Female high school vaulter considering collegiate vaulting

[apvaarc]

Hi! I am a female vaulter that has just finished my junior season with a PR of 10'6" (freshman year was 8', sophomore 9'6"). I have a ton of questions about my options at this point, at the end of the post...

I have a gymnastics background, good speed, and a lot of upper body strength but my technique is completely off (I always rush one of the phases, only turn 30% of the time, and normally clear higher without the turn because something else will screw up). Practice time this season was limited due to several injuries and my coach never extensively worked on my technique. I had really good clearance one time over 10'6" (and it was without the turn) so I know I can go higher...

The area I live in is competitive, and basically every girl around my level has trained in the off season with a coach that has a wide array of poles, which has never been the case with me. I am going to be training in the off season for the first time this summer/fall, hopefully to get the technique to clear the heights I think I'm physically capable of.

What kinds of college programs do I have a shot of walking on to or getting a scholarship from?
What is the best way to tell the quality of a pole vaulting club? I'm stuck between two and have no idea how to decide (they are similar in distance/cost.)
I saw a lot of posts talking about the recruiting advantages of height for male vaulters...does my height of 5'2.5" put me at a huge disadvantage?
Is it too late to consider vaulting for a scholarship somewhere an option (given that the next time I compete will be in the winter if I don't do a random club meet in the summer/fall)?
I'm suspicious of every recruiting website I come across as being a sham. Is there any in particular you recommend?

Thanks for reading!

[rainbowgirl28]

What kinds of college programs do I have a shot of walking on to or getting a scholarship from?
What is the best way to tell the quality of a pole vaulting club? I'm stuck between two and have no idea how to decide (they are similar in distance/cost.)
I saw a lot of posts talking about the recruiting advantages of height for male vaulters...does my height of 5'2.5" put me at a huge disadvantage?
Is it too late to consider vaulting for a scholarship somewhere an option (given that the next time I compete will be in the winter if I don't do a random club meet in the summer/fall)?
I'm suspicious of every recruiting website I come across as being a sham. Is there any in particular you recommend?

Thanks for reading!

I would guess you could walk-on at most schools, just not some of the the bigger DI schools with a lot of vaulters.

As for the clubs, go take a practice with each and see which coach you click with better. Look for a club that has vaulters landing safely in the middle of the pit.
Yes, your height is a disadvantage, but you'll still have options.
You might be able to get a little money at a smaller school.
Yes, recruiting websites are generally a scam. You don't need them.

Email the head coaches of schools you are interested in and ask what it takes to walk-on and what it takes to get a scholarship. They'll want to know your grades, SAT/ACT scores, PRs, etc. Now is the time to start doing this. Some schools have a form on their website for potential recruits. Put together some video of yourself vaulting, the pole vault coaches will want to see that.

[figgiesblazin]

Your height may be a disadvantage but it's not the end of the world. Feofanova is short and small as well, and check out her jumps!

I recently graduated, but I jumped for a DIII school. Came out of high school w/ a 10'6" PR, improved to 13'6" in college, and I'm also about 5'2.5"! I'd focus on figuring out what schools are good for you, and the vault program should come into play with that (it def. did for me), but so should the academics, social life, etc. Since you're probably not jumping high enough to get a scholarship yet (and not high enough for some of the big programs), check out some smaller DI and some DIII schools, look at how their vaulters are doing, talk to the team, talk to the coaches.

In the mean time, keep vaulting and maybe you'll start jumping high enough for a scholarship.