I was just thinking of the pole vault community and how different it is from any other sport community in the world. Lets just start with the difference in how pole vaulters treat each other at any given competition. In any other sport the goal is to beat your opponent. Not to say that pole vaulters are not competitive, but their goals are a little different. The only rea…l goal at a competition is to PR and jump higher then you have ever jumped before, you’re really competing against yourself. Where this truly differs from other sports is that everybody else you are competing against also wants you to jump a PR. A pole vaulter will do everything in their power to make sure everyone else in the competition jumps as high as possible, they understand that this will also help them to rise to the next level.
Now the coaches: At the end of 2012 I contacted my current coach Dean Starkey to ask if he would be willing to coach me. I was a bit nervous to contact him since he is one of the greatest American pole vaulters of all time not to mention if you don’t know him he may seem intimidating. Lucky for me he said yes and now I get to work with one of the best coaches in the world full time. He has been amazing at helping us improve our physical and psychological abilities to become better pole vaulters, not to mention making our technique resemble that of decent looking pole vaulters. Him and his wife Jill Starkey have been incredible and have constantly gone out of their way to help us in every way possible. All of the other coaches I have had have also been amazing. my first coach Dick Reimers got me into pole vaulting. I am absolutely positive that without him I never would have had the success I have had in the vault. Jan Johnson who took me from a 1ft to a 3′ 6″ push off will simultaneously making me into a far safer pole vaulter and my college coach Tom Brenda who had no idea what he was getting into, lucky for me he was very patient.
Now lets talk about the pole vault community outside of competition and look at how helpful they are I am not just talking about the vaulters but the families and friends of the pole vaulters as well. When I told people that Annie I I were going to Europe to pole vault they were more than willing to do anything they could to help. They helped with the clothes we needed for the colder weather, made donations, gave us new spikes, and Bernie Miller made us both some awesome pole bags to travel with. They would ask where we going to be in case they knew someone in the area that we might be able to stay with.
When we got to Europe the pole vault community was just as helpful and accommodating. Two people specifically have been especially helpful and have made our life’s a whole lot easier since we have been here. Steven Taeleman who has given us a place to train and been helping us find meets, and Joe Samaniuk whose apartment we have been basically living at while in Leuven since we got here. Also when we decided to go to a meet in switzerland Mitch Greeley contacted us to offer us a place to stay and train will we were there, him and his wife Nicole B. Greeley were amazing. Fellow pole vaulters have sent us lists of meets they know of, shared supplies, talked technique, etc. Oh, and of course my mom Robin Lyn Main has been awesome. Other then watching our dog Beauford for the summer, taking a train down to LA to pick him and our car up, and shipping me various things I need while I am here, she has just been amazing.
So if you are new to pole vaulting consider yourself lucky for becoming part of such an amazing community
