Lakeside pole vaulters have skills of gymnasts

As athletic pursuits go, pole vaulting isn’t exactly a jog around the track. It’s more like jumping off a building. Upside down.

So why is pole vaulting the “in” field event for girls at Lakeside High School?

The Eagles have had seven state tournament medalists in the past few years, including state champion Ali Forsyth last spring, when three other Lakeside vaulters finished in the top seven at the Washington Class 2A meet.

“Vaulters have to have a certain drive, a gutsiness in them,” said coach Paul Huffman, who’s in his eighth year at Lakeside as both an assistant and head coach. “And I think one of the attractions here is the closeness of my vaulters as a group and the fact that they recruit each other. They have fun at the track but also just hanging out together.

“I actively recruit girls who are on our gymnastics team – all but one of my vaulters has been a gymnast.

“They’re kids who have control of their body and are willing to go upside down and can still have a sense of where they are. The vault in gymnastics and also the uneven bars have similarities to some elements of the pole vault,” Huffman said.

Three of Lakeside’s four state placers are back – Forsyth, now a senior, and juniors Loreah Winlow and Lora Beedle. The vaulters led the Eagles to a third-place team finish at the state meet.

“My vaulters have called themselves the PVC – Pole Vault Crew – for the last several years,” Huffman said. “That group has been very close and tightly knit for a long time, and the rest of the team didn’t always like that. Track is different in that sense – that there are teams within teams, by events.

“Now that I’m head coach again, I’m trying to promote that family atmosphere across the whole team, where everyone, no matter what their events, cares about each other and supports each other,” Huffman said.

“The vaulters would rather I weren’t head coach, I think, because it takes time away from them, but I’m fortunate to have a wonderful staff, and we make all our decisions together,” he said.

Huffman has a couple of promising new vaulters, junior Katrina Allen and freshman Kira Secrest, to help fill the void left by graduated state meet runner-up Chey Scott.

And Forsyth, who won at 10 feet, 6 inches last year, already has gone that high in practice this season.

Huffman had never vaulted before he started coaching the event (his personal record is 8 feet, 6 inches). Modeling many of his general coaching techniques on the work of former Lakeside wrestling coach Scott Jones, Huffman has picked up most of his vaulting knowledge from experienced local coaches.

“I think it doesn’t matter a lot what you’re coaching – good coaching is good coaching. A lot of it is about mental preparation, what kids are feeling and what they’re seeing.”

And what Lakeside pole vaulters have been seeing, for the last few years, is a landing pit full of success.