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Should I go to a Division 1 school? (The question every high school vaulter should ask themselves.)

Hi, I guess I started this post because of my frustrations recruiting, and also my frustrations with athletes who tell me their college horror stories. I coach at a local Division III School, and I see too many kids go to situations that don’t best suit their education or athletics. Now I cannot fault a kid who gets into an Ivy League school without a vault coach and elects to go. They are getting a top-notch education, and the sacrifice of progress in their vault is overshadowed by the promise a great education will have in their future career. Those are not the situations that I want to discuss. Again I cannot argue with a kid that goes to a top-notch school without a good vault program. Education comes first.

Now some background on my program before I continue. At my school my vaulters have access to over 100 poles, an indoor training facility, and vaulting teammates. Our schools records are 12’5 ½” on the woman’s side and 17’ on the men’s side. We have had an All-American and have had athletes go to nationals the past three years. Now that is my school, but Division III has schools like this and better.

Another thing I would like to say about Division III schools in general is that although we may not have the scholarships or the prestige of being DI a mark is a mark. Whether you jump 17’ as a male or 13’ as a female in Division I or Division III, it doesn’t matter. Your pr is your pr. Also I would like to add that the regional meets like ECAC’s and Nationals have lower marks to qualify. This I believe provides more opportunity for middle of the ground athletes to develop into great vaulters. Look no further than Jake Winder (18’) and Anna Heim (13’8”) the past two years. Winder did jump high in high school but Heim was only an 11’ vaulter in high school.

Now too often I see 11’ girls and 14’ boys going to Division I schools that do not have vault programs. They usually don't have a vault coach or enough poles to provide a good experience for the athlete. Now some of these Division I schools claim to even have a “jumps” coach. Often these coaches were decathletes who don’t have enough knowledge to properly coach vaulters. Often they rely on running and lifting the kids, and hoping that kids pr because of added strength and speed. Now I get it, schools cannot afford to pay a vault coach since they only coach one event. So schools get a coach that is familiar in many of the jumps and they get by with what they can in the vault. I understand the economics of it. Hence the reason most great vault coaches are basically working on a voluntary basis. Jim Bemiller (Tim Mack’s coach) coached on a voluntary basis at Tennessee. Vault is definitely an event that is driven by passion and true vault coaches don’t really have time for other events and if we don’t have to coach them we don’t. No surprise though that Tennessee was and still is awesome in the vault. They have dedicated vault coaches. That is a vault program. Pole Vault is so technically driven and so different than many of the other events that it requires special attention.

Now here is the thing, the great vault programs in division I don’t usually have room for the 11’ girls and 14’ boys. They are looking for 12’6”-13’6” girls and 15’6”-16’6” boys. The Division I marks that are needed to score in some conferences and get into nationals are so high they cannot recruit kids that aren’t jumping high enough.

So often the best place for 11’ girls or 14’ boy is a good Division III vault program. However, I cannot tell you how many times I have heard coaches or kids tell me that the 11’ girl or 14’ boy is DI material. Really? Do you even know what it takes at that level? So then those kids end up going to a division I school, that is usually private and expensive, on a marginal scholarship ($40,000 a year school - $5000 scholarship= still a lot of money). I mean what are these DI coaches saying to recruit these kids. “Hey, want compete in Division I? I can get you a scholarship.” Well for starters, the marks those kids are hitting won’t get them anywhere in Division I and even with a marginal scholarship that expensive, private, division I school is still more expensive than a state university or college. Here’s the other thing. Many vaulters are jumping well in high school because they have been getting pretty good coaching in high school. Many of the clubs around the country provide much better coaches and far more selection of poles than many of the colleges and universities around the country. So they get great coaching in high school and then go to a college that can’t provide for their new recruit. So many kids can’t even jump their high school pr in college. Twelve-foot girls turn into eleven-foot girls. Fourteen-foot boys turn into thirteen-foot boys. They don’t reach their potential and then get frustrated.

All of this could be avoided. Look I’m not telling anyone not to jump in Division I, but make sure it is a good fit. If you can’t pass up on the education, I get it. And I say go for it. But, if your choosing a school, only because its Division I think again. Are you going to be able to compete at the Division I level? Does that school have a pole vault coach, or some guy that has the responsibility of working with the vaulters? Do they have any poles? How about the poles you need? Are you going to be the only pole vaulter?

Trust me I have seen kids who went to a Division I school crying at meets. They are jumping a foot below their pr with no hope of getting better. They have regrets. And then I look at the kids in good vault programs, Division I, II, or III, and they are much happier. They are getting their education and vaulting at a high level.

Look I am just sick of seeing kids go to schools and fall apart, and the only reason I can’t recruit that kid, and help them reach their potential, is because I have two extra roman numerals.

Let me know what you think.

In my opinion it does not matter what number comes after the D .. I, II, or III

In college track and field the majority of the meets are large invitationals where you see all levels from DI to DIII, so level of competition is not very important. The only time it matters is when it comes to the conference meet and the post season. So that all depends on what the coach of your school wants. If you have a big name DI coach that is willing to let a 14 guy on his team then that is up to him.

When it comes to choosing the right college, you chose the right college for you. First you find out what will best benefit your education, then you start evaluating their pole vault programs. You find out what they have available as far as poles and training equipment, and talk to the coach in depth about their coaching philosophy and find out if you think they are the right fit for you.

