Vaulters pay tribute to Leon Roach

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http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011 ... d-athlete/


Vaulters pay tribute to former UCSD athlete

By Don Norcross

Thursday, February 3, 2011 at 6:21 p.m.
This 2008 photo provided by the Roach family shows Leon Roach hitting a 15 foot high jump at Huntington Beach High during the Orange County Championships. Leon Roach, a college pole vaulter died after after missing the landing pad and hitting his head on concrete during practice Thursday Sept. 3, 2009. Roach died Saturday at the hospital. (AP Photo/Courtesy Roach Family)

/ AP

This 2008 photo provided by the Roach family shows Leon Roach hitting a 15 foot high jump at Huntington Beach High during the Orange County Championships. Leon Roach, a college pole vaulter died after after missing the landing pad and hitting his head on concrete during practice Thursday Sept. 3, 2009. Roach died Saturday at the hospital. (AP Photo/Courtesy Roach Family)

Amid the cranes and bulldozers moving dirt at UC San Diego to build a parking structure and two student housing projects, there’s a more intimate remodel in the works.

Leon T. Roach Vault-A-Thon

When: 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday

Where: UCSD’s Triton Stadium

Info: At 12:30, the Leon T. Roach Memorial project will be dedicated

At the south end of Triton Stadium, volunteers have built four terraces in the past 56 days. The brick-faced terraces sit in front of the pole vault runway and pit, which will enable spectators to watch the vaulters up close.

The project was the brainchild of Le’on Roach. Nearly 17 months ago, Roach’s son, also named Le’on, toppled off a mat during a UCSD vaulting practice, hitting his head on concrete. He died two days later at 19. The terraces are less than 150 feet from where the accident occurred.

Of the endeavor, Roach said, “It’s for the place and the people Le’on loved there.”

On Saturday, about 35 pole vaulters are expected to participate in a vault-a-thon at UCSD. Money raised will go toward completion of the Leon T. Roach Memorial project.

A similar vault-a-thon last year raised more than $22,000.

Pole vaulting runs in the Roach family. Le’on II, the father, aspired to be an Olympian and cleared nearly 17 feet. Le'on III vaulted at Huntington Beach’s Marina High. His personal best of 15 feet, 4 inches tied for second best in school history. He shares the mark with his older half brother, Curtis Hendrick. Both were tutored by their father.

“Lele (Le’on III’s nickname), his face just lit up when he cleared the bar,” the father said. “And when he didn’t, he was so pensive. He’d think about it, analyze it over and over. You could see his brain twirling.”

At Triton Stadium, the permanent concrete stands are far away from the pole vault pit. To sneak a better view, fans would sometimes walk through trees, press their faces against a chain-link fence and still have to peek through bushes.

“It was just no good for viewing,” Roach said.

His first idea was to build aluminum or concrete terraces. When cost estimates came in at $155,000 that plan was nixed.

Instead, he designed the wavy-shaped, brick-faced terraces, which when complete will feature artificial turf for seating. About 150 volunteers worked more than 3,000 man hours to build the terraces. The project began on Dec. 10. Most of the work took place on weekends. Volunteers included track and field athletes, softball players, administrators, school landscapers, plus Roach family members and friends.

Mike and Denise Cochran left Victorville at 3 a.m. Thursday to volunteer. Mike was prepping dirt for artificial turf. Denise was scrubbing the bricks.

“People would do anything for the Roaches,” Mike Cochran said. “They’re wonderful people.”

Said Le’on III’s mother, MaryAnn, “One volunteer who works for a construction company said it’s the only thing he ever built that had meaning.”

Roach majored in neuroscience at UCSD and wanted to become a neurologist. He played the guitar and piano, liked to ride motorcycles and spoke French.

UCSD junior Allison Rudd, a hurdler on the track team, met Roach in a Bible study. She remembers him for his upbeat personality and that he was a gentleman.

She laughed when recalling that on the team’s longest practice days, Roach wore a T-shirt with a happy face.

Recalled Rudd, “An assistant coach said, ‘Dude, what are you wearing? That’s a ridiculous shirt for a guy.’ Le’on said, ‘What can I say? I’m just Mr. Happy.’”

Roach died during a practice that was overseen by an assistant coach. A rope was hung over a tree and the vaulters practiced hanging upside side and in the U-shaped pike position when vaulters clear the bar. Roach’s father said he was told that his son landed feet first in a foam pit, then fell backward, hitting his head on cement.

From the outset, the Roaches said they do not blame the university for their son’s death. They have not sued UCSD.

“The main reason (they haven’t sued) is because of our faith,” MaryAnn said. “The Bible says God knows how many days are going to be in our lives. That’s the time the Lord had for him here. It’s strange. Had he been hit by a drunken driver, it would have been so much more painful. Here, he was doing what he loved.”

Building a memorial for Le’on so close to where he died was sometimes difficult for his father.

“Every weekend we got out there before the sun comes up,” said Roach. “My wife and I would go stand (at the accident site), look at it and cry. It’s difficult, But everyone on the track team said he loved (pole vaulting) so much. That takes the difficulty away.”

For Roach’s mother and father, the work proved cathartic.

“We don’t want it to end,” said the father. “I would keep building these terraces and they’d go higher and higher to heaven so he could climb down, take a look at them and say hi to us.”

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http://lajolla.patch.com/articles/women ... n-the-road

The UC San Diego track and field program will host the 2011 Leon T. Roach Vault-A-Thon on Saturday, Feb. 5 at the Triton Track and Field Stadium. The women's competition will start things off at 10 a.m., with the men following at 1 p.m.

Now in its second year, the event is held in honor of the former UCSD student-athlete who passed away in 2009. All proceeds will go toward the completion of the Leon T. Roach Memorial project, which is currently under construction at Triton Stadium.

Last year's vault-a-thon brought in more than $15,000, with over 40 athletes from the San Diego pole vault community and beyond competing in honor of Roach. Those proceeds were instrumental in spearheading the memorial project, which is completely renovating the pole vault pit at Triton Stadium. Several block wall terraces have been installed, increasing the spectator seating in the area by approximately 500.

The new area will also serve as a memorial to Roach, a former UCSD pole vaulter who was injured during a training exercise in September 2009 and passed away two days later.