Ryan Adler Accident 2005

Discussion about ways to make the sport safer and discussion of past injuries so we can learn how to avoid them in the future.
User avatar
JTred
PV Whiz
Posts: 175
Joined: Sun Apr 24, 2005 5:04 pm
Location: Elizabeth PA
Contact:

Unread postby JTred » Sun Apr 24, 2005 5:50 pm

My coach's daughter was at that meet. It really is sad. My parents are all shaken up about me vaulting now.

User avatar
rainbowgirl28
I'm in Charge
Posts: 30435
Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2002 1:59 pm
Expertise: Former College Vaulter, I coach and officiate as life allows
Lifetime Best: 11'6"
Gender: Female
World Record Holder?: Renaud Lavillenie
Favorite Vaulter: Casey Carrigan
Location: A Temperate Island
Contact:

Unread postby rainbowgirl28 » Mon Apr 25, 2005 1:44 am

http://pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-rev ... 27630.html

Injured pole vaulter showing progress

By Bill Beckner Jr.
VALLEY NEWS DISPATCH
Monday, April 25, 2005


Injured Knoch pole vaulter Ryan Adler moved Sunday, his sister, Maria, said, showing signs that he is responding to doctors' attempts to take him off of medication which placed him in a coma to reduce pressure on his brain.

Adler, a 15-year-old freshman, remains in critical condition at Children's Hospital, but his family is optimistic he'll come out of the comatose state soon.

"We'll just have to see what tomorrow brings," said Lisa Adler, Ryan's mother. "Right now, he's just our sleeping little boy."

He is under the care of Dr. David Adelson, a pediatric neurosurgeon.

"He's very sensitive right now," Maria Adler said. "We're not allowed to touch him or talk to him.

"He just looks like he's sleeping. I can't wait until he opens his eyes."

Doctors attempted to bring Adler out of the coma Saturday, but to no avail.

Adler was injured during a meet at North Allegheny last Monday when he stalled midway into a vault attempt and fell awkwardly into the plant box. He hit the padding, but the angle at which he landed -- head-and-shoulder down -- caused trauma to his head.

He's been at Children's Hospital since.

Maria Adler, a junior on the Knoch girls track team, was about to run the 200-meter dash nearby when another pole vaulter ran over to her and alerted her about Ryan's accident.

"I ran over and he was just snoring away; hardly moving at all," she said. "Right now, we're hoping and praying. A bunch of the girls on the team have raised money to get him flowers for his room.

"People have been so generous to us, and that's meant a lot."

Maria said today she'll try to complete her first full day of classes for the first time since the accident. Lisa Adler, a teacher in the South Butler School District, where Knoch High School is located, also has missed school time as she spends most of her time by her son's side.

Family members have been staying overnight in one of the hospital's sleeping rooms.


Bill Beckner Jr. can be reached at bbeckner@tribweb.com or 724-224-2696

User avatar
blakedow
PV Nerd
Posts: 118
Joined: Mon Apr 11, 2005 1:45 am
Location: San Marcos, TX

Unread postby blakedow » Mon Apr 25, 2005 4:39 am

Did anybody else see the video and drop their jaw when they noticed that the pit was way small and surrounded by HAY for extra padding... It's a miracle no one else has been seriously injured at that facility... When are school districts going to wise up and get these kids decent equipment... I hope the kid gets better...

Anybody know what size pole he was on and where he was gripping? Just curious...
4.75... Write THAT down...

User avatar
Rhino
PV Pro
Posts: 271
Joined: Thu Aug 21, 2003 4:36 pm
Location: Florida

Unread postby Rhino » Mon Apr 25, 2005 7:09 am

Come On! Don't blame the facility! The pit is fine. No pit will protect you if you drop on your head in the box!

User avatar
CHC04Vault
PV Follower
Posts: 541
Joined: Thu Feb 17, 2005 7:14 pm
Location: Baltimore, MD
Contact:

Unread postby CHC04Vault » Mon Apr 25, 2005 9:24 am

Stop blaming equipment and start blaming poor coaching and techinque. Equiptment can only go so far!!! Besides, if hay can save street lugers why wouldn't it work for pole vaulters???
"Good my jump, it will be done" Bubka

User avatar
MightyMouse
PV Follower
Posts: 578
Joined: Fri Nov 26, 2004 7:14 pm
Location: Syracuse, NY
Contact:

Unread postby MightyMouse » Mon Apr 25, 2005 9:51 am

Stop blaming equipment and start blaming poor coaching and techinque. Equiptment can only go so far!!!


I agree
Its time for every Pole Vault coach to be certified by a safety/coaching clinic
19 Years Old
Coach: Val Osipenko
"Hard work never goes to waste"
Petrov/Launder student

User avatar
USMC Vaulter
PV Pro
Posts: 318
Joined: Fri Mar 04, 2005 9:35 am
Location: San Antonio
Contact:

Unread postby USMC Vaulter » Mon Apr 25, 2005 10:05 am

While I dont disagree with certifying coaches or anything - I'd like to get back to the subject - and in this case, a coach's certification wouldnt have stopped this specific injury.
Its something that just happens - a vaulter stalls and lets go - it just happens. You can train a vaulter to never let go, you can preach it and drive it in to their brain, but ultimately - if a kid panics and lets go, then he panicked and let go. His head even landed on the mats - but the impact in this particular instance resulted in a unique and abnormal result. Its a tragedy and in no way do I dimish what happened to this vaulter. I hope that he recovers and comes out of this thing ok - but right now I dont think pointing any fingers or placing blame is going to do any good.
Matthew Savini
DCHS Vault Coach
www.HighVaultage.com

