Vault coach having impact at Pennsville (NJ)

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http://www.nj.com/sunbeam/index.ssf?/ba ... xml&coll=9

Vault coach having impact at Pennsville
Saturday, April 18, 2009
By Chris Pawling
cpawling@sjnewsco.com
Few doubt that a high school athletics coach in any sport is lacking in the passion department when it comes to his or her respective specialty.

None should doubt the passion that is felt by a volunteer coach - someone who doesn't get paid a nickel for their efforts.

One of those coaches is Pennsville High School's Justin Lanyon, the track team's pole vault specialist. Lanyon works for DuPont as an engineer and goes to night school. With whatever time remains, he dedicates himself to the Eagles.

"It started out I wanted a place to jump and help out," said the former Widener University vaulter. "This outdoor season I'm not even jumping, I'm just helping the kids develop. I want to keep the sport alive. There's not that many coaches out there."

Before Lanyon sent a mass of e-mails to local coaches, Pennsville boys head coach John Maniglia was acting as the pole vault coach. When Maniglia received Lanyon's e-mail, he immediately became interested.

"I told him we were more than willing to have him come help us out," said Maniglia. "He's done a fantastic job for us. He's really helped out the kids."

Lanyon currently has one standout vaulter in Kristin Weigel, the individual winner with a vault of 10 feet when she and Meghan Dineen won the Group I state indoor relay championship. Lanyon said that he and Weigel worked out five days a week together to prepare for the relay championship.

In last year's outdoor action, Weigel was fourth in the state. She credits her success to Lanyon's coaching.

"Nothing me or any of my teammates have done would have been accomplished without him coaching," said Weigel. "At the meets he knows what's going on, you never doubt anything."

Lanyon's early history with Pennsville acts as a strong rsum for any vaulter that joins the team to be one of his students of the sport.

In 2007, Ryan Caimi tied for second in the state in outdoor Group I when he vaulted 13 feet. Lanyon also coached Eric Hutchinson to a Group I outdoor state title with a vault of 13 feet - Caimi was second. Hutchinson set the school record of 14-1 as well.

And with the stress that comes from working a full-time job, going to school and coaching, Lanyon's commitment mirrors the kind that he is happy to say his vaulters possess.

"My job is getting more complicated, I'm stretched very thin," he said. "Coaching has become extremely difficult. The way Kristin has progressed, I can't let any of them down because they would never let me down."