Personal Narrative: Pole-Vaulting In Track And Field

Sky-High

Have you ever felt intimidated by anything? Maybe a public speaking or even a school project? In my case, it was a sport. A sport that wasn’t very popular, I might add. I started pole vaulting in January of 2015 , at first, I approached it warily. It was unusually risky. Merriam-Webster defines pole vault as afield event consisting of a vault for height over a crossbar. Pole vaulting is a part of the field aspect in “Track and Field”, and I became hooked on it. My brother, Nicolas Bernal, encouraged me to try it. I was excited because it could be something that we shared, pole-vaulting. Afterward, I talked to the coach, Coach Sawyer. He informed me that if I wanted to participate, then I needed to get my physical. Promptly, I did

and I began attending practice three days later. That’s when the journey began.
My first meet was on the All-Comers meet hosted by Grayson. That meet occurred in January, I had had barely 3 weeks of practice and I was competing. Evidently, when it was my turn to vault, I felt nervous, embarrassed, and dumbfounded. It was my first time competing, and I felt pressure from my brother. It was a home meet and I felt a sense of responsibility to represent and demonstrate what Grayson could achieve. Thoughtlessly, I messed up my entire routine. I didn’t run fast enough, I jump too far in advance and I landed incorrectly. As I was up in the air, aware of the audience’s eyes, I was overcome with shame. I had failed myself, the coach, and the Grayson body. When I landed, something felt wrong. Apparently, I had landed on my ankle and it set of a jolt of pain I had never experienced. Once the meet was over, I went home and sobbed. That competition had mortified me in front of my teammates, brother, and the opposing teams. Of course, every player had more familiarity to the sport than me. Nicolas comforted me and told me to acknowledge that I hadn’t had the time necessary to prepare myself. I started feeling well and took into account the issue at hand: did I want to quit after less than a month or did I want to work harder to become a superior athlete. I decided to stay and improve my skills. I worked on my upper body strength, jumping higher, and placing the pole down at the accurate instant. Pole vaulting was the first sport I had ever officially participated in and I felt free when I did get up in the air. It was those moments that pressed me to improve.
At a meet in Brookwood, about a month and a half later, I was confident.

I had gone to practice, and was proud of my determination. That day, it was bitter cold and the players of all the teams were huddled together, shivering. I remember this day so vividly because it was the first time I placed in a competition. The sky was cloudy and you could sense the humidity. The ground was wet from the night before, everyone despised this setting. The booster club had brought Gatorade, water and protein bars for us and placed them in front of the bleachers. Athletes were already warming up, their faces getting red from the cold. Anxiety starts to set in but it feels good. I started killing time and hung out in the restrooms because it was warm in there. It was time. I started getting ready, put on my spikes, and ran two laps around the track. I stretched and was ready. The announcers broadcasted that the pole vaulters needed to get in place and I quickly met up with my team. I took off my sweats and revealed the skin tight uniform underneath. I was organized to be the fifth person to go. When they were ready for me, I started my routine and was impervious. I set a personal record of five feet, six inches. While that might be a small victory to others, I was on top of the world. My next goal was to beat it and eventually I

did.
At the last junior varsity meet of the season, that took place in Parkview High School, I reached six feet.

I had trained so hard and was beyond satisfied of myself. It was April and a humid day. We had left school around two thirty pm. Parkview used rubber for their runway, a factor none of the pole vaulters liked .As we waited, the players slept, listened to music, or ate snacks. Finally, when it was time to compete, I went first. My impetus to get it right was to beat my previous record. I calculated my steps and began sprinting. I assessed the moment to jump and swung my lags over my head. I flipped my body over the bar and pushed the pole far out. I accomplished it, I had beaten my record. I heard my coach and teammates clapping and sensed myself blushing. My brother ran up to me and told me how proud he was. Pole vaulting may be a young sport, but people who are educated about it, quickly grow fond of

it
Pole vaulting wasn’t feasible, it stressed me out, overwhelmed me, and even pushed my physical and mental limits but I can say it truly made an impact on my character. I gained an understanding on sportsmanship, perseverance and loyalty. This upcoming season, I will continue pole vaulting,. Pole vaulting is an amazing activity that makes you feel as if you’re flying and the feeling you get once you’ve cleared the bar is tremendously gratifying.