We explore The Will to Win in conversation with Lawrence Johnson and receive advice on run throughs by Katerina Stefanidi. Jim Bemiller breaks down the jump and we meet inspiring vaulters from around the country!
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TAKEOFF
IN THIS ISSUE
The mission of TAKEOFF Magazine is to inspire amateur athletes to personal greatness. My name is Adele San Miguel, and I am the co-founder of Pole Vault Carolina, a training facility based in Durham, North Carolina. TAKEOFF is the next iteration of our club’s mission: to coach the athlete to their highest self. I’m thrilled to have you on our runway.
ADELE SAN MIGUEL, PUBLISHER + EDITOR
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HELLO THERE!
All coaches raise young people through sport, as there are many life lessons taught through athletics. We build confidence through technique, drills, and personal attention. Coaches push athletes out of their comfort zones and into belief in themselves. Due to quarantine, Pole Vault Carolina was closed for nearly 3 months. During that time, we held 6 motivational calls with Olympians to benefit our athletes. Wanting our vaulters to study the history of the sport, we withheld the name of each speaker and provided clues for their research. For our talk with Lawrence Johnson, the clues were: Big Orange, Sydney, and Pianist. Lawrence is a World Champion, 1996 Olympian; 2000 Olympic Silver Medalist; 7 time U.S. Champion; 4-time NCAA champion; 7-time SEC Champion; the first Black man to represent the United States in the pole vault at the Olympics, and the first Black pole vaulter to win a major competition in Paris in 1997. It was Lawrence who brought the United States back to the world stage in men’s pole vault. Lawrence spoke to us on The Will to Win. The interview has been adapted for TAKEOFF and is on page 18. ClubHub is a column that showcases athletes from clubs and universities around the country. We asked coaches to submit, not only their top performing athletes, but also those who are showing heart, character, and leadership on or off the track. Please email us if you have someone you would like to feature. In Coach’s Critique, high school junior Jon Horn offered his video for critique by Olympic medal coach Jim Bemiller. Jim breaks down the jump and offers analysis.
A LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
Vaulters are challenged by run throughs, but fear no more because 2016 Olympic gold medalist Katerina Stefanidi shares how to overcome them in If I Knew Then. Tim Reilly of Northwest Pole Vault, the most successful high school coach in the country, joins us for a special feature on some magic unfolding in his club with twin pole vault stars Hana and Amanda Moll. The Twin Takeover is on page 16. In Makes and Misses, Jose R. San Miguel of Pole Vault Carolina (yes, my husband) offers his perspective on maintaining focus on what you want, no matter the adversity. Don’t miss the pole vault art on the back cover! We enthusiastically commissioned 16-year old artist Sarah Elliott who used a unique, fluid color blocking technique in her depiction of a female vaulter. Going forward, what would you like to see? What can TAKEOFF provide to shorten the distance between us? All the Very Best, Adele
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You’ll learn about what it takes to win from Lawrence Johnson; see the critique of a young vaulter’s jump by Jim Bemiller, who was Lawrence’s collegiate and Olympic coach, and recieve advice on run throughs from reigning Olympic Gold Medalist, Katerina Stefanidi. Enjoy!
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Letter From The Editor
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Makes & Misses
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ClubHub
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The Twin Takeover
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In Conversation with Lawrence Johnson: The Will To Win
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Coach’s Critique
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If I Knew Then with Katerina Stefanidi
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C O N T R I B U T O R S
Jim Bemiller
Sarah Elliott
Tim Reilly
Two-time Olympic medal coach.
Artist. Student. Activist.
Founder and Head Coach of Northwest
Law professor.
Pole Vault Club.
Pole Vault Guru. Back Cover art. Prints available upon Coach’s Critique
request at www.sarahelliott.com
The Twin Takeover
Jose R. San Miguel
Katerina Stefanidi
Kreager Taber
Founder and Head Coach of Pole Vault
2016 Olympic Gold Medalist.
Scientist. Writer.
Carolina.
4-time Diamond League Champion.
Pole Vault Aficionado.
Makes & Misses
If I Knew Then...
Club Hub
Special thanks to post-collegiate pole vaulter Sofia San Miguel who brainstormed, edited copy, and kept us on track. Thirteen year-old Antonio San Miguel provided expert advice on all things digital.
MAKES & MISSES By Jose R. San Miguel
The will to win for an athlete is a fundamental trait. It is not something that is teachable; it is something that is within us, but we must work to develop it.
In March 2020, the world as we knew it came to a grinding halt. No more school; gatherings with friends; no sports or New Balance Nationals; not even the Olympic Games. But what happened to your athletic dreams? For some, their track careers ended before they realized they had taken their last jump. Opportunities to earn a spot on a college team, vanished. Their will to win, crushed. Others continued on. Yes, they were forced into a break due to the pandemic, but they found a way to put themselves first. They reimagined ways to work out, and stayed hungry for success even though they could not jump. They refused to have their athletic careers be turned into a casualty of Covid. And when the sport reemerged, these athletes returned to practice. They PR’ed in an abbreviated summer track schedule, and set themselves up for success in the 2020-21 season. Some seniors who needed a last minute mark to secure a collegiate position got it done, because their determination was bigger than the tough luck of a missed season.
