The Real Rules and Real Coaches

[pistolpete6994]

It's been a long time since I have been active on the message boards here. Busy teaching and coaching, no time for typing.
Silence too long,
As I travel from meet to meet and from school to school I find that 98% do NOT meet the rules. Most being for dumb reasons; no pads to cover pavement around the pit, not weighting standards to prevent tipping, and so on.
I am truly becoming fed up with the disregard for the rules of this event. Just a few years ago we had so terrible accidents in our sport thrusting us into the lime light and causing a major upheaval of rules and regulations. Have we backtracked? Have they forgotten why they were changed?
Why did we change them at all if nothing has changed but the size of the pads?
I, or my athletes, are fortunate that my school system hired me specifically to coach the vault, and has stated in their track program rules that they would not even host the event without a certified coach. Is my AD the only sane man in high school sports?

I pose to all of you coaches out there, get certified, push certifications at your league meetings, and at your state meetings. This is the largest group of vaulters in the country; we have the numbers, the power and the experience to get this done.

And possibly the problem lies with those trying to make money in certifying coaches. If you are a high school coach you know all too well, it’s not about the money, it’s about the kids and keeping them safe.
Now we begin the movement to properly teach others to teach, let’s keep our sport safe and most of all keep our sport flourishing across the country.

[baggettpv]

I agree. And many should too.

Rick Baggett
WSTC LLC