Article on Concho Valley PV Club, San Angelo

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http://www.sanangelostandardtimes.com/s ... 55,00.html

High on life
Club teaches pole vaulters perfect skills

By BRYAN RUSSELL, brussell@sastandardtimes.com or 659-8264
March 10, 2006

Dakota Bailey gripped the taped end of a cut-off broomstick and planted the other end in the dirt under a mesquite tree before she leapt and swung a few feet.

A few yards away, the patter of metal cleats clicked against a track as middle and high school pole vaulters sprinted, long poles in hand, toward a metal frame, sprang into the air and landed with a soft thud against a thick, blue mat.

Willie Ruiz, a private San Angelo pole vaulting coach, shouted tips to the jumpers before they raced down the runway toward the vaulting platform.

''Kick the pie,'' he told one of the vaulters, pointing to a rusted pie pan that dangled on a rope from a mesquite branch. The jumpers aim their feet at the distant pie pan to ensure they clear the bar.

Ruiz has coached area jumpers at his home in northeast San Angelo for several years. He has trained athletes of all ages, including fourth-graders and senior citizens who pursue pole vaulting competitively or as a hobby.

Local middle school and high school athletes, who are in the midst of their track and field seasons, meet on Sundays year-round to hone their skills. Ruiz said while most of the members are athletes, he also coaches weekend warriors who want to try pole vaulting for fun.

While several of the vaulters cleared great heights, Ruiz pointed to 10-year-old Dakota, jumping over level ground, as an inspiring example of dedication.

''This is how a vaulter is born,'' he said.

When Dakota returned to the track, Ruiz helped her swing to the mat on her first jump. ''How did that feel?'' he asked her.

''Good,'' she said, her sunburned face light up through wisps of blond hair.

Ruiz discovered pole vaulting when he was 10 while visiting relatives in Mexico. His cousins carried 10-foot poles to spring across mountain creeks.

''I didn't even know it was a sport until I entered seventh grade,'' Ruiz said. ''It's fun going over the bar. No matter how high you go, it's just fun. ... There's a fun factor, and there's a fear factor.''

Ruiz opened his home to pole vaulters a few years ago when his children became interested in track and field and needed a place to jump year round. His children brought their friends over, and the Concho Valley Pole Vault Club was formed.

Ruiz is certified by the National Pole Vault Safety Board, a division of USA Track & Field. He said part of his curriculum is teaching pole vaulters safety.

''I've seen many kids get injured because a coach just handed them a pole and said, 'Here, jump,' '' Ruiz said.

Craig Demere of Water Valley brings his son, Cade, and his son's friend, Sheyenne Smith, to Ruiz's home to jump on Sundays. The boys, both 14, pole vault for Water Valley, about 25 miles northwest of San Angelo.

Craig Demere sat in a lawn chair alongside the track and watched his son sprint toward the bar.

''What (Ruiz) is doing here is just fantastic,'' he said. ''These small schools depend on someone like him.

''I bet you can look in the paper and all the kids that are winning are involved with this,'' Demere added. ''He's the reason they're winning.''

Ruiz shouted instruction to jumpers from the other end of the track.

''Speed. Speed,'' he said. ''If you don't have speed, you don't have a vault.''

Cade Demere took a break and sipped water from a paper cup.

''I like being high, and the freefall is cool,'' he said of pole vaulting.

''We like it also because we get to compete with each other, me and him,'' Demere said, pointing to Smith.

''When you pole vault, people think you look cool,'' Smith said. ''Nobody else does it.''

Smith said he and Cade Demere encourage each other in training.

''We push each other a lot,'' he said. ''It's more about one of us winning than a person from a different team winning.''


If you go

What: Concho Valley Pole Vault Club.

Where: 1021 Montague Ave.

When: 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Sundays.

More information: (325) 650-3354 or conchovalleypolevault@yahoo.com.

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Track and field

What: Concho Valley Pole Vault Club.

When: 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Sundays.

Where: 1021 Montague Ave., San Angelo.

More info: Willie at (325) 650-3354.