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What was the difference? The second group of athletes
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adjusted to the new new. Instead of complaining about what they lost, they complied with the regulations of social distancing and mask wearing, as mandated in many cities and states. They learned from what was taken away, and vowed to be prepared for the next time they had a shot at a bar. The will to win for an athlete is a fundamental trait. It is not something that is teachable; it is something that is within us, but we must work to develop it. It is an individual’s choice to get up and try again until they overcome the hardship that took them down in the first place. Some chose to give up. Adversity is not the athlete who competes against you. Adversity is your fears, your lack of conditioning, your limited experience, injuries, limited resources, and your mindset. Adversity is something that everyone must conquer in order to win. Winning means different things to every person. Earning the state championship title, or a college scholarship, or an Olympic medal those are easy to claim as triumphs. But victories are also overpowering your fears; learning a new technique or skill; jumping on the big pole that you have dreaded; committing to train harder; trying again after going no height; or accepting that you are not perfect, but perfect
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enough to accomplish your own greatness, not just in athletics, but also in life.
life as a result of the decision to persevere at that one moment in time.
Life is a lot like sports. We face hard times; we fail. How you handle those moments dictate who you become as a person. You can put yourself down and live stuck in the calamity. You can be complacent in winning the easy battles you choose to fight.
Not a day goes by that I do not relive a moment from my days as an athlete in which I had to fight for my success. I seldom think of the actual win, but mostly of the fight that got me the victory. Those moments have helped me overcome the challenges I have faced in my life.
Or, you can come up with a plan to improve, and give it your best. That is it…give it your best! In the instant you decide to give it all you’ve got, you will have the confidence to fight back and chase the edge in everything you do. Action cures fear. By doing the work, you minimize your troubles. By facing your fear, even if you “fail”, you win. The lessons learned in chasing the win will carry you through life’s darker days, something we all experience. Understand that there is always a tomorrow. Every situation will eventually pass. Giving up is never the answer. Try explaining to others that you gave up when life beat you down - not the best example to show your true character. Commit to see it through. Shortly after my high school graduation, and while taking my last jump before the 1984 Central American and Caribbean Junior Championships, I landed in the pole vaulting box, head first. At that time there were no box collars. Luckily for me, I just shattered my right wrist. The surgeon told my family that I would never jump again, nor have full motion in my wrist as a result of the reconstructive surgery, but I would not have issues living a normal life. What do you mean I would not jump again? I was heading to college on a full athletic scholarship. That was my first time facing a life changing hardship. Instead of giving up hope, I imagined a plan to recover, and pole vault again. I chose to fight back. I wanted one more win. The journey was painful, but nine months from that day, against what appeared to be insurmountable odds, I won the university championships in Puerto Rico as an 18 year old freshman. That win opened my world to endless possibilities. A year later, I transferred to the University of Tennessee, where I enjoyed an awesome athletic career, met my wife, got a degree, and my first career job. I often think about the days following my accident, and the decisions that I made. Imagine if I would have chosen to accept the medical prognosis, and quit pole vaulting? My life would have been very different. I am grateful for the will to fight. I have lived an awesome
So much of what you do as an athlete will mirror what you do in life. Commit to your win, no matter what. In the process you will accomplish the most important greatness - your own, while inspiring others to do the same. The next time you are staring down the runway for your third and final attempt, remember all of the work you have done to get there. Recall every extra rep of a drill you did when your coach was not watching; recognize every time you chose to stick to it another day; look back at the long journey and those who supported you along the way. Don’t let fear take control and take you down. You have done the work and prepared yourself. Take that third attempt as if it is the last one in your life. No hesitation and no fear. This is your moment in time. If you seize it and fight, you have already won. Just take off.
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Sky Force Pole Vault San Juan, Puerto Rico Head Coach: Jairo Escalona
Viviana Quintana Melendez Viviana Quintana Melendez is a post-collegiate pole vaulter from Vega Baja, Puerto Rico. Also a hurdler and 4 X 100 relay sprinter, Viviana added pole vaulting to her resume when she entered the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras campus. In her 6 years as a vaulter, she set a new record in the Interuniversity Athletic League (LAI) of 4.11 meters. In 2019, Vivi was crowned the women’s national champion in the pole vault. She jumped to a fifth place finish at the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships, becoming the first Puerto Rican female to attain All-American status in the pole vault at this event.
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Viviana earned a degree in the Interdisciplinary Program of Natural Sciences, with a second concentration in Recreational Therapy. Her long term goal is a Ph.D. in Physical Therapy; short term, she is focused on surpassing the national pole vault mark of 4.50 meters. She hopes to compete in the next Olympic cycle.
