Will Schaeffer might be a little crazy (IL)

[rainbowgirl28]

http://www.pioneerlocal.com/glenview/sp ... ticleprint

Pushing to extremes
(http://www.pioneerlocal.com/glenview/sp ... s1.article)

June 7, 2007

By BILL SKOWRONSKI Staff Writer

Will Schaeffer might be a little crazy.

Then again, it's safe to say every pole vaulter is at least a little bit crazy. Sprinting down a 30-meter runway before planting a pole into the ground and propelling yourself into the air -- ideally straight up and over a horizontal bar set 15 feet overhead -- is reserved for those who literally excel at throwing caution -- and themselves -- to the wind.

So the sport itself directly causes some of Schaeffer's behavior. But, why the Glenbrook South senior wore a black Deerfield track and field T-shirt under his yellow Titans jersey requires a deeper explanation.

"On Oct. 13, one of my good friends (Ross Trace) died in a DUI accident and he was a pole vaulter at Deerfield," said Schaeffer. "So I wear it in honor of him when I vault."

Now, the behavior doesn't seem so crazy at all. But, listening to how many miles Schaeffer has logged off the track for his pursuit of excellence again calls his sanity into question.

"I worked really hard over the summer and going to Bloom with coach Tim Johnson has been amazing," Schaeffer said.

That's Bloom Township High School. As in Chicago Heights, a 108-mile round trip from Glenview. And Tim Johnson, as in the former national high school record holder and brother Jan, Olympic bronze medalist and former world record holder who run the Sky Jumpers Vaulting Camp every summer.

"I went to a camp there in the beginning of the summer and as soon as school started I started going down there every Sunday," Schaeffer said. "(Tim Johnson) is a great coach, it's a great environment and he's helped me put all this stuff together. It's helped me focus on vault and I really want to do good so I'll drive four hours to jump."

Glenbrook South head coach Kurt Hasenstein said Schaeffer would jump all day if you let him. With the one hour to one and a half hour drive south on a good day, according to Schaeffer, it might just be an all-day affair.

And Schaeffer did say "every Sunday," including the day after he broke his own Glenbrook South pole vault record with a 15-4 effort at the Glenbrook North Spartan Relays (April 27).

The lengths to which Schaeffer is willing to go to fulfill his dream make the heights he'll have to jump seem much less crazy whether or not he is able to walk as a freshman at the University of Illinois.

"It took me up until indoor state (to realize how high he had actually cleared), because I had never seen heights with respect to something," Schaeffer said. "I was on a second story platform and I had to look up to 15 feet. I was still in awe.

"When you're jumping low you start out jumping onto a mat, but when you get onto the end of a 14-foot pole and if you're not fully into it in your head and you slow down you're going to end up getting hurt," Schaeffer added. "You've got to be crazy enough, knowing that if I screw up there I'm getting hurt. Whenever I'm flying through the air doing something unsafe I'm fine. One time I was walking down the stairs and sprained my ankle."

His competition and a gallery of Central Suburban League coaches watched in awe as Schaeffer continued to rise at the end of his Glenbrook South career. His 15-1 winning vault at the John Davis Invite (May 4) broke the stadium record. The bar rested at 15-3 after Schaeffer's final vault at the IHSA state meet May 26, making him the first Titans pole vault placer (sixth place) in 20 years.

"Placing at State was always a goal of mine because Ross and I always said how we were going to go 1-2 at State," Schaeffer said. "I made it as a goal, but as a reach goal. Now, it's real. Fifteen-four got third at State last year."

Maybe it was Schaeffer's time.

And maybe it wasn't that crazy after all.

[patybobady]

Great kid, Will is an awesome person and it was great seeing him at meets. I hope he does well at U of I.