Kyle Rose eager, ready to raise bar (LA)

[rainbowgirl28]

http://www.nola.com/sports/t-p/index.ss ... xml&coll=1

Jesuit's Rose eager, ready to raise bar
Pole vaulter confident he can set record
Friday, May 04, 2007
By Mike Strom
Although it might be a stretch to suggest that Kyle Rose was born to be a pole vaulter -- his father Mark was an SEC champion at LSU in 1983 -- there is no questioning the passion he has carried for the sport since he first picked up a pole four years ago.

How else to explain a training regimen in which Rose, a senior at Jesuit, begins the day by dropping to the floor the moment he leaves bed for 150 pushups and 450 crunches.

Then there are his evening extra-curriculars in which he crunches 450 more and does three sets of 15 vertical pushups in a handstanding position.

There were countless Mardi Gras parades Rose missed during indoor seasons and the post-senior prom festivities he is bypassing tonight to be rested for an attempt at a second state championship and Class 5A record in the state Track and Field Championships on Saturday at LSU.

"I really do love it," said Rose, a state indoor champion in February with a Division I-record vault of 15 feet, 6 inches. "Because I love it, I'm willing to work my (behind) off for it. I know my friends don't understand. They tell me how it sucks that 'you're not able to come out with us.' But this is what I want to do with my life. This is what I enjoy doing."

As a District 8-5A and Region III champion, Rose enters the state meet as the favorite with the top outdoor vault in 5A at 15-1. That mark is second overall, based on the regional performances of all seven classifications. Chris Roy of Breaux Bridge vaulted 16 feet to win a Class 4A regional last week, leaving Rose and Parkview's Devin Ducote, a Class 3A competitor, tied for second.

Rose defeated Roy in February for the Division I indoor title with his record vault. It was shortly thereafter that Rose began feeling the effects of a strenuous training regimen, falling victim to "jumper's knee" -- tendinitis.

The injury lingered for six weeks and sabotaged Rose's planned assault on the 16-foot barrier. Now healthy, Rose said he thinks 16 feet, the Class 5A record set a year ago by Josh Dominguez of Ponchatoula, is attainable.

Rose couldn't say what height he may have cleared without the injury. "But if I could imagine myself where I am now (physically), that's exciting," he said.

He cleared 15 feet last week to win the Region III championship despite a strong head wind. Although he was unsuccessful at 15-7, he did soar high enough to clear the bar on all three attempts, leaving the Rose camp brimming with optimism.

"The No. 1 goal going into the state meet is to win; that's priority No. 1," said his coach, Doug Fraley, a three-time NCAA champion at Fresno State in the mid-1980s who cleared 19-0.25 as a personal best. "Once you accomplish that, and if everything is going well, then I would expect that Kyle would jump between 15-6 and 16-1. I'm very comfortable in saying that, and that depends on the conditions. But that comes after winning. In any meet, whether it's an NCAA or a high school meet, it doesn't matter how high you jump. All that people remember is who won."

Rose, 6 feet 1, 160 pounds, has been pointing to this moment since taking up jumping as a 5-6, 110-pound freshman. He only took up track after coming to the realization after his eighth-grade year that his athletic future did not lie in baseball.

After a suggestion from his dad, Mark, whose best career vault was 17-9, Kyle gave it a try and was hooked. He only realized his legacy status when his father's friends reminded him about his dad's considerable exploits at East Jefferson High School and LSU.

"It clicked for me right away," said Kyle, whose younger sister, Laura, a sophomore at Mount Carmel, also will be competing Saturday after a third-place performance of 8-0 at the Region III meet. "Once I got a pole in my hands, I just kept going."

It was in fall 2005 after Hurricane Katrina when Fraley began tutoring Kyle, and Rose culminated his junior season by finishing third in the state Class 5A competition with a vault of 14-4.

Fraley said Rose is on the cusp of a breakout performance. He said Rose's studious dedication to learn everything he can about vaulting is rare, as is the courage Rose showed in accepting the challenge to revamp his vaulting technique last fall.

Rose was losing too much energy by pointing his feet out rather than up during his vaults. To correct the flaw, he began doing more gymnastics training, particularly on the high bar, to increase his upper body strength.

"When you make changes in pole vaulting, you go backward," Fraley said. "There were times last winter where he really was having a rough time with it. I just told him, 'stay the course, stay the course, stay the course,' and he did. He refused to return to the form he was more comfortable with. You can see how it's paid off for him. His effort this year has been outstanding."

"Yes, I've made a lot of sacrifices over the years," Rose said. "But what you have to ask yourself is what is going to make you happy. I can go out with my friends other times. This is something important to me. I really want that state record."

[vault3rb0y]

I think a state record is something worth a few sacrifices!! Go get it!