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Viviana is an adventure enthusiast who loves to travel, spend time at the beach, and challenge herself with adrenaline inducing activities! Photo provided by Jairo Escalona
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Universidad Ana G. Mendez Gurabo, Puerto Rico Pole Vault Coach: Carlos Gonzalez
Yaritza Diaz
Yaritza Diaz is a post-collegiate pole vaulter from Arroyo, Puerto Rico. Yaritza did not pole vault in high school, nor was she recruited. She started college at the Universidad Ana G. Mendez in Gurabo, but with her family struggling financially, did not anticipate continuing. A benevolent professor spoke to the head track coach on her behalf. That coach, Jan Cancel, offered the possibility of scholarship if Yaritza became a pole vaulter. Yaritza relied on her natural athleticism and a deep desire to succeed. She practiced under the guidance of coach Carlos Gonzalez, and 3 months later, earned a four year scholarship. Throughout her collegiate career, Yaritza won 4 gold and 2 bronze medal placements at the university championships, the equivalent of winning at the conference level in the states. Yaritza represented Puerto Rico as a junior in the Central American and Caribbean Games; and as a sub 23 athlete, in the NACAC. She jumped
a personal best of 4.12 meters in April of 2019. Yaritza completed her education with a degree in business administration. She is the first member of her family to graduate from college, and pole vault made it possible. Yaritza now works full time, managing the recreation departments
of twelve public housing facilities in Puerto Rico. She continues to train for the next cycle of international competition. Photo courtesy of Carlos Gonzalez
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Pole Vault Carolina Durham, North Carolina Head Coach: Jose R. San Miguel
Jake Gamble For Jake Gamble, the pandemic has been an opportunity to propel his vault career forward. A senior at Carolina Forest High School in Myrtle Beach, SC, Jake committed to online learning so he could train at Pole Vault Carolina, a three hour drive from home. On practice days he stays with his grandparents who live nearby the club. He has made new teammates and friends. Pole vaulting takes time, and is a numbers game. Jake knows he needs enough repetitions to reach the heights that will open collegiate doors. Some days he is flying high, and others he works to improve the mechanics of the jump. No matter the goal of the day, Jake is persistently dedicated to his personal success. Since August, he has made significant progress and jumped a personal record in the first meet of the season.
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Like many athletes, Jake is sacrificing to achieve his potential. He took advantage of his new normal and is making it his ticket to continue jumping at the next level. Jake intends to pursue a career in forensics, and is touring schools in the Carolinas. Jake’s unwavering focus and coachable personality will pave the way for his achievements on the runway and throughout his life.
Photo courtesy of Pole Vault Carolina
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Julianna Hallyburton Julianna Hallyburton is an outstanding model of quiet determination.
A former gymnast, Julianna started pole vaulting during her freshman year at Durham Academy. Her steady work ethic, combined with her willingness to be coached, has propelled her into being one of the best pole vaulters in the state. Julianna committed to build a strong foundation by consistently attending practices and doing drills off the runway. Her technical improvements have been recognized by some of the world class coaches who have conducted clinics at the club. In their words, parts of her jump are the best they have seen. During her freshman year, Julianna finished 2nd in the NCISAA 1A State Championship. She anticipated a win as a sophomore but the meet was cancelled due to Covid-19. She continued working on her speed and strength while the club was closed, returning for practice as soon as it reopened. Her hard work is paying off. Julianna jumped a new personal best of 11’ in her most recent meet. For awhile, Julianna lived in the shadow of a deep and talented group of vaulters. She learned from them, studied the event, and now has taken on the role of a leader by helping the next group of vaulters coming up.
Photo courtesy of Pole Vault Carolina
Charleston Pole Vault Club Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina Head Coach: Tom Reagan
Grace Hotchkiss Grace Hotchkiss is a senior at Bishop England High School in Charleston, South Carolina. Grace trains with the Charleston Pole Vault Club in the pre and indoor seasons, and with the Mt. Pleasant Track Club in the outdoor and summer seasons. Grace started vaulting in the spring of her freshman year, and never misses practice. Indeed, she seeks to practice more, when Coach Tom is available. Her commitment has proven fruitful. As a sophomore, Grace won the South Carolina High School League 3A State Championships with a jump of 12’8’. She enters her senior season with a personal best of 12’9’, and has recently committed to compete for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
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At Bishop England, Grace is active in student government and organizes events within the school, and for the larger community. A member of the National Honor Society, Grace also participates in Read 365, a program designed to improve literacy in second and third graders who do
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not have access to resources for reading comprehension. At home, Grace fosters kittens. As the only senior, Grace is considered the ‘mama’ of her club; she looks after and assists the younger vaulters. She provides all the 70’s music her fellow athletes can dance to on the runway! Photo courtsey of Grace Hotchkiss
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Hannah Togami Hannah Togami is a sophomore at Wando High School in Charleston, South Carolina. In her fourth year of vaulting, she trains with the Mt. Pleasant Track Club and Charleston Pole Vault Club. Hannah’s brother Jonathan, who now vaults for the University of South Carolina, encouraged his sister to try the vault. Late at practice one night, Coach Reagan handed Hannah a pole and invited her to make an attempt. Soon after, Hannah began attending practice herself and found quick success. In South Carolina, middle school athletes are allowed to compete in non-contact high school sports. As an 8th grader, Hannah won the South Carolina High School League 5A State Championships. She is the first middle schooler in the state to win a high school state meet in the pole vault! In 2019, Hannah won New Balance Nationals Junior High division. With no outdoor season in 2020 due to Covid, Hanna stayed focused and cleared a new personal record of 13’ this past summer. A part time pole vaulter, Hannah plays volleyball in the fall for her high school, and competitive beach volleyball in the summer. Winter and spring are her only full time vaulting seasons. Photo courtesy of Hannah Togami
Rocket Man Pole Vault
Mooresville, North Carolina Head Coach: Eric Richards and Donna Carpentier
Jake Morgan Jake Morgan is a Junior at Pine Lake Preparatory School in Mooresville, NC, just outside Charlotte. Jake represents Pine Lake in the 400 meters, 55 meters, 300 meters, and the pole vault. Jake trains at Rocket Man, a pole vault club intent on building athletes from the inside out using the pillars of the 4 P’s: Passion + Persistence + Patience + Progress = Positive Results and PR’s. Jake personifies this creed.
