Outdoor Season A Plan for Success By Jose R. San Miguel
Outdoor season has its challenges.
jump with my coach.”
Every spring, we check in with our vaulters on their success at their school meets.
These stories ultimately point to the athletes and their coaches. The athletes are not prepared and do not know how to advocate for themselves. Coaches do not know all the rules and therefore cannot confidently support and defend their athletes.
This what we hear: “I blew through all of my poles” “My poles got wet and my hands were slipping.” “The meet ran long and I did not have any food.” “I had to run the 4x100, 4x200, and 300H at the same time pole vault was going on, and I was exhausted!” “There was no box collar, but my school coach said that’s ok.” “You should have seen that pit! No one should have jumped on that thing, but I tried and went no height.” “I bottomed out and hit the ground as the top pad was not holding the pit in place.” “The vaulters from the school did not jump because the pit was trash, but their coach told us it was safe to jump. I got a concussion from hitting the ground.”
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“My pole got caught on the lip of the planting box because it was set higher than the track and I got hurt.” “I had to guess my step as they did not have a tape measure.” “I did not get a warm-up when I came in after 5 heights, the official said there are no warm-up jumps allowed once the competition started.” “The official threatened me with a DQ for watching my
T A K E O F F
M A G A Z I N E
Vaulters must be prepared for what they may face at an outdoor meet. You need a plan A if everything at the meet goes as hoped, and a plan B if unexpected challenges arise.
