Missing the fun of high school vaulting

As Jenn and I traveled to watch two local high school meets this weekend, I forget how fun it was to coach at that level.  Kids were very excited and fired up to meet Jenn, which is really awesome.  But I forget how fun jumping at the high school level was.  Kids are very resilient from losses and always improve quickly at that age.  They have a certain level of excitement and anticipation to learn.  I still enjoyed coaching at that level more than any level even though I have not done it since 2006. 
It's a great world at the high school level, almost always improving, no promoters, no media, no Internet bashing, no fighting over money, and most of all, hardly any airplanes.  The pro level is a different world, everybody wants something, everybody owes somebody something, and if that isn't enough...then the Internet and national media will provide you all the criticism you will need. 

I still feel high school sports is one of the biggest determining factors in shaping a young athlete's personality and character.  Some day I will return to this level of coaching because of it's excitement and freshness.  As Jenn signed autographs of some 200 kids,  so many of them said, "I want to be just like you".   But as I watched a young high school vaulter jump a p.r. of 11' I said to myself, "I want to be as happy as that kid" as he ran around the pad celebrating.   

Rick Suhr

The Weather Hold Back

Not to appear as some old guy sitting back complaining about the weather but living in the Buffalo-Rochester area trying to train a World-Class Pole Vaulter, I am beginning to look like that old man sitting on the porch and constantly complaining about the weather and what is inadequate about it.  It started in January and February as we recorded the 6th and 7th coldest months ever in our history resulting in us trying to pole vault in conditions that were 'arctic like'.  So cold, that the heating system could not heat the place enough to get any kind of workouts in.

March was no better, and then we entered April hoping to see the sun in the first time in four months and get some outside training in.  We now found ourselves in the rainiest April ever recorded in the history of our area.  Instead of being outside, training, I found myself constantly jumping between two properties trying to keep the basements from flooding.  A task that has pleasantly transferred all the way to May. 

Still waiting  for warm weather, still waiting for some sunshine, and I basically need a canoe to get down the driveway to my training facility.  As for my world class pole vaulter, she is not like one of those old men sitting and complaining about the weather.  She is like one of those old ladies sitting and complaining about old men.