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For two seasons of competition, Jake seemed to be stuck. He fought hard, and relied on the 4Ps to guide him. At the biggest competition of the summer, due to fluid meet timing, Jake unwittingly showed up just in time to grab a pole and compete; he had to forego a warm-up. Calmly reminding himself to trust his training, Jake rose to the challenge. He soared to a new height of 3.34m setting a new personal record, and proving that breakthrough follows breakdown if you persevere.
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Jake stayed focused and improved his best height yet again at the first meet of Rocket Man’s 2020 Fall schedule. Jake’s PR is now 12’6”, an improvement of eighteen and a quarter inches over his best mark of the summer! In addition to being a hardworking athlete, Jake is a talented classical musician, a scholar, and a member of the National Honor Society. Photo provided by RocketMan Pole Vault
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Morgan Fijalkowski After Morgan Fijalkowski was introduced to pole vaulting during a summer camp, she began to train at Rocket Man. She quickly blew her coaches away with her awesome sense of humor and determination. Morgan is currently ranked first in the state for 300 hurdles, and improved her personal best in the vault from 8’6” to 10’6” in less than a year. Morgan has a 3.98 GPA, and is in her school’s National Honor Society and National Latin Honor Society. Morgan, a senior at Charlotte Catholic, was nominated for The Charlotte Observer’s Girl’s Athlete of the Year, but it is her resilience that makes her a remarkable athlete, student, and advocate in her community.
Morgan is impossible to keep down and infinitely coachable. She is clearly leveraging her determination to make a positive impact on her community!
Soon after joining Rocket Man, Morgan realized that she still struggled with the repercussions of the coaching humiliation she had endured during her time as a competitive gymnast. She has since worked tirelessly to emotionally heal, and is now stronger than ever. Off the runway, Morgan is civic-minded. She is passionate about ensuring that every member of her community can access the benefits of athletics regardless of income, and in this, she serves as an athlete representative for Heart of the Clawstle Inc. She also recently helped collect blankets and sleeping bags for Watchman of the Streets, a group that offers physical and spiritual support to individuals without housing.
Photo courtesy of RocketMan Pole Vault
Photo courtesy of Paula Moll
THE TWIN TAKEOVER
MAGIC IN OLYMPIA, WASHINGTON By Tim Reilly
There are so many remarkable athlete stories in track clubs across America, but a really special one is unfolding in Olympia, Washington. Meet Hana and Amanda Moll, the most exciting high school track and field twins since pole vaulters Lexi and Tori Weeks led the nation in 2015. The Molls may run the table on U.S. pole vault records before they graduate, but there is more to love than this.
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Their first track coach, a multis specialist named Mike Strong from Olympia, sent them to me to try
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vaulting about midway through their 7th grade year, as he has done with his other star decathletes. My first impression was that they were as cute as little people could be, joyfully enthused to play at something new. By the end of the first lesson, I could see rare aptitudes that would take them high and fast. Though Coach Mike still trains them for the heptathlon, he could quickly see as well that they would specialize with me by freshman year. In their 8th grade summer, they placed first and third at the 2019 USATF National Junior
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Why are they special? They’re still as enthusiastic as ever, but they have also grown into world class pole vaulter physiques, 5’9” tall with the running mechanics of gazelles. They are also super athletes, excelling as gymnasts, rock climbers, mountain bike racers, and volleyball players. They have the dexterity and balance of cats; they know exactly where they are in the air, and find their way safely to their feet whenever a vault goes wrong or short. There is an x-factor of vaulting talents, an unknowable of fear or caution that shows itself at challenging moments on the journey. Many promising vaulters don’t reveal this in their first year or more of rapid progress. In this, the twins are rare again. No raising bar or next pole seems to faze them; they jump with joyful confidence in most conditions. An anecdote on this – this summer Amanda progressed faster than Hana, and was gunning for Mia Manson’s national freshman record of 13’5”. In July, she thought she’d beaten it, but a post vault measurement showed her short by half an inch. Two weeks later she had another crack at it, making 13’6 then 13’9. When Athletic.net rejected the
For two seasons, I confess to have relied upon the color of their shoes or Hana’s braces to tell them apart. But there are contrasts. Mandy seems to learn technical complexities faster, hence her surge of height and technique this past summer. Her athleticism and balance are comparable to Chloe Cunliffe’s, who didn’t make 14’ until her junior sum-
mer. Hana is stronger and a bit faster than Mandy, and will not be left behind for long. Mandy is also a little more resilient to frustration. In tough practice sessions, Hana needs more reminding to embrace the process and be patient. This fall she is making great progress with hard technical changes we’ve been working on since last summer. She will likely catch up soon.
