Tallahassee Pole Vault Coach Kurt Westfall Passes Away

[Scott Go Pre]

http://www.legacy.com/tallahassee/Death ... d=87060207

Kurt Westfall, 59, died Friday, March 30, 2007, at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital. He is survived by his wife of 35 years, the love of his life, Lucy Bowler Westfall of Tallahassee. The service will be at 3 p.m. EDT Thursday at Pisgah Methodist Church off Centerville Road. The visitation will be an hour prior to the service at the same location. Family will receive relatives and friends at the home of Brian and Jeanne Kimball, 2741 Shiloh Way, after the service. Memorial contributions may be made to Gulf Winds Track Club-Chenowich Fund, P.O. Box 3447, Tallahassee 32315, or the Leon County Humane Society, 413 Timberlane Road, Tallahassee, FL 32312. Culley's MeadowWood Funeral Home, Riggins Road Chapel (850-877-8191), is handling local arrangements. Kurt was born Aug. 27, 1947, in Detroit, Mich., the son of Virginia Rose Smith Westfall and Charles Richard Westfall and grandson of Joseph A. and Beatrice J. Smith and Charles G. and Anna C. Westfall. The family moved to Maderia Beach in 1959. He received varsity letters in football, basketball and track and graduated from Seminole High School in 1966. He attended the University of Florida, where he was a member of Phi Gamma Delta fraternity and was a scholarship athlete on the track-and-field team. He graduated with a bachelor's degree from the University of South Florida and master's degree from Florida State University. Kurt and longtime friend Brian Kimball owned and operated Westfall Framing in Tallahassee until Kurt's serious automobile accident in 1999. Since fighting back from the accident, he had been teaching photography at Tallahassee Community College and coaching pole vault athletes from most Tallahassee high schools at Maclay High School. In addition, he loved his pets, Scotty and Sophie, and enjoyed planning, building and woodworking. Other survivors include his beloved daughters, Erin Elizabeth Tupper (and husband Benjamin James Tupper), Megan Elise Westfall (and fiancŽe Alex Arevalo) and Emily Ann Westfall (and partner Michael Ryan Crouch); his sister, Judi "JB" Westfall (and partner Walter Boykin); grandchildren Luke Westfall Tupper and Anna Elise Tupper; stepmother Florence Westfall; mother-in-law Margaret Bowler; and brothers-in-law David and John Bowler and sisters-in-law, Mary West and Peggy Bernardo and their families. His sudden and unexpected death leaves his family, friends and students desperately missing his love, smiles, courage and enthusiasm for life. "We are grateful to God for the opportunity to have had him in our lives."
Published in the Tallahassee Democrat on 4/4/2007.

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I had not made the connection before that this was Megan Westfall's dad...

http://www.tallahassee.com/apps/pbcs.dl ... 002/SPORTS

Originally published April 8, 2007
Kurt Westfall: Remembering a great coach
By Mary Beth Bishop
DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER Print Email to a friend Subscribe
The track and field community recently lost one of its unsung heroes in pole-vault coach Kurt Westfall.

Westfall, 59, suffered a massive stroke on March 30 and passed away one week later due to complications. His funeral was held Thursday and countless people came to honor a coach who didn't distinguish between schools and athletes, but who found joy in helping others achieve their goals.

Starting from scratch

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Westfall, a former sprinter and long jumper, learned the pole vault on his own when daughter, Megan, competed with the Lincoln track program.

Megan, the middle of three children, took first place for the Trojans in 1998 before participating in the Olympic Training Program in San Diego that summer.

She went on to become an NCAA All-American and three-time SEC Academic Honor Roll and All-SEC selection, with a personal record of 13 feet, 7 1/4 inches indoors and 13-4 1/4 outdoors.

"After she went to UF on scholarship, he felt a desire to keep coaching," Maclay head coach Gary Droze said. "Kurt fell into our lap at Maclay in 1999. The only condition he asked for was the freedom to coach any athlete who showed devotion for the event, regardless of school affiliation."

'Kurt's kids'

Nineteen ninety-nine was just the beginning. Westfall coached Maclay's Dean Carvalho to fourth place in the state meet, and since then has coached an additional 18 vaulters to the state finals. Some have continued their careers in college, including Florida State's Matt Hurley and Warren Harper.

