Anicka Newell A New Attitude By Kreager Taber
Canadian vaulter Anicka Newell is no stranger to the mental challenges of pole vaulting. After training and competing for four years without a new personal best, she shifted gears and focused on improving her attitude in addition to her vaulting technique. Her new outlook has already pushed her higher. Anicka kicked off 2021 with a win at the Expo Explosion in Texas, a clearance of 4.70 meters, a new personal best, and the Olympic “A” standard.
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person to throw poles, throw tantrums, yell, scream, the whole nine yards,” she explained, laughing. “Going into this year, my coach and I had a long conversation, and the gist of it was that I have to stop being such a brat. Otherwise, I’m not going to go anywhere.”
Over a phone call, I spoke with Anicka about her new mindset and the barriers she overcame to clear her recent personal record.
They decided to create a new system, in which Anicka receives a sticker every day that she has a good attitude at practice. These stickers are added to a handmade poster that hangs on the wall of the gym, and serve as a visual aid to remind her to keep a positive attitude as she works through frustrating moments.
“I’ve always believed that your worst enemy is what lies between your two ears,” Anicka stated. “For me that’s been such a struggle, and this year, I feel like I’m finally unleashing the beast.”
“I have not gone a day where I haven’t gotten a sticker,” she said. “Having a whole attitude flip this year, and just being way more positive at practice and easier to handle for my coaches and the couple of people who train with
Anicka explained that she developed this new outlook after a chat with her coach, Brookelyn Dickson Mehrman. “I’m pretty awful to deal with at practices, and the type of
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me, it’s making such a huge difference. I feel like that’s translating hugely into the way that I’m vaulting, because I’m throwing up so much positivity in the air that it’s transferring straight to my jump. That’s been the biggest thing for me this year- just not holding myself back.”