User avatar
rainbowgirl28
I'm in Charge
Posts: 30435
Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2002 1:59 pm
Expertise: Former College Vaulter, I coach and officiate as life allows
Lifetime Best: 11'6"
Gender: Female
World Record Holder?: Renaud Lavillenie
Favorite Vaulter: Casey Carrigan
Location: A Temperate Island
Contact:

Unread postby rainbowgirl28 » Mon Apr 25, 2005 12:52 pm

Here is what one of the reporters suggested for contacting Ryan Adler and family:

for now, try Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh
3705 Fifth Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
412-692-5325


there's also get-well e-mail through their website:
http://www.chp.edu/contact/getwell.php

good luck. and that's a lovely gesture,

chuck

User avatar
rainbowgirl28
I'm in Charge
Posts: 30435
Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2002 1:59 pm
Expertise: Former College Vaulter, I coach and officiate as life allows
Lifetime Best: 11'6"
Gender: Female
World Record Holder?: Renaud Lavillenie
Favorite Vaulter: Casey Carrigan
Location: A Temperate Island
Contact:

Unread postby rainbowgirl28 » Mon Apr 25, 2005 1:02 pm

I just sent him a get well email. It's really easy to do, I encourage you all to give it a try.

User avatar
CHC04Vault
PV Follower
Posts: 541
Joined: Thu Feb 17, 2005 7:14 pm
Location: Baltimore, MD
Contact:

Unread postby CHC04Vault » Mon Apr 25, 2005 4:50 pm

USMC Vaulter wrote:While I dont disagree with certifying coaches or anything - I'd like to get back to the subject - and in this case, a coach's certification wouldnt have stopped this specific injury.
Its something that just happens - a vaulter stalls and lets go - it just happens. You can train a vaulter to never let go, you can preach it and drive it in to their brain, but ultimately - if a kid panics and lets go, then he panicked and let go. His head even landed on the mats - but the impact in this particular instance resulted in a unique and abnormal result. Its a tragedy and in no way do I dimish what happened to this vaulter. I hope that he recovers and comes out of this thing ok - but right now I dont think pointing any fingers or placing blame is going to do any good.


I agree that it was a freak accident, and its up to the individual one what they do when they panic, but I get really irratated with people blaming equipment and not coaches. I Just hope other vaulters learn to hold onto the pole when they stall out.
"Good my jump, it will be done" Bubka

User avatar
ashcraftpv
That one guy
Posts: 1202
Joined: Thu Sep 12, 2002 1:06 pm
Expertise: Former College Vaulter (D1), Current High School Coach, 1999 Outdoor Big Ten Champion
Lifetime Best: 5.25m
World Record Holder?: Renaud Lavillenie
Favorite Vaulter: Jason Hinkin
Location: Gig Harbor, WA
Contact:

Unread postby ashcraftpv » Mon Apr 25, 2005 5:11 pm

USMC Vaulter wrote:While I dont disagree with certifying coaches or anything - I'd like to get back to the subject - and in this case, a coach's certification wouldnt have stopped this specific injury.
Its something that just happens - a vaulter stalls and lets go - it just happens. You can train a vaulter to never let go, you can preach it and drive it in to their brain, but ultimately - if a kid panics and lets go, then he panicked and let go. His head even landed on the mats - but the impact in this particular instance resulted in a unique and abnormal result. Its a tragedy and in no way do I dimish what happened to this vaulter. I hope that he recovers and comes out of this thing ok - but right now I dont think pointing any fingers or placing blame is going to do any good.


I'll second this. This was an accident and no one can really be faulted. The last thing that pole vaulting needs is another bunch of knee jerk reactions like we had after Kevin Dare. Not to say that some good things didn't result out of that, but we all need to take a step back and think about what really could have been done to prevent this accident from happening? I know the standard "proper coaching and technique" answer, which I fully agree with, but when it comes down to it, the vaulter has to execute what they've been taught. It only takes one mistake to put yourself in a dangerous situation. In my 15 years of vaulting and coaching, I've been put in numerous situations where the potential for injury was there, but my training (and a little bit of luck) helped keep me from serious injury. I remind my kids on a regular basis that they need to fully concentrate on what they are doing and what I tell them, otherwise they run the risk of a serious injury and that they need to be aware of that at all times. Before we all start going off on a rant, let's make sure we all fully understand all the possibilities.
PoleVaultPlanet is coming.....

User avatar
pistolpete6994
PV Nerd
Posts: 79
Joined: Mon Nov 17, 2003 11:10 am
Expertise: Once a Collegiate Vaulter- Now HS Coach
Location: Augusta, ME

Unread postby pistolpete6994 » Mon Apr 25, 2005 8:37 pm

Being vaulters ourselves it is easy to say it was an accident. And I agree with you. But what is going to be the reaction of the public... what rules will they impose next? shoulder pads? neck braces? the officials that create these rules are often trying to appease an upset public.
We all know the risks, thats why we train hard and study the fundamentals, so when things go wrong we can handle them. If you have ever seen an elite crash and burn you know what i mean... they come down and know how to handle it, because they have fallen before and learned. Its a part of our sport.

On that note, we all must appreciate this accident and feel for a comrade. I pray for Ryan's recovery and that each of us learns from this accident and passes our experience on to the next generation of vaulters.


Return to “Pole Vault Safety”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 15 guests