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Coach Mike plans to keep them training in the multis for at least another year. After that, they will likely continue to long jump and hurdle. By current appearances, they will be 19’ long jumpers and mid 14s hurdlers, which suggest their pole vault potential is world class. While Amanda has established herself as the most promising female vaulter in U.S. history, it is only right to consider her as a twin. She and Hana do everything together: vault, hike, bike, and train. They feed off of each other’s challenges, and celebrate each others’ successes. Their parents deserve gigantic credit for the loving, playful, totally supportive system raising them, as well as their legendary coach, Mike Strong, for watching their overall training program and workloads. It takes a village to raise twins like these, to keep them healthy and to keep it fun. Their spirits impact our club environment profoundly, and it is my sheer delight to have had them entrusted to me.
Photo courtesy of Tim Reilly
Olympic Championships in Sacramento. Hana won the day with a meet record of 11’8. At the Pole Vault Summit in Reno this year, they improved to 12’4 (Amanda) and 12’8 (Hana), and met their predecessors Tori and Lexi. Despite the disappointment of Covid ongoing still, their progress has accelerated exponentially.
marks as official, as no athletes from other clubs were present, we arranged a third attempt two weeks later with more opponents. She made 13’6 and 13’9 again, which no one can expect. How often do elite athletes clear their personal best? Mandy was pleased but happy to raise it to 14’. We thought Kat Stefanidi’s world record was 4.31, so we moved it up to 4.32 without telling her. She made this without a brush and acted not the least surprised. When we asked if she wanted to raise it to 4.36 (14’3”), an outrageous number, she said, Sure. On a pole larger than she had ever touched, she cleared it on her second try. I have never had an athlete operate so indifferently to the ordinarily stressful adjustments of PRs, records, or new poles never tried before. On Instagram, Olympic gold medalist Tim Mack remarked, “Check her out, she just walks off the pit like it was no big deal.” Meanwhile Hana improved to 4.0 meters herself, which in ordinary contexts would be stunning as well. How are they different?
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THE WILL TO WIN LAWRENCE JOHNSON Editor’s Note: The following is Pole Vault Carolina’s interview with Lawrence Johnson, who joined our club on Zoom for an inspirational talk. Lawrence is a NCAA record holder; 1996 Olympian; Silver Medalist at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney; 2001 Indoor World Champion, and the first Black man to represent the United States in the pole vault at the Olympics and in international competition. This interview has been adapted for TAKEOFF.
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Jose R. San Miguel of Pole Vault Carolina: Lawrence grew up in Norfolk, VA. I met him in 1995 when he was a junior at the University of Tennessee. At the time, I said to myself, he is the future of the sport. He was a great athlete, and an amazing competitor. When he spoke, it was not cockiness, but conviction. Like, I’ve got this and I’m going to win. He committed to work harder than anyone else because he wanted to be better than everyone else. Lawrence was a student of the event. What struck me the most was that he expected to win.
Lawrence (LoJo): I appreciate the opportunity to speak and to be part of the program. When it comes to the will to win, I have to reflect on some of the things that really motivated me in training. As a high school freshman, I came across the event by chance. We would try to impress the girls during lunch by doing back flips in the gym. I kept stepping it up, until I ended up on the top level of the bleachers. I back flipped off. When I landed, a hand grabbed my shoulder and the PE teacher/track coach said, “Come with me.”
Lawrence used his talents to open doors and tear down stereotypes. He was the first African-American to win an Olympic medal in pole vault. To be blunt, pole vault was a sport for white people. Lawrence challenged that. His athletic journey was more complicated than the physical demands every athlete faces, because of the color of his skin. We remember important moments in time, and I vividly recall the details, because I knew the story behind it.
Following him into his office, I thought I was in trouble. He set me down in the chair, and said he wanted me to come out for track and field, specifically for pole vault. So I went out the first day. He threw the bar up at 8’6” and told me to come down the runway and do whatever I thought I needed to do to get over it. I had never seen pole vaulting before. The only visual I had was that episode of Tom and Jerry, where they vault against each other at the Olympics. I tried to imitate what I saw on the cartoon, and I guess I did alright because I cleared the bar on the first try. My coach was very excited. He thought that would score at, or possibly win our city meet.
Lawrence attended the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He was a 4-time NCAA champion and record holder. His mark of 19’7” stood for twenty-two years until it was broken by Mondo Duplantis in May of 2019. Lawrence finished 8th at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. In Sydney in 2000, he won Olympic silver on attempts. A fantastic accomplishment! He went on to win the World Championships in 2001.
I went home and told my father I was going to the Olympics. He looked at me and laughed, asking “What makes you think you’re so special?”
Lawrence currently coaches a club, LoJo Vault Assault, in the greater Philadelphia area. You will see him at the larger national meets like New Balance, with a group of athletes, and his wife Christina by his side, helping the team as well. He’s not only knowledgeable, he’s super approachable, and willing to share his expertise.
