PoleVaultPower.com

I haven't been on here in while, but I have been getting some questions regarding what schools vaulters think they should go to, and how to get noticed by certain schools. I decided to copy/paste a section of my emails to one individual, because having gone through the system four years earlier and having learned a LOT about college pole vaulting in this day and age, I hope that you might find some of these tips helpful as you make your decision. I have omitted several sections for both anonymity and to not favor one school over another. It is important to note, however, that these are just my opinions. Be open to all ideas and take everything you can into consideration.

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"The single most important thing to look for is the quality of the coach. You have to get along with them, trust them, and buy into their system. The size of the school, amount of resources, etc, means NOTHING concerning how good a pole vaulter you can be there. Just look at what Jack Whitt has done at Oral Roberts University, or Jason Colwick at Rice University. These schools are not "big time" money-making schools like SEC, Big-Ten, or ACC, etc.... but because they have the highest of high quality coaches and athletes that can buy into their system, they are successful. By no means are these the "tip-top cream of the crop, I'm just using them as an example. You don't need (relatively speaking) a lot of money to be successful at the pole vault, all you need is a GREAT coach, a set of poles, and a pit. The Great coach finds a way.

Next, it's very important that you be pole vaulting because you enjoy it, not because there is money involved. Once money becomes a motivator for success, the stress and anxiety associated with that can easily wear you down and make you depressed if you're not being successful. Your #1 motivator has to always be the personal love and satisfaction you get from pole vaulting. Having said that, I think there are a LOT of great coaches out there that can help you continue to love pole vaulting, AND be successful at it.

(I went on to suggest some schools in the vaulters area to look into, then said the following...) A lot of this is going to have to come from your research. Find out who has the best vaulters, and find out how high those vaulters were jumping in high school. If they aren't getting any better once they get to the school (or getting worse!) thats a red flag. If they weren't even ranked very high in high school but have found a way to be ranked high in college, thats a green light that maybe you should find out more. Some of the gems won't be easy to find because they don't have the highest jumpers in the nation. Break up your research by division 1, 2, and 3 to get a little more accurate view.

Now this is not the only indicator of a good program. It is important that the vaulters you talk with are honest about their experience, and tell you whether they are happy or not. Sometimes, great coaches are really just great recruiters in disguise. They recognize great talent or capability in young vaulters, then recruit them because they know they will get better in SPITE of poor coaching. These vaulters will usually end up relatively successful, but tell you that they Like their coach but dont LOVE their coach, and feel that they could be doing better.

All these questions are important to answer when you are looking at schools. But when it really comes down to it and you've learned as much as you can about your schools, go with your gut. That's why I went to Penn State, and I came for my education. I could not be happier with where I am now because of that choice I made. Pole vaulting could have gone much better, but I'm still glad I ended up where I did, all because I followed my instinct. I encourage you to do the same after you collect all the facts that you can."

Great write-up. I agree 100%. I attended Penn State myself and absolutely loved the school, but was saddened by their lack of vault coaching when I was there. I realize most schools do not have "good" coaching, much less "great" coaching, but PSU is one of those places with crazy nice facilities that should have coaches, for all events, to match.

Sorry to hear your vaulting didn't go as well as planned while in college but happy your college experience was exactly what you had hoped for. Best of luck to you in the future with all your plans.

I understand Penn State has lost there vault coach and was wondering if you may be able to give any insight into what direction they may be going with the pole vault program there. Do you think they will improve or do you think they will have a decline?

Well put...I think one of the biggest things I have seen recently is that too many kids get hung up on what division the school is in. I went to a division III school and had success there mainly because of the coach there. I have seen many kids who have tons of potential turn down coming to my school or other smaller schools because they had an offer from a division I school even though that school did not have a pole vault coach. In most of these cases, the athletes do not reach their potential and even quit pole vaulting altogether. Its one thing if the academics are far better in these schools. I do believe that student-athletes are students first and foremost, however, if you do want to excel athletically, look at the program and success its had, not what Division it is in. My biggest advice for kids is not to be afraid to consider Division II or III schools ore even NAIA schools.

How long will the coach be there? No one knows for sure but check out vault coaches relationship with head coach, has the vault coach moved around a bunch. Is the head coach commited to having a vault program? Lots of things to check into.