I stand on the runway with my head held down and my heart racing. Although I have done this many times before, I still get the nervous rush. I can hear my coach, Mr. Hall, telling me to move my hands up on my pole and to drive my legs up. My first attempt out of the three I have.
Mr. Hall had asked me if I wanted to try pole vaulting my Sophomore year. I didn’t say no before I tried. That practice, some of the upperclassmen were showing me some drills to grab the concepts and form of pole vault. They made it very clear that once you are at the top, you need to rotate your body to land on the mats. It was hard to learn the form for me because I’m left handed and had to do opposite of what everyone else was doing. Keeping my left hand on the bottom and my right one on top, learning to drive my legs upwards, and to be at …show more content…
The official calls my name for the last time. I stand on the runway hoping to clear it this last time. After wiping my hands dry on my uniform, I start to run. Before I knew it, plant my pole in the pit, launch myself through the air and drive my legs to the sky. Once I’m at the highest point, the only thing bringing me down is myself. The split second I am up at the top, it feels timeless. I know I have to rotate my body up and over at that point. As I begin my rotation, my hand hit the bar. I knew I didn’t clear it this time. I can hear the bar hit the ground. I land back on the mats and look up. I didn’t clear it. With it being my last attempt, I tell myself that I always have next meet to clear it. That day, I beat my personal record by almost two feet, qualifying me for states. I may not have succeeded to get over the seven feet six inch height I was looking for, but I didn’t give up. I worked so hard to become better and better each day. It took me two years to get to that point with pole vaulting. Of course, our school record is eight feet six inches. This year, I am looking forward to track in hopes of beating the school