He explained that there were a hundred kids at my school who also wanted to go to the Olympics; there were another 12 schools in the district, and 40 schools in the region. And when you get to the state level, there are thousands of athletes who want to be Olympians. So what made me so special?
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Photo courtesy of Lawrence Johson
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Photo courtesy of Lawrence Johson
Not knowing the answer, I dropped my bags at the door and started running. It was the only thing I knew to do to make myself better. I always ran into challenges like that, and I wanted to step it up as I continued vaulting. I ran into my first racist situation in the sense that I was approached by people on both sides saying Black people didn’t pole vault, and asking what was I doing in the sport. I turned that around and made a point of proving them wrong. The more I heard this question, the more I aspired to the next level. From early on, I hated losing. It may seem the opposite, but I was not the best athlete on our team. I was mediocre to bottom, but you could not outwork me. And, I had a deep desire to win. I knew if someone hit the track with more talent than me, in time, I could outwork them and surpass them. That’s what started this incredible workload, where each day I assessed my training. Did I complete the workout? The answer was always yes. And my next thought was, if you finish the workout, there are another hundred kids in the state who did so as well.
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So what did I need to do to get better? It broke down all kinds of barriers for me. I never felt like I needed to wait to be great. I wanted to win from the very start. I also knew that it would take work to get it done. So my freshman year in high school, I finished at 12’6”, and was eyeing the twins from our region who jumped
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13’. I was fired up to compete against them. The next year, I jumped 14’ and was stoked to get to the state meet and break the state record. Each time these levels stepped up, my focus went to that goal and did not waver. I repeatedly visualized winning the championship, training hard to get there, and knowing that if I showed up to a meet the most prepared, the strongest, fastest, and most focused, I would walk away with the competition set up. It drove me. I trained year round, even though I didn’t have access to a club. We didn’t have camps and events like the whole of our community does now. I had to run and train by doing other sports. It made me a better football player. I told myself from the start that I was going to hold myself to expectations so high that no one else could have a higher expectation of me than myself. I understood that the one thing I needed to do to hold those high expectations was to learn to deal with loss, not from my parents or from a coach, but from myself. Once I learned how to deal with loss, to allow it to make me better and use it to motivate me to not be afraid to go after what I want, I began to excel. We fear failure, and the pressure we put on ourselves is that fear of failing. When you eliminate that, you can tell yourself, you know what, if I fail today, it’s only one try, one meet, one competition. I’ll come back stronger next time, and I’ll be on top of this. But it became the hardest thing to deal with. It is the
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biggest challenge I see in athletes nowadays, in terms of setting goals and motivating themselves. They set the bar too low. As a coach, I can never have expectations greater than an athlete has for themself. So we like to say, we will coach you to your ability. If you want to be a state champion, national champion, we’ll coach you. My job is to maintain motivation and support. More important than anything else, it is teaching that it’s okay to fail. Take your goal and set it as high as you can. The only thing that happens if you don’t get it, is a little disappointment. Once you can deal with that, you can hit it time and again. When I walked onto campus as a college freshman, I told myself I wanted to win the national championship. I trained for it. Every morning, I walked up the hills of UT’s campus on the balls of my feet, bouncing around and looking crazy. In addition to practice, I went on a jog three times per week. I did any and every thing to improve my training. That attitude, I think, is the strongest thing I can tell anyone to do to help motivate themselves. Don’t be afraid.
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through the motions. Push yourself each day to grow and improve. Motivation is something that is essential to any level of championship performance, in the sense of training, and also in reminding yourself not to put your competition on a pedestal. There were times that I stepped on the track, knowing I was in for tough competition. I remember the first couple of times jumping with Sergey (Bubka) and Maksim (Tarasov). They were having a hot season, jumping 5.90 and 6 meters almost every competition. I had to stay galvanized to beat them, otherwise I would have thought they were unbeatable. I was happy to be there competing. That level of focus should accompany each athlete at every stage of the game. It leads to greater performances. Jose R. San Miguel: What you said is fantastic. I do believe that a lot of athletes fear losing. Lawrence is providing a road map. If you train hard to be excellent, it does not matter where you start. Everyone begins at a different level. The destination is what we make of it. Lawrence took it all the way to the highest places, multiple times.
Go get it.
LoJo: Thank you. If I could say one more thing on the failure aspect, sitting back now, looking at my career, it’s one thing to go through it. But, I don’t really remember the failures. There are times you know you fell short, but that is not what sticks in your memory. What stays are the moments you came through.
If you fail, your parents will love you. Your coach will be there to support you. But you can always motivate yourself to the next level. Create a higher vision and hold yourself in check. Don’t attend practice and go
QUESTIONS Ellis/Athlete: Growing up in Raleigh, it was sort of interesting to see where pole vault was in communities of color. How
Take the goal; set it high. If you want to be the first Black man to stand on an Olympic podium, the best American athlete ever in the pole vault, set a goal that feels out of reach.
I don’t really remember the failures. There are times you know you fell short, but that is not what sticks in your memory. What stays are the moments you came through.
