I hope everyone has had a great first week of school! This has been
my first year back in school as a Mom, and it has been crazy! I am
hosting a forign exchange student from Germany and so we are jumping
into kindergarten and high school at the same time. Lots of paperwork,
parent meetings, and a bit of "working" (fighting) with counselors. I
now feel for you parents!
BUT... hopefully you have
made it through the worst of it and you are itching to pole vault again!
I know I can't wait to get back out to the track coaching! We have an
exciting year coming up. Hannah, Zandy, and Noah have all put in a solid
foundational year last year. They are all ready build on that
foundation this year and take it to new heights!
A quick update from the summer meets:
Noah and Hannah both had a succesful summer season, both with big PRs!
All
in all, Hannah raised her PR last from 11' to 12'3" !! The exclamation
marks are there 1- because I am proud of her and 2- because I know there
is SO MUCH MORE in the tank and I am SO excited to see it come together
this year!! Watch out collegiate pole vaulting, Hannah will be a
fierce competitor this year!
Noah also raised his PR
from 8' from the previous season to 10'9" this summer! (Both Hannah and
Noah were setting personal records at the Quintana Beach Vault at the
same time on different pits... it was a good meet!) Noah had a great
season, AND has had an even better breakthrough summer so I can't wait
to build off of that this coming year! He is a freshman this year, so
high school track here he comes!
Zandy didn't get to
compete in any summer meets, but has been training well through the
summer. She will be the speedy one on the runway this year. Keep an eye
out for her, she will be jumping higher!
New Athletes:
We
will also have a couple new athletes join us this year. Jordan is
joining us from Houston Baptist University. He will be a junior there
and is making a switch from the 800m to the decathlon. I have been
thrilled at his level of technical control and body awareness. He is
already a fabulous athlete and learns quickly so he is a ton of fun to
coach. This will be one decathlete who pole vaults like a VAULTER!
Then Saskia will also be joining
us. She is from Germany and staying with me for a year. She is a great
vaulter, with a PR of 11'8". She brings a lot of experience, and a LOT
of passion for the event! She will make a great addition to our team.
High Level Athletes:
I
am very pleased with our team outlook this year. All my athletes are
high level athletes - they are performing well for their age, and they
are committed to the event... and LOVE IT! This will be a GREAT group to
train together! I am excited not just for me, but for you ATHLETES, a great training group is worth a million bucks!
Looking for more:
This
year we are also looking to recruit some more beginners to join us! We would like to add an additional beginner session to our schedule. If
you know any one who wants to give it a try send them my way or bring
them to a practice. If you know any fierce, speedy, or tough athletes -
gymnasts, divers, volleyball, soccer, or basketball players, or anyone else - Tell them how much you LOVE POLE
VAULT! Those of you who are the only vaulters at your school (or the
only serious vaulters) recruit some team mates for yourself - they will
be a great help to you at the meets in the spring and they will keep
the program going at your school.
In addition to
teaching YOU how to reach your potential and jump higher, a main goal of
mine is to build Pole Vault in this area into a very visible sport and
to provide the opportunity for kids to pole vault as a serious, well
educated athlete.
It's going to be a good year!
Practice will start next week - this first week of September. Dates
& times can be found on the Practice Page here.
