track ~ pole vaultling

nitnat · 03-08-2008, 12:48 PM

What opportunities would dd have (will be a sophmore next school year) for going to a college for track. She excells in pole vaulting...All honors classes with A's and B's...For now she wants to study law...I would like to take the time to say how much this site has helped me. I truly appreciate all of the posts here. Thank you kindly

bugmom · 03-08-2008, 01:03 PM

My D is a HS soph pole vaulter. From what we have seen with the girls at our school and in the region, pole vaulters are in demand at colleges. Our Senior from last year, got a scholarship for it. She was jumping in the 12' range. IN NJ at the MOC, the top 3 jumpers were all at 12', 4th and 5th in the 11 range. I believe one of them is being recruited for the vault. My D just finished indoor track, clearing 9', but thinks she will be at 10 very shortly. We have started to look at the stats at some of the colleges she is thinking about (wants to go into engineering), and some are pretty low on the vault, like 9'6".

curmudgeon · 03-08-2008, 02:08 PM

BRAGBRAGBRAG

One of our family friends and one of D's best friends is on a full scholarship at UNT and kicking butt.

Shelley Hollingsworth - North Texas Mean Green Athletics

She just won the Sunbelt Conference 2/23/08 with a PR and school record, besting her previous school record by 4 inches.

Way to go Shell!!

She is also a dynamite basketball player but unfortunately was too short. Like a foot too short.

MarinMom · 03-08-2008, 03:05 PM

My D is a freshman (probable EE major) on the track team at an East Coast DIII school and is loving it. While she occasionally competes in TJ and other events, her true love is PV. Really great group of friends, nice break from studying (they work out 5-7 pm, when she wouldn't be doing anything productive anyway), and it forces her to stay in shape. Her high school PR was 10'6". She hasn't exceeded that yet, but she says that her form is getting much better...

She competed in all the jumping events in HS (HJ, LJ, TJ, PV) and knew that she wanted to continue competing in college, so when we visited colleges summer after jr. year she made a point of meeting and/or emailing the track coaches at any school that she liked. Here's the range of responses she got:

DivI, Pac 10, arguably the most competitive league in college track (in response to an email after she had already been admitted) - in order to walk onto the team she would have to be vaulting at least 11'6" and she wouldn't be allowed to compete as a part of the team for a couple of years. "If you're willing to make the sacrifices required of a DivI athlete I would be happy to talk to you further." I reminded her that she doesn't do sacrifice.

DivI, Ivy League, one of the more competitive teams - "Your stats aren't good enough for you to be competitive, but you could come out as a walk-on if you wanted." She didn't bother applying.

DivI, Ivy League, one of the less competitive teams - "Sure, you could pole vault here. What about trying out some other events? Have you thought about multi-events such as pentathalon?" She really liked that coach and applied to the school, but he ended up leaving, and she ended up withdrawing her app.

DivIII - "You are my number one recruit. I wrote a letter of recommendation to Admissions on your behalf." Wow, nothing like being wanted! We went to visit the school again and the coach arranged for her to have an overnight with one of the pole vaulters, who took her to a frat party and otherwise showed her a great time. This is where she ended up.

I should mention that all of these schools are very selective, and she wasn't making any sacrifices in her education by choosing one over the other.

By the end of jr year your D will have a better idea what place (if any) PV should have in her life (enrichment, Olympics, or somewhere in between), so that's the time to look more seriously at how it will fit into her college application process.

Kathyc · 03-08-2008, 06:33 PM

A star pole vaulter at our school (5th in California last year) got into Harvard based on her athletic ability.

nitnat · 03-08-2008, 11:02 PM

It is an inspiration to read about your wonderful kids and their pv and track experiences. Please continue your wonderful posts. I love reading them. Thank you all.

sammy2 · 03-08-2008, 11:06 PM

son's friend got into Dartmouth, was even deferred then offer a place just last week for track.

WasOnceMellowMom · 03-09-2008, 07:50 PM

Does anyone know of any good pole vaulting schools/opportunites for a boy with about a 3.4 GPA 1300 SATS on preferably on the west coast? Money would be good!

Tuition Dad · 03-10-2008, 11:48 AM

It seems like my daughter isn’t happy unless she is upside down – she loves gymnastics and started doing pole vault in HS. State Champions last year here is Washington won with close to 12’, and there were several other placers in the 11’ area. I know several of these girls received scholarships, but I can’t give you any specifics.

As MarinMom mentioned walk-ons at big Div 1 schools would need to be at around 10’6” or higher. My daughter has a friend who was in the 8’s that is at a Div II or III school (not sure which), and this helped her with being accepted at the school. Being a part of a team and representing the school is part of the fun of being there.

nitnat · 03-10-2008, 01:46 PM

Thank you. Very inspiring stories.

daffymom · 03-10-2008, 02:35 PM

Wasonceamellomom-

Pretty competitive to get a significant scholarship. My S. a sprinter was recruited by Ivys, DI, DII, and NESCAC schools, but was never offered more than a few thousand dollars. We settled on using the sport as a hook into a top 10 LAC vs a few K athletic scholarship. Coaches are looking for athletes that can score points. A single event athlete is at a distinct disadvantage as compared to a distance runner (potential 3 season competitor) or a multi event kid.
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http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/10/sp...&oref=slogi n

Front page article today NY Times: With college Athletic Scholarships, Expectations Lose out to Reality

"But in sports like baseball and track and field routinely award partial scholarships, a player can receive as little as $2,000."

Division I and Division II statistics
Track and Field and Cross Country 713,305 HS Boys Participating
8,414 Recipients of Scholarship*
3,112 Scholarships*
37% Full scholarships
$6,491 Yearly value per recipient
*There are more students receiving scholarships then there are scholarships available because many of the scholarships are divided among several students.

MarinMom · 03-10-2008, 03:51 PM

And I would like to point back to the Pac 10 coach's comment, "If you are willing to make the sacrifices..." I know a kid who was recruited for an Ivy cross country team and quit after his freshman year because the coach told them that they would have to give up one or more of the following: academics, friends, or sleep. Also, he wasn't allowed to take classes that would conflict with his training schedule. It's even harder at the powerhouse DI schools. If you are on a scholarship, the coach owns you. There are plenty of kids who thrive in that level of structure and competition (one of my D's best HS friends is a hurdler at UO and loves it), but you and your student need to look carefully at whether that is the best fit for him/her.