You could go to a DI school as a 14' vaulter and improve to 16'6 in 4 years and never score a point at your conference meet, but you still graduate with a college education, were part of a good track team and became the best vaulter you could be. Or you could go to a DIII school with not quite as good of a program and improve from 14' to 15' and win you conference meet every year. It just depends on what you want. And I am in no way saying there are not DIII coaches out there with good programs that could make you improve just as fast, this is just one example. DI schools, especially ones with good football teams usually have better facilities and equipment because they have more cash flow.

Branko: You are very lucky to have the facility you have and the amount of poles available to you, so any athlete would be more than lucky to have those resources available. But not all DIII have those available to them, and neither do all DI schools. Every school must be evaluated on its own. I know several DI schools where 15' will win the conference meet, and I know several DI schools where it will take well over 17 to win a DI conference.

Well for starters, the marks those kids are hitting won’t get them anywhere in Division I and even with a marginal scholarship that expensive, private, division I school is still more expensive than a state university or college.

I don't get what you mean by this. Because in North Carolina, I can name several big DI schools that are state schools and all cost pretty much the same thing. The DIII colleges here all cost at least double that of the DI schools. I know several people that have went off to DIII schools that made them feel wanted by throwing sponsorships at them and then they hated it when they got there. But I have also seen people go of to DI schools with poor programs that have hated it too and got worse.

When it comes down to it you go where will be best for YOU!

There are coaches out there that love recruiting 11' girls and 14' guys that they think have potential because it is just more fun to a coach to take a girl from 11' to 13' or 14' and a 14' guy to a 17' vaulter. Do you have any idea how many girls jump 12' in high school just because they had an awesome club coach and a background in gymnastics? They will get more scholarship than the 11' girl that runs a 12.5 100m dash. 11' is no where near good enough to jump high in a competitive conference, and 12.5 is not fast enough to run in those conferences either, but if you have a good coach who recruits that 11' girl, she could be over 14'.

I am personally at a DI school that is in a conference where it takes 13'6 to win as a girl and over 17' on the guys side. But the best girl had a pr of 11'6 in high school and guy 15'6 in high school, but they are all athletes that have the bodies and speed of elite vaulters, now they are being taught the technique.

Of course kids do improve. I'm trying to do the same with my athletes. And yes many big D I programs are state schools, but there are also many that aren't. As far as D III giving out scholarships, that isn't the case. Division III schools cannot give out scholarships for athletics. And I believe that we're on the same side. I stated that if a kid goes somewhere for educational reasons, pole vault doesn't matter.

Now as far as conference, regional, and national meets, what I'm trying to say is that those meets at the D III level provide kids at a lower level those high intensity opportunities to pr. Look we all try our best at every meet, but when your going for a conference title, a ECAC championship, or a spot to be all-american it makes a big difference. Going to bed, I'll expand on this later.

Yeah i get what your saying, some people do just jump better in high pressure situations. But number one thing is the coach and the equipment, weather it is DI or DIII. They have them at both level. But it sounds like you are at a really good DIII program.

Division III schools cannot give out scholarships for athletics. And I believe that we're on the same side.

Quoting a DIII vaulter I know, "I didn't have good enough grades to become DI eligible, but now I almost have a full academical scholarship."

Not saying they all do it.. but some places know how to pull strings...

"I didn't have good enough grades to become DI eligible, but now I almost have a full academical scholarship."

Did he really say academical?

All schools have lots of non-athletic scholarships. Generally, DIII coaches can't pull strings to get their kids these scholarships, but generally DIII schools give out more scholarships than larger schools, and with a lack of athletic scholarships, the athletes on the team are much more likely to have a non-athletic scholarship than their DI and DII counterparts. I think at the larger levels, the NCAA has rules that limit athletes on athletic scholarships ability to accept other types of scholarships.

Another point that has not been brought up yet is the ability of DI schools to recruit other athletes. As a 4 year member of a DIII program, I was constantly pressured to take up the long jump, sprints, decathlon, etc. to help my team score points. Luckily, my coach recognized my potential as a pole vaulter and did not push me too hard. However, I have seen many good athletes that could be coached easily to being 15'+ men and 12'+ women get pulled away to other events where they would only become mediocre because of their general athletic ability. This is not as often the case with larger DI programs who have money to recruit pure sprinters, jumpers, etc. to score in those events. The kids who want to pole vault, and are not quite as fast or springy as the sprinters and jumpers, are allowed to stick to their chosen event because with a little hard work and technique, they might turn into a scoring athlete.

I am generally on Branko's side for this argument because a middle-of-the-road athlete like myself will have far more opportunities to compete at a high level than an athlete of similar ability at the DI level. Sure, there may be some DI conferences where 14' wins on the guys side, but can you say the same for IC4A's and Nationals? IMHO if more of these athletes chose to go to DIII schools (with the right coaches and resources of course), they may realize their potential to jump higher and more competitively. This amount of competition could lead to more potential Olympians...guys like Jeremy Scott and Mark Hollis who did not initially attend DI schools, but may have achieved more success later on in their careers because of it.

On a related note, I think it will be interesting to watch the emergence of the indoor men's heptathlon for DIII. I think if the same "athlete sharing" rules apply that I mentioned above, there will be many pole vaulters training at least part-time for the hep, while many more well-rounded athletes will be spending more time pole vaulting. Hopefully this will lead to more vaulters in general in DIII while also improving the quality and perceived importance of this event.