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can we get pole vault into the Black communities and expose it to more athletes? LoJo: I have thought about this quite a bit. One of the first challenges is access to poles. You can sprint fast and jump high, but without a succession of poles, you are going to have a hard time. I was fortunate in that while I began at an inner city school, we moved and I graduated from Great Bridge High School, which had more resources. They were able to pick up more poles to get me to 16’, which was my personal best up until two weeks before our regional championship. What changed was that I developed a relationship with Steve Chappell and UCS, and they basically took care of me from there. Spirit sent me poles I could actually jump on, and I went from 16’ to 17’6 at the state meet, due to the poles. When I do have the opportunity to go into various communities, there is excitement for the event. There’s just not a push there because the school knows that either they or you will have to buy poles and equipment, and keep it up to date. Then there are pole vault clubs, which have another cost of entry. We do try to reach out to athletes in the community here, and bring them in for free. We do what we can to help them not just train, but compete. Until this is resolved, those types of challenges in inner city communities and communities of color will persist. Zoe/Athlete: My school tends to neglect cross country and track and pays more attention to the sports more people come to. But we have some athletes with amazing potential, and I don’t know how to ask the school to help us. Our pole selection goes from an 11’120 to a 13’ 145. The beginners can’t even use the smallest pole, and I don’t know how to talk to the school about this issue.
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LoJo: That’s something that’s a problem all across the U.S. Track and field is not a revenue sport, so it’s going to be an uphill battle. Football sells tickets and brings in spectators. The athletic administration is making money. It wasn’t that way when I came up, and now sports programs are expected to bring in income, which is why the focus goes toward the profitable sports, football, basketball, and baseball. Now, on the other side of that, there is a way to draw attention to pole vault and get more focus on track and
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field. A lot of times athletes forget that sport is a form of competitive entertainment, and the more entertaining you are at an event, the more exciting the event becomes. An individual can energize a sport positively or negatively. One of the reasons I loved competing at the Penn Relays is because of the crowd of 40,000 people lined around the stadium. At any point in time, they are watching some of the greatest performances in track and field history, happening on the oval. But, there were times when I was able to snag their attention. I’d turn to the crowd to start the clap. When it came time to move the bar, I’d walk to the standards and point at 18 feet and ask, do you want 18 feet, or 18’1? The more we appreciate the entertainment aspect of competition, the more we draw attention to it. You have to create a spark with your administration and in your community. If that is something I can assist with, just reach out, and not to just myself. I am sure there are other athletes who will come in, make a bit of noise, and bring awareness to an event to uplift the sport. I believe that is what vaulters ultimately want to see. Ana/Athlete: Lawrence, you talked about the difficulties you faced. What was the hardest thing to overcome, and how did you overcome it? LoJo: Competitiveness is something you turn on, and it stays on the burner and carries over to every other area of your life. If I speak honestly, the first was learning to not be afraid of failure, and the back half to that was feeling like I had left something out there. When I took second at the NCAA Championships as a freshman, I was so bummed out that I ran stadium steps from 8 pm until midnight, until my coach came and found me. Not the wisest thing to do. The other challenge came from being an individual of color. It was something that I felt constantly, and it put me in a place where I felt like I had to win. That was one of the things I loved about pole vault. You walk out, you can win, and nobody can take it away from you when things become more subjective. Keith/Athlete: You’re a fairly big guy. What size poles did you jump on in Olympic competition? And, are you still writing and playing music? Who is your favorite artist?
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LoJo: When I competed professionally, I was 193-196 pounds. I competed on 17 foot poles, 215 and 220. I gripped between 5.0 and 5.15 meters depending on the bar I was going for. As far as music is concerned, it is something that I’ll never be separated from. I do more producing than writing. My family is large, we have five children, and it is hard to find time to get focused to write creatively.
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Picking a favorite artist is challenging. I like a lot of the music today, but quite honestly am disconcerted when there’s a profanity or negative influence. Sometimes I find it hard to dial in. When it comes to male vocals, it would be Brian McKnight and Boyz II Men. I love the complexity of the music, and the range and artistry in their voices. On the female side, I had the opportunity to hear Christina Aguilera in person, and the power in her voice blew me away. Jose R. San Miguel: Lawrence, thank you for taking the time with us this evening. What you said today is going to resonate with many of our athletes. We look forward to learning more from you in the future. We sincerely appreciate your time. That was awesome! LoJo: Thank you for having me. It’s been my pleasure.
Once I learned how to deal with loss, to allow it to make me better and use it to motivate me to not be afraid to go after what I want,
You may enjoy Lawrence’s music on Spotify and iTunes under his artist name, LoZart. His music is funk jazz fusion and R&B.
Photo courtesy of Lawrence Johson
I began to excel.
COACH’S CRITIQUE 1
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Jon’s grip may be a bit wide which can affect his running posture as he builds his approach and drops the pole. Make sure the vaulter supports the pole with his hands and elbows close to the body.
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Jon’s top (right hand) should also stay close to his right hip as he sprints and drops the pole. Carry-
ing the pole behind and clear of the body negatively affects your running mechanics and creates a longer/slower path to finish your plant.
