Carolina Hernandex article (TX)

[rainbowgirl28]

http://www.thevictoriaadvocate.com/spor ... 2830c.html

Bay City pole vaulter inspired, motivated by former track coach
May 11, 2006
MIKE FORMAN - Advocate Sports Writer
BAY CITY - Even as Marshall Brown was being wheeled into the operating room at St. Luke's Hospital in Houston his thoughts were elsewhere.

"My girls are in a meet," are the last words Brown recalls saying before undergoing triple bypass surgery.

Bay City junior Carolina Hernandez was preparing to pole vault in a regional qualifiers meet in Pearland when she got word of Brown's surgery.

"I didn't find out until that day," Hernandez recalled. "I cried at my locker. I didn't want anyone to see me."

Hernandez performed horribly in Pearland, clearing only 8 feet, two feet less than her personal best.

"I think she was worried about coach Brown," said Hernandez's coach, Randolph Brown, who is no relation to Marshall Brown.

Hernandez's tears have been replaced by her usual laughter as she completes her preparation for Friday's UIL Class 4A state meet at Mike A. Myers in Austin.

The searing pain in her ear, which remains a mystery even after a visit to the doctor, and the throbbing soreness in her feet are masked by the advice coming from a man, who will turn 74 in June, wearing a Bay City cap and sitting in a folding chair watching her every move.

Linda Smith plucked her from the weight room and sent her from the volleyball court to the track, and Randolph Brown has been there at every meet, but Hernandez leaves no doubt Marshall Brown has made her the pole vaulter she is today.

Hernandez can fathom no other reason why a virtual walking malady, who is a National Honor Society student and sings in the choir, and isn't the least bit proficient at any other sport, and to top it all off, is afraid of heights, would excel in the pole vault other than the gentle guidance she's received from a man she likens to "a grandpa."

"He can explain everything," Hernandez said.

"He knows exactly what he's talking about and he gets straight to the point."

Marshall Brown officially retired as Bay City's track and field coach in 1997, but he's continued to dispense advice to any Bay City athlete with an eagerness to learn and willingness to listen.

"I find some who care and that's the reason I'm out here," said Brown, whose most famous pupil, Joe DeLoach, won a gold medal in the 200-meter dash at the 1988 Summer Olympics. "That's the secret all the way through is finding those kind of kids."

Brown got out of the hospital less than two weeks ago and has a scar stretching from the top of his chest to his stomach. He moves slowly and remains in considerable pain. Brown has to be driven from his home to the high school track by his wife, Kay, who must endure her husband's backseat driving tips, but he enjoys the time he spends coaching Hernandez.

"She's wonderful girl," Brown said. "She has a tremendous sense of humor. She laughs about everything."

Hernandez has reason to rejoice after beginning the season in a walking boot for yet another medical problem she has trouble describing, before winning the District 24-4A meet with a personal-best vault of 10 feet. She recovered from her debacle in Pearland to clear 10 feet - after making 9-6 on her third and final attempt - on her first attempt at the Region III-4A meet to finish second and qualify for the state meet.

"She's only 5-(foot)-1 and that changes the angles," Marshall Brown said of the petite Hernandez.

"There are a lot of other factors she compensates with. But you're going to have to keep doing it. It takes an understanding. You've got to be able to take your mind and do that."

Hernandez will have to vault better than she ever has to earn a medal at the state meet and she'll have to do it in the absence of Marshall Brown, who will be unable to attend the meet because of his health.

"I showed coach (Marshall) Brown a tape of her regional vaults and we were aghast at how bad her form had gotten," Randolph Brown said. "We've worked a lot on her form and getting her confidence back up. We want her to beat her personal record. With the work we've done this week, she should be able to go 10-6, and if she gets 11, you never know what can happen."

Hernandez has found good things happen in the pole vault when she thinks happy thoughts, and she'll be thinking a lot about Marshall Brown while she's in Austin.

"He's really fun," Hernandez said. "He tells you stories and gives you advice. I think the only reason I made it to the state meet is because I didn't want to let him down."

[belmore]

that story tells about a real coach.

[dbwsportz]

Coach Marshall Brown is dedicated to the athletes he coaches. A great coach who produced many college bound athletes in football and track. I am proud to say that I had the opportunity to vault under him from 1977-1980. Go Bay City Black Cats!