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Helena coaching legend Doug LeBrun dies at 74

By CURT SYNNESS Independent Record | Posted: Thursday, March 10, 2011 12:15 am | (0) Comments

Longtime Helena High pole vault coach Doug LeBrun, who mentored 14 state champions and two state record holders, died Wednesday of an aneurism, according to close friend George Harper. He was 74.

LeBrun, who graduated from Ronan High in 1954 and attended the University of Montana on a baseball scholarship, operated a nationally renowned summer pole vault camp at his ranch in the Helena valley. During the past 25 years, he coached thousands of local and statewide vaulters, as well as numerous others from six different states.

He was presented the 2006 U.S. Pole Vaulting committee’s national “Outstanding Service to Pole Vaulting” award, and in 2010 he received the “Jeff Truman Memorial Pole Vault Summit-ship” award.

During his travels to the various camps around the country, LeBrun cultivated personal friendships with the likes of Olympians Tim Mack and Stacy Dragila.

“The kids called him ‘Old Man,’ ” and he was the old man of the pole vault community — not just for Montana, but for the entire nation,” said Harper, who helped LeBrun for four decades.

“He could be rough in spots, but he had a heart of gold, and there never would’ve been any pole vault camps or tournaments around here without him.”

LeBrun started teaching freshmen P.E. at Helena Junior High in 1973, and moved over to Helena High in 1979 when it became a four-year school.
During his 32-year tenure as a Helena High assistant track coach, he instructed eight 15-foot vaulters. His prize jewels were all-class record holders Todd Foster and Shannon Agee.

A member of the Montana Coaches Association Hall of Fame, LeBrun was recently elected to the Helena Sports Hall of Fame.

“Getting into Helena’s Hall of Fame meant more to Doug then you’ll ever know, he was so pleased when he learned about it last week,” Harper said.

“And it’s a real blessing that he knew, before leaving this earth, that the sporting community appreciated his contributions in that fashion.”

More about Doug:

http://www.ontrackandfield.com/main/memorial/2010.html


2010 Summit–Ship Winner

And The Winner Is…
Coach Doug LeBrun will be honored at the 2010 Pole Vault Summit in Reno, Nev. as this year’s Jeff Truman Pole Vault Summit–Ship recipient.

A perennial favorite of those who seek to recognize outstanding pole vault coaches with this annual award, Coach LeBrun is renowned for his work with vaulters in the Northwest U.S.

Retired teacher and not–so–retired coach, LeBrun prepares to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the founding of his pole vault camp series, a week and a half of multiple 2–day coaching camps held each summer on the coach’s 21–acre ranch, AKA “The Helena Vault Center.”

Featuring two runways, two pole vault pits, a rope vault area, inversion machine, parallel bars and a trampoline, Coach LeBrun’s center provides an array of “stations” designed to help developing vaulters understand the technical concepts of the difficult event.

While the center has achieved a certain level of sophistication over the years, when Coach LeBrun refers to his “vault camps” that is exactly what they are—CAMPS. “In order to cut costs, we have a large enclosed area where we can place up to twelve small tents, although some of our participants opt to stay in motels,” says Coach LeBrun, who makes sure everyone is well–fed, and has access to proper (if not luxurious) facilities while attending his camp.

!Coach LeBrun’s camps have extended far beyond the small band of local boys originally gathered from neighboring towns. Coach LeBrun has also worked hard to introduce young women to the vault and was on the forefront of training girls in the event before it was actually sanctioned by the State of Montana. This past summer, Coach LeBrun’s labor of love resulted in registering 175 athletes from Montana and five other surrounding states.

Coach LeBrun gave so much to our sport and will be missed.

I was lucky to meet him at Reno one year and feel lucky to have had that opportunity now.

My hearts and prayers go out to the LeBrun family. Coach LeBrun was an excellent teacher, mentor and coach in all sports. I was told when he was teaching physical education in Helena he would teach pole vaulting in his classes as part of the many activities the students participated in. Coach LeBrun will be missed by all.

Great Coach and great man. I had a chance to room with him at Chula Vista one year and I learned he cared as much about his vaulters as young people as well as athletes. So sorry to hear this.