Lucas Ball article (OH)

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http://morningjournal.com/articles/2011 ... 183833.txt


EDGE: EC pole vaulter's dedication and determination have made him and early riser
Published: Friday, April 15, 2011



By ANTHONY RIOS
arios@MorningJournal.com



Click to enlarge
ELYRIA — It takes a different kind of athlete to participate in the pole vault.

Most track and field events involve speed and power. The pole vault, though, is the most technical event an athlete can do. Not only does the athlete have to utilize their speed and power, but they also to control a long, flexible, pole as they approach the pit, then they must control their body in mid-air trying to clear a height bar.

Elyria Catholic freshman Lucas Ball is one of those athletes who has taken on the challenge of pole vaulting and seems to be on the fast track to becoming one of the best in Lorain County.

He took third at the Avon Lake Invitational clearing a height of 12-0 on April 2, then took first place at the New London Relays with a height of 13-6 on April 9, breaking the school record.

After the New London Relays Ball said he called his older brother Zach, who holds the school record for discus at Firelands High School and throws at Ashland University, to tell him the good news.

“I told him what I did and he was pretty pumped about it,” Ball said.

Ball didn’t just decide to become a pole vaulter when he got to high school. He was able to start when he was in middle school and has continued to get better.

“I got started my seventh grade year,” Ball said. “My dad did pole vault in high school and he gave me the idea to try it.


“I tried it one day and I liked it.”

Ball said the most difficult part about the event is the positioning the pole.

“You have to focus so much just getting to the box, then you have to focus on getting the pole in there,” Ball said.

Ball caught on quickly and in the summer of his seventh grade year he qualified for the Junior Olympics and took fifth in the pole vault.

Unfortunately, Ball didn’t have anywhere to practice when he got started so he traveled to Bellevue, where he trained at Altitude Headquarters.

That scenario is very common for high school athletes who participate in the pole vault.

Many athletes do not participate in the event because of the risk involved and also because of lack of equipment. A number of local schools do not have a pole vault pit for athletes to practice. A good pole vault pit can cost a school thousands of dollars to have, and with most schools operating on tight budgets it’s hard to obtain one.

Elyria Catholic is one of the schools that doed not have a pole vault pit. Instead of continuing to drive to Bellevue, Lucas’ father Bill decided to take matters into his own hands by building his own pole vault pit at his South Amherst home.

Bill, who did the pole vault when he was at Keystone (1981-85), said he just wanted to help his son.

“I knew the school couldn’t afford it and we already had the equipment, so we decided to do it,” Bill Ball said.

Bill said it took him about a week to build the pit, which has been up for about a month.

Bill has been coaching his son since the seventh grade and said it’s been a great experience for him.

“I really enjoy the quality time we spend together,” Bill Ball said. “The time we spend together is irreplaceable, because you don’t realize how fast high school is.”

Lucas said having his dad coach him in the pole vault has been a good thing for his growth in the event.

“It’s kind of advantage because he’s always there and I can trust him about anything,” Ball said.

Elyria Catholic boys track coach Paul Cunningham said he was impressed by Ball’s record-breaking performance.

“His performance was special,” said Cunningham about breaking the record at the New London Relays. “Lucas is special, just like many of our athletes at Elyria Catholic.

“I expect him to go on and do a lot of great things here.”

Cunningham added that Ball has become so successful so early because of his work ethic. Traveling to practice and working from home has given Ball a great start to his high school career, Cunningham said.

“He’s got great dedication,” Cunningham said. “His dad does a great job with him and he’s very technically sound.”

Cunningham said he hopes the school can eventually get their own pit as they join the West Shore Conference next fall.

With the success of Ball and also senior MacKenzie Tweardy(who also broke the girls school record with a 10-0 jump last week) in the pole vault, Cunningham believes more kids will try to follow in their footsteps.

“I think if we can get a good pit set up here in the future I think you’ll see the numbers increase,” Cunningham said. “I’ve often said the pole vault is most technically demanding event and to have a couple kids be this successful at it is encouraging for the future.”

Elyria Catholic will be one of schools that will participate at the Lorain County Invitational today at Midview High School.