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Leesburg vaulter raises the bar
Senior pole-vaulter Erica Hall joined an elite class of female high school athletes when she cleared 12 feet, but she wants more.
By Joe Williams | Sentinel Staff Writer
Posted April 1, 2004
LEESBURG -- Leesburg's Erica Hall went where only a handful of high school girls in Florida have gone before -- 12 feet into the air Saturday in the girls pole vault competition at the Florida Relays.
Hall, a Leesburg senior who has signed to vault at Arkansas State next year and is the defending Class 3A state champion, joined an elite crowd.
"The 12-foot plateau for girls is a lot like the 15-foot plateau for guys. It's a big psychological hurdle to get over," said pole-vault guru Bobby Haeck, who coaches Hall as part of his Pole Vault City vault club at the USA Triathlon National Training Center in Clermont. "It [12 feet] ranks up there pretty good. But it's a long season. We still plan on jumping higher."
Among the girls who have gone over 12 feet since the girls pole vault became a recognized high school event in Florida in 1996 are DeAnna Schuler from Palm Beach Gardens Dwyer, who went 12-8 in 1998. That height makes her the official state record holder and the only vaulter who has gone over 12 feet at a state meet.
Others include Natalie Moser, who went 12-6 during last season at Tampa Wharton, a Class 4A school last year that dropped down to 3A this year and could be Hall's top competition for a second state title.
Megan Malone from Sarasota Riverview went 12-0 last year and is now vaulting at the University of Florida. Lacy Janson from Sarasota Cardinal Mooney set the unofficial state record in 2001 by vaulting 13-1¾ in a non-state meet. Lori Bowen from Tallahassee Maclay also went 12 feet at the Florida Relays.
Though Bowen and Hall tied for the top height at the Florida Relays, Bowen won the competition because she cleared 12 feet on her first attempt. Hall made it on her second try.
Bowen also is trained by Haeck.
"I coach both of them so having two vaulters go 12 feet at the same meet, I was as happy as pie," Haeck said.
When it comes to competing at state, Moser and Hall figure to be the top challengers in 3A -- Bowen competes for Maclay, a Class A school. Only two other girls in 3A have cleared 11 feet, Karla Savery from Tallahassee Chiles and Daisy Glasser, a freshman at Jacksonville Wolfson.
"You don't want to take anything away from anybody else, but it looks like Natalie and Erica will be battling it out," Haeck said.
Haeck said the remainder of the season would be geared toward Hall gaining more and more confidence. No matter what she does at state, Hall will also compete in the adidas Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Raleigh, N.C., in June.
"She is just building up her confidence," Haeck said of Hall. "She is getting more confident with every meet. For about six months before the season, she really struggled with her confidence. She went through a little span of time where it just wasn't working well for her, but she worked through it."
Haeck said he doesn't concentrate on Hall going high in club practice. Instead, he worked with her on technique.
"Occasionally I will try to have them going high, but not very often," said Haeck, the former state champion and record-holding pole-vaulter at Leesburg and for Florida State, who has worked with Hall on her vault for the past three years. "When we are at practice, I want to work on their technique -- iron out any flaws they have in their technique.
"When they go to a big meet, they will have adrenaline going, which will help them going high. It is hard to match that in practice."
Another senior vaulter who is putting together a nice season is John Alger, a Eustis pole-vaulter. Alger won the Leesburg Invitational a week ago by going a career best 13-7 -- not bad for a vaulter who doesn't even have a vaulting pit at his school.
Alger has been working with Haeck for about a year after going only 11 feet last year.
"If you backed him up more than six-steps [on his approach], he lost confidence," Haeck said. "He couldn't run from a long approach. This year he doesn't seem to have a problem with it. He is running from 10 and 12 steps.
"He also has been jumping on 14-foot poles. We are going to make the transition to 15-foot poles here shortly and that will help him get over 14 feet."
