PoleVaultPower.com

I am thinking of writing an article for this site on ways that everyone of all ages can help pole vaulting and track and field in their area. Here are some of my ideas, post yours!

Volunteer to coach at a local High School or Junior High - Think you're too busy with work or whatever? If you can get out there one or two days a week, you could make a big difference to a program that has nothing.

Volunteer time at local track meets - Be an official. Help move standards. Help set up and tear down. ANYONE can do something. Call up your local schools and see what meets will be in your area.

Be in contact with local papers - Let them know about the rising stars in your area. Tell them about the kids with a unique story. The more interest they hear from the public about track and field, the more they will cover it.

Donate money or pits or poles - When Jan Johnson found out his high school was dropping the pole vault he didn't let their lack of coach or big enough pits get in the way. Jan got in touch with other pole vaulters and raised enough money to buy new pits and poles. He also found them a coach! What is the status of the pole vault at your high school? If it is in trouble, call some old buddies and see what you can do! If you are low on cash, try asking area businesses for donations.

Recruit vaulters - Make someone new fall in love with pole vaulting. Kids who love the sport will recruit other kids to try vaulting. If you have the opportunity, try and aim for junior highers. They can play around with it and have fun. This will greatly increase the chance that they will turn out for track in high school.

Donate money for a kid to go to pole vault camp - If you're not a coach, talk to a coach in the area, and see if they have any kids that cannot afford to go to camp. You could try letting the camp director know what you are doing, and see if they will offer you a discount on the price.

Buy a pole vault video or DVD for a vaulter or school near you - Something like Neovault could change a kid's life. It makes pole vaulting COOL and makes them more fired up to get after it.

Tell kids about this website - A little self promotion perhaps, but it makes sense. The more people that get plugged into this community, the more accepted they will feel. It sucks to be the only kid at school that loves the vault, wants to watch videos, wants to talk about it, wants to work hard at practice, etc. Come here and you will find there are tons of other kids like you!

Run a camp - If you are a high school or college coach, think about running your own camp or clinic. These are great ways to get beginners into the sport, spread knowledge, build community, etc.

Be friendly to all vaulters - Vaulters are generally a friendly group, but in some places coaches discourage their kids from being friendly, and tell them to view everyone else as competition. This is the wrong attitude to have! If we all work together we can all be better vaulters. Take the time to talk to the people you are competing against. Cheer them on and help them out if they need it. The higher they jump, the more it will push you!

Got any other ideas?

well most kids at my school think that its soooo dangerous to do adn that theyd prob die their first time trying or something like that. i think that we can convince them somehow its not as dangerous as they think it is... i mean i know its dangerous, but when they start, theyre not going to be able to go to high enough heights to be able to hurt themselves badly.

also i think u can hold like a clinic for gradeschool kids.. i guess becca said that btu this is one way u could do it. and show them wat pole vault is and explain the history and stuff to them, adn then do it, i kno when i was in grade school i never even really heard of it, and i kno if i saw someone do it, itd be really cool.

thats my 2 cents

if more people had that kinda passion for community service and helpin people in need instead of vault, this world would be a great place.... but its a great idea. soon as i graduate, next year im definitely gonna see if i can coach. i have major connections with the head of aquatics as well as a good gym, i always think of all kinds of great polevault clinics i could do w/ some water vaulting, some gymnastics, and some vaulting at a nice indoor facility in town...

fong520 wrote::yes:

also i think u can hold like a clinic for gradeschool kids.. i guess becca said that btu this is one way u could do it. and show them wat pole vault is and explain the history and stuff to them, adn then do it, i kno when i was in grade school i never even really heard of it, and i kno if i saw someone do it, itd be really cool.

thats my 2 cents

In January, we held a clinic at one of the local junior high schools during their lunch period. We took the pit from the closest high school, dug a hole in the grass and put the box in it. We had to run on the asphalt and the pit was right past the asphalt on the grass. It wasn't the best vaulting conditions, but it was SOOO much fun. We started out by doing an exhibition thing where we all vaulted. They thought it was so cool and pretty soon the whole school was watching us. After that we let them all jump into the pit once if they wanted to just to say they have pole vaulted before. There isnt much you can do in 30 min, but it was enough to get the word out, and hopefully next year some of them will start vaulting in high school!

fong520 wrote::yes:
well most kids at my school think that its soooo dangerous to do adn that theyd prob die their first time trying or something like that. i think that we can convince them somehow its not as dangerous as they think it is... i mean i know its dangerous, but when they start, theyre not going to be able to go to high enough heights to be able to hurt themselves badly.

People have slipped in the shower, hit their head and died! You don't have to be that far off the ground. But does that mean we should all stop showering because of it? No. Thousands of people die in car accidents every year - does that mean we should cease traveling in automobiles? No. That's the reasoning you need to have with those scared kids. But most importantly, keep their grips low and spot them over the box for safety. I just got back from a Jr. High Meet where this one little girl would let go of the pole just as her feet got over the bar, and she came straight down with her head near the box a couple of times - SCARY!

I stopped showering with the fear of slipping...not really...What would have helped the most in my school is someone to voulunteer time to coach the event and get us into it. We need more vaulters out helping kids get going. I have been finding middle school and freshman kids who are candidates for jumping and talking them into doing it for school next year. So far I have increased our program 200% this year. Two females and I.


-B
Sorry for any misspelling I just woke up agian

here at vt we run some summer clinics for local kids, most middle school aged. They love it, and its a nice break from summer school for those of us still down here

I've been coaching for for 11 years now and been involved with the vault for well over half my life...I've come to the conculsion there are two groups of people we need to convince that this sport is worth keeping....principles and athletic directors! We all know what this sport brings to our lives...they will never have clue. The unique skill of the vault has opened doors for so many of us leading to scholarships, a foot in the door with a coach or even a teaching or coaching job(when your jumping days are done!) and most importantly so many fun practices, meets, camps(GO SKY JUMPERS!) and experiences that only a few of us get to experience first hand. As a head coach and someone who has saved multiple leagues from dropping our sport...start with the Principles and AD's(use your parent's...they hate to see them!!) Jump big this outdoor PA!!!

....and VTech that was a sweet jump...congrats you deserve it!

Everyone involved needs to do everything they can to keep our event as safe as possible. When you see people at practice vaulting without all the safety equipment in place (read - no pads on the standards) you know that is an accident waiting to happen. Safety first!

Dan

PS - Hey Talen, 'bout time you found this site

I know Dan...I'm finally online. On the subject of safety and proper equipment, you can ask your AD about purchasing pits or safety features like a soft boxes as part of the facility or grounds budget, they are often in the 100,000's of dollars instead of a small track or athletic department budget where it sticks out like a sore thumb. The cost of a pole vault pit would be one of the smaller thing on that list. That's how I got my purple 1900 and a killer high jump pit...there's a couple of other tricks too. Be creative. PHX TRACK B 2-0, G 2-0