Loveland, Colorado –Paul Quere watches a video, the contents of which seem comical to him now. There’s a freshman trying, and mostly failing, to learn the ins and outs of a new sport. It’s funny to the Loveland track coach because the kid on the video struggles to clear 7 feet in the pole vault. He can laugh because the kid in the video is Heather Waite, and Quere knows what’s in store for her. The tape captures a moment in time just three years ago, but represents a far longer journey. Waite is now a senior and a very long way removed from that green freshman in Quere’s archive footage. She’s arguably the best female pole vaulter in Colorado, Loveland’s school record holder and the favorite to win the 5A state championship in the event. All things that girl in the video never believed possible. “I never thought I’d get to that (state championship) level. I never did, so it’s really driving me right now,” Waite said. “It just seemed so high when I was a freshman. As a freshman I got to 9 feet and I just never saw myself getting that 3 feet more because the 9 feet was hard enough and every inch after that is a struggle.” Like every successful athlete at any level of sport, Waite combines natural ability with focused determination. But pole vault is not an event where you’re just good because of raw skills. Technique is critical, and because middle school’s don’t offer pole vaulting, it’s not until high school you can learn the skill. In middle school Waite quit track and turned her attention to other pursuits, but decided to come back with one stipulation — she only wanted to do pole vault. more