Work on an active pole drop. Jon starts with his pole tip lower than I would like which causes balance and posture breakdowns during takeoff. As he starts his plant, three steps from takeoff his pole tip is low and will inhibit his rhythm and takeoff.
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Coach’s Critique bridges the gap between professional coaches and scholastic athletes by providing expert-level technical analysis in an easily digestible format. Below, Olympic medal coach Jim Bemiller breaks down the run, takeoff, and swing of Pole Vault Carolina athlete Jon Horn.
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Jon’s last three steps are long and low. The last two steps should be quick and tall to optimize your takeoff speed and posture. Work on your approach and pole drop to improve the rhythm into takeoff.
Jon does a good job of getting his hands up early and strong but waits for the pole to hit the back of the box. This is a slight variancew from the optimal idea of rolling up actively off the takeoff foot and attacking the takeoff.
Get to the takeoff and move through the takeoff. Don’t wait for the pole to hit the box, attack through the takeoff. This is a subtle difference between a good early plant and a great aggressive takeoff.
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Jon keeps pressure on the pole as he swings his hips past his top right hand.
The goal is to swing and turn our right hip into the top of the pole before the pole reaches vertical. Jon could turn earlier and into the top of the pole as he extends, rather than out towards the crossbar.
Jon has good pole speed and swing speed and is crushing this pole. Good job!
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COMMENTARY Each coach has different experiences and training so different coaches may see a film clip differently or prioritize in another way, but I always tell my vaulters that it is good to hear different feedback and pick out the nuggets that make sense to you and your coach. My coaching is based on teaching the vaulter to attack the basics so we are always focused on basic fundamentals and dynamic execution.
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There are two parts to any athletic event: technique
and tempo. It is imperative that our athletes establish the fundamentals of how to vault and execute aggressively. The pole vault has many moving parts, but is quite simple. The goal is to generate momentum to raise the center of gravity over the bar. The vaulter creates that momentum through pole speed and swing speed.
Jim Bemiller Olympic Pole Vault Coach
First, he must move the pole to vertical generating momentum through his run and takeoff (pole speed). Second, he must swing effectively on the pole to raise the center of gravity over the bar (swing speed). Jon is doing a great job for one of his first vaulting sessions of the year. He has a good strength/speed/ weight ratio and shows an aggressive, attacking tempo throughout his vault. The tips I have given are intended to refine his pole speed/swing speed fundamentals so that he can vault effectively over his hand grip and gradually raise his grip. My tips are heavy on the approach and takeoff because that is where 80% of the vaulter’s energy is generated. Keep working on your approach run, pole carry, and takeoff fundamentals. Great job, Jon! Keep up the good work, make gradual improvements, and attack the basics. Good luck this year! Jon Horn Pole Vault Carolina Athlete f you wish your video to be considered for analysis by an elite coach in a future issue of TAKEOFF, please email it to adele@thetakeoffmagazine.com.
KATERINA STEFANIDI
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IF I KNEW THEN WHAT I KNOW NOW By Katerina Stefanidi
After 20 years of pole vaulting, I have figured out that run throughs happen for 3 reasons: 1. 99% of the time it is because of the run. We move up to a bigger pole, or grip a little higher. Our coach tells us to move up or back a foot, and we tighten up. We try to run a little differently, or worse, we try harder. You don’t need to try harder. You need to put forth the exact same effort as on the previous pole or the prior grip. Trying harder changes the position of the run. The hips lower and push out the back. You sprint too much. You can change the run and still reach your mid marks. Ask yourself, how does the run change when you are not running through? And, are you running through with every pole? If yes, go outside of the pit and relearn the run. Brush up on how to pick up the pole; get out the low hurdles and mark the lines and practice a good easy rhythm to run and accelerate into the box. 2. We forget to prepare our hands. When a vaulter runs through and drops the pole to the side, they have not mentally prepared for the jump. That should never happen. Even when you run through, it should happen with the pole completely at the end like you were trying to take off. Think about carrying your arms into takeoff. There has to be synchronization between the hands and legs in the last 3 steps. You cannot do one without the other. If, as you accelerate closer to the box, you really think about activating your hands and your legs, I don’t see a reason for running through. 3. We think too much. This is like trying too hard. By getting on a bigger pole, we think we need to do everything better. But in thinking this, we become more robotic and less fluid. Find ways to turn your brain off. The Ultimate Garden Clash was a very interesting exercise because I did not have time to think. I just took consecutive jumps.
Put the bar at a low height, and take continuous jumps for 10 minutes. Plant the pole, make the bar, and don’t worry about what it looks like. We think that as we move up a pole we have to run harder and pole vault better. No, you just need to do the exact same thing you were doing. Turn your brain off and trust your training. Katerina Stefanidi is the 2016 Olympic gold medalist, 2017 World Champion, and a 4-time Diamond League Champion. She competes for her home country of Greece, and trains in the U.S. at SPIRE Academy. Follow Katerina on Instagram @ stefanidi_katerina.
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Photo courtesy of Katerina Stefanidi
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“I wouldn’t worry about the run throughs.”
Skills + Drills at The Backyard of Pole Vault Carolina, Durham, North Carolina
