PoleVaultPower.com

The first year we had girls vaulting, I had never coached girls, I wasn't used to the very emotional side of coaching. The first time one cried because she didn't clear opening bar I thought,... "Pole vaulters don't cry."

Sometimes the guys do too. When Chase jumped 15' as a 15 yr old I have to admit,... my eye's started sweat'n a little. I had to walk away to gather myself.

I just got this cute clip emailed to me I thought you might enjoy. Especially if you have had a bad day, or life has been handing you more than you feel you can handle. Enjoy!

http://tva.canoe.com/emissions/salutbon ... tworry.htm

I cry all the time

rainbowgirl28 wrote:I cry all the time

And many others do to. It comes with the new territory. I'm pretty used to it now.

I could never coach womens pole vault for that exact reason.

vaulterpunk wrote:I could never coach womens pole vault for that exact reason.

It is definitely a different way of coaching with more finesse. You have to go a different route to get the same type results with many of them. And then other girls, well, there more like guys in a skirt. Sort of like rodeo girls. They are the most fun to coach, I guess because we think more alike. LOL I had my first girl break a pole the other day. I thought she was going to cry for a few seconds, but then she got up, went to the next bigger pole, bigger than she had been on before, and smoked several heights. I was impressed!

When you throw all the personalities into one vault session, and the guys are there too,... there is never a dull moment. I can't think of a better way to spend my time. But boy am I exhausted when we are through.

thats awesome that she got up on that next pole. i bet that felt good for both you and her

Carolina Extreme wrote:It is definitely a different way of coaching with more finesse. You have to go a different route to get the same type results with many of them. And then other girls, well, there more like guys in a skirt. Sort of like rodeo girls. They are the most fun to coach, I guess because we think more alike. LOL I had my first girl break a pole the other day. I thought she was going to cry for a few seconds, but then she got up, went to the next bigger pole, bigger than she had been on before, and smoked several heights. I was impressed!

When you throw all the personalities into one vault session, and the guys are there too,... there is never a dull moment. I can't think of a better way to spend my time. But boy am I exhausted when we are through.

I love coaching women much more than men. Yes, the crying part does suck and I'm horrible at "damage control" when a meet doesn't come out like planned, but it also puts more pressure on me as a coach to have them prepared and pushed to do their very best each time out. Kind of an avoidance thing - "If I work like hell to do everything possibly conceivable to make them jump higher, they will, and then I won't have to see them cry, which makes me feel worse than they do." I oftentimes take my athlete's performances too personally, giving them credit for their successes, and myself assuming the responsibility of their failures. That, plus the fact that they're paying me good money to help them jump high pushes me to be the best coach I can possibly be. In my experience, women take instruction better than men, and tend to be perfectionists, whereas most guys want to hustle and muscle without perfecting technique. I've even toyed with the idea of making my club exclusively for women, but I'm not in a financial position to exclude anyone at this point.