I watched you grow the past couple of years and know that you have a built in talent and I admire you for dealing with your teammate's attitude by putting on blinders. I would hope that your graciousness would rub off on him.

[kev44000]

I attended the state track meet at Jefferson City, Mo this past weekend. I have read this site every day but never felt the need to post until now. The past 6 years I have been following District 4, I was a pole vaulter and set school records several years ago and it takes skill to vault, some days you just can't get on your game. I want to say I do not have anyone vaulting I just admire the sport. Pole vaulters are a type of family, you see the same ones usually at each meet and know their best vaults. I would like to say that Colby Snider may have won and set a state record but his fellow vaulters will only remember him by the way he treated them. His comments before and after the event were not called for and anyone sitting near the coaches box knows what I am talking about. He should have been DQ. I would also like to congratulate the Lee Summit pair, you have had a great season and the young man from Nixa that placed 5th you deserve a pat on the back for your season, I watched you grow the past couple of years and know that you have a built in talent and I admire you for dealing with your teammate's attitude by putting on blinders. I would hope that your graciousness would rub off on him.

There is no place in our sport for that B.S. I set a kid straight this year myself at a meet.

[rainbowgirl28]

The officials have the ability to DQ a vaulter for unsportsmanlike conduct. It may have been something they didn't see or not blatant enough to withstand an appeal.

I think one of the things most vaulters treasure when they look back on their careers are the friendships they made. Athletes with crappy attitudes usually miss out on this.

[KJax2010]

I was reading the article and was wondering what he did to cause a stir; word usage? Also, I did a little research to see what he jumped and it was 16'4.5" which is a good jump but read this article and see where he came in at....12'6"? I am curious why so low if you can jump 16'?

http://www.joplinglobe.com/sports/local_story_150005821.html/resources_printstory

[belmore]

Hopefully the young athlete learns about the comraderie of this event. Not all are coached about the "brotherhood" of this event, but more the competive, do or die, trash talk of our times.

[KirkB]

Hopefully the young athlete learns about the comraderie of this event. Not all are coached about the "brotherhood" of this event, but more the competive, do or die, trash talk of our times.

In my day (late 1960s and early 70s), the vaulters were (mostly) all friendly to each other, shared their technique, caught each other's steps, shared advice, and were genuinely happy for each other when they had good jumps ... even if they jumped higher.

Also in my day, some other events weren't so friendly. Speaking in generalities, the sprinters were often ego-driven personalities that did a lot of trash talking (yes, way back then), and the mid-distance runners sometimes got into feuds with each other for shoving or cutting each other off.

It's interesting that not much has changed over the years!

Kirk

[vault3rb0y]

Theres definitely something about it.... at nike indoor last year when i was 3rd attempt at 16 2.5" Scott Houston got the clap going for me and was really into it. Then with 6 guys jump at 16'6.5" and 5 at 16'10.25".... Me, Scott, Joe Wesley, Riley Egan, Corey Shank, and Dave Slovenski all clapped for each other. The thing was, as bad as each of us wanted to win, I truly wanted to see some of those guys PR and jump great. Like you said, we grew up vaulting together and it's more about having fun than beating one another. Although thats part of it too .


And for breaking the state record by a 1/4 inch.... congrats on the 4.99m jump. WEAK! Should have gone 5.00m, thats might just come back to haunt you .

[Tim McMichael]

There are coaches who teach that you have to hate your competition to have that killer instinct to win. That is about the worst advice a coach can give concerning the mental game. You can compete with someone as hard as possible and still be good friends. I have always admired and respected Pat Manson, for instance, even though we competed against one another like two guys going at it with battle axes for several years. I always tell my athletes that it is a losing attitude to hold your competition in contempt. It usually just masks a terrible insecurity. Athletes who trash talk generally fold up like a cheap suit when somebody who can beat them puts their back against the wall. A third attempt to stay in the meet gets a little tougher after you have run your mouth a bit.

Sometimes athletes trash talk because they think it is an effective head game. They couldn't be more wrong. It can work, but only against weak opponents, and when it fails the backlash is usually devastating. It also takes a lot of energy to be aggressively negative. Positive words and actions do just the opposite; they build energy. The best counter to a trash talker's head game is to go out of your way to treat them with exaggerated politeness. This communicates two things: first that your standard of conduct is above theirs; second that their behavior has absolutely no effect on you. They might even think you are being sarcastic, which will make them angry, just the thing they are trying to do to you; or worse, they might think that you haven't bothered to notice them at all. There is nothing more intimidating to a trash talker than running into someone who just doesn't care what they do. And there is no way out for them. The worse they behave, the better you treat them, and the more confused and angry and insecure they become. The whole point of a head game is to get your opponent to think about something besides the competition at hand. If you use this technique on a trash talker, I promise, they will be thinking about it.

[1yeldud1]

Becca, I was working the pits at that meet in Jefferson City - Sorry but I saw no one out of line in my area. The athletes tend to sit along the stadium wall in the shade near the coaches box. Possibly some one could have said something but not in the area where I was working. The pole vault at this meet is just a few feet from the grand stands - sometimes parents and coaches can be a little too critical of rival athletes during the "heat of the battle". Remember last year we had a similar issue with a vaulter from the Illinois state meet - I hope we dont get that type of conversation started again. Sorry but I dont think this forum is the place for pointing fingers. IMHO