GETTING TO KNOW: Port Jervis' Sydnie Leroy (NY)

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GETTING TO KNOW: Port Jervis' Sydnie Leroy
April 27, 2007
Sydnie Leroy
Sydnie Leroy was attracted to the pole vault the first time she saw the event.
"I said, 'Wow, I really want to try that,' '' said Leroy, a sophomore at Port Jervis.
Barely five months after her first practice leap, Leroy is clearing 10 feet with aspirations to go much higher. "I love it,'' said Leroy, whose best leaps are 10-6 indoors and 10-1 outdoors. Her goal is 11-6 by the end of spring.
"It came a little more naturally (to me) than most people,'' Leroy said.
Club coach Tim St. Lawrence said Leroy has many of the tools required to be a good pole vaulter: flexibility, height (5-foot-9) and good speed.
Leroy enjoys getting involved in everything possible. She also runs distance events and has been trying the hurdles and high jump. She is the sophomore class secretary, the Interact Club president and a member of the National Honor Society.
What is the most difficult aspect of the pole vault? "Getting it all together. I can do each part of the vault beautifully by itself. You take it all together and you have 10 seconds to do everything. Probably jut the final product is the hardest."
What is the strangest question you ever received about the pole vault? "You get some pretty strange questions (laughing). It would probably be, 'Do you ever stab yourself with the pole?' or, 'Have you ever landed on it and hurt yourself?' ''
Do you use a helmet when you vault? "No, I don't. My mom has seen me pole vault and usually I am pretty safe. I guess she wouldn't mind if I did but so far she hasn't bugged me."
What do you aspire to be in life? "I want to go into the medical field â€â€