Westfall developed vaulters from Maclay, Chiles, Lincoln and Leon into state qualifiers, and three of his athletes represented the Timberwolves at states last season, taking the second, fourth and fifth places.

"I had never experienced the state level and it was a great feeling just to be there, let alone place that high and have my teammates place that high," Chiles junior Warren Lickson said. "He was really helpful and really patient, especially with new athletes and all the way up through state-level athletes."

Maclay junior Max Lang earned a state championship last season, just one in a line of Marauders under Westfall who have done so. But Lang also learned the definition of dedication from his coach.

"It was this one Saturday, and I was the only person who showed up for practice and instead of calling it, he worked with me, worked with what I needed to work on," Lang said. "That was about the time I really had a great breakthrough."

Westfall was already hard at work this season, teaching a few new faces the tricks of the trade.

"Coach Westfall taught me a lot, even though I haven't been with him that long," Leon freshman Allison Clarke said. "He doesn't really, like, say anything negative, but he's a great coach in he just tells you the things to improve but he says it in a positive way."

Get on a bigger pole

Working with a variety of coaches and athletes takes a special person, but Westfall developed a special bond with everyone he encountered.

"He was a great man, just did an outstanding job with a lot of athletes from different schools - it didn't matter to him what school they went to, they were like a family," Chiles head coach Scott Gowan said. "I told him, 'I'll coach them on the track and in the weight room, and you coach them on the pole vault.'

"I trusted him completely with our athletes."

His go-getter attitude and positive outlook were a hit among not just the athletes but his colleagues as well, and he encouraged everyone to go for the ultimate goal.

"One of the ways I could sum up Kurt's approach, not just to coaching but to life in general, is to always try to get on a bigger pole," Droze said. "What that means for the vaulters is once you start learning to vault, it's so complicated that it's difficult to get up on any size pole.

"For Kurt, he always wanted to take chances - don't be timid, go for it. He'd always be like, 'So and so's doing pretty well - we've just got to get them on a bigger pole.' â€Â

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http://www.tallahassee.com/apps/pbcs.dl ... /704090342

I'm grateful to have known Kurt Westfall
Column by Gary Droze
DEMOCRAT CORRESPONDENT Print Email to a friend Subscribe
Sunday's prep page in the Democrat included a tribute to community pole vault coach Kurt Westfall, who passed away recently after a stroke.

While his athletic and coaching expertise was in field events, in recent decades Kurt competed respectably in area road races as a member of the Gulf Winds Track Club.

He also encouraged his daughter Megan - a state champion in the pole vault - to maintain fitness by running cross-country during the autumn off-season for track and field enthusiasts. Thus, Kurt had a legitimate claim to understanding the world of the distance runner.

I had the tremendous good fortune to coach with Kurt at the high school level for the past eight years. I am not ashamed to say that I pilfered heavily from Kurt's sports philosophy when he coached with me.

Here are a few concepts about training and racing that come directly from Kurt's influence:

Welcome chaos. Even under perfect conditions, track and field meets can be hectic. Rather than fretting over issues such as wind,
poor facilities and meet schedule conflicts, Kurt always encouraged his athletes to consider disturbances as part of the overall competition Similarly, when we encounter snafus at road races, we can regard them as opportunities. Let the opposition lament imperfect conditions; if they don't bother you, they turn into a competitive advantage.

Take a chance. This might well be Kurt's mantra. Think back on all the times that you might have accomplished more, but for want of your willingness to dare yourself. For pole vaulters, this computes to charging down the runway on a final attempt. For runners, it means
pushing the part of the race where you would normally conserve precious energy (hint: the tendency to coast the middle mile of a 5K race is nearly universal).

Make the commitment. Kurt coached many state champions. Everyone of them decided at some point never to miss a workout. They beat
their less dedicated rivals.

Maintain a sense of joy. I saved the best for last. Many competitors think they are obliged to turn their rivalries into bouts of
heart-wrenching stress. Kurt was a master at keeping his athletes loose and positive. His best performers were the ones who had the most fun when the stakes were highest. Kurt taught them to savor the contest.

Thanks for the many lessons, Kurt. We miss you immeasurably.