George Davis Invitational @ UMass Lowell
Yesterday was the George Davis Invitational at UMass Lowell, our one home meet each year.
Once again it turned into another day of waiting. With starting height at 7ft and I was coming in at 10ft, it was a long wait. I was very frustrated after feeling great during warm ups and completely losing it during the actual competition. I only vaulted 10ft on third attempt (which usually is no problem!), and it was a very ugly jump…and so were the rest of my jumps. I will take any advice/tips on waiting for the higher heights and keeping yourself “in the game”—PLEASE!
During warm ups, one of the female competitors was apparently having a tough time and started throwing a tantrum right on the runway. From what I could piece together from the tantrum and the fact that I’ve seen her in our conference meets, it was because she was vaulting without her coach there. At one point she stomped her feet and yelled, “THAT’S IT! I CAN’T POLE VAULT WITHOUT A COACH!” 1.) I shook my head because she was behaving like a child and should have been ashamed to do that in uniform—or in general. 2.) My brother said, “My sister does it almost every meet!” Kind of made me chuckle. She completely scratched from the event and didn’t compete. But more to the point of my story: remember that you are representing yourself and your school when wearing your uniform and to do so in a positive manner—even if you’re having an off day. We all get frustrated, but please don’t throw a tantrum and throw poles and scream at people. And that goes for EVERY competitor: college, high school, clubs, unattached, etc. Sorry, that really struck a nerve with me. It was completely unnecessary. I’m sure none of you would do that anyway 
Well, the transfer process is underway. My applications are completed, and I sent one out this morning. I need a bit more cash to send out the other ones, but I’ve been contacted by a few coaches and already have a scheduled visit. I guess it’ll be a fun little surprise to figure out where I’ll be headed next fall. It’s a big decision and I’m thankful for all the love, support, and advice that has been sent my way. <3
Princeton Invitational next weekend —if they decide to send me. Last year they didn’t. But if they do, I’ll be traveling with the team to New Jersey and staying there for two days. So we’ll see….
About The Author
Chrissy
Hometown: Fitchburg, Massachusetts; High School: Fitchburg High School, Class of 2007; Fitchburg High School Pole Vault Record Holder: 10'7" (2007) College: University of Massachusetts at Lowell 2007-2010; transfer to University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Class of 2012; Personal Best: 11'10", Indoor 2012; UMass Lowell Women's Pole Vault Record holder: 11'2" (Indoor) 11' (Outdoor); NE-10 Conference Champion Women's Pole Vault, Indoor 2009-2010
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I agree, sitting and waiting around for hours after warming up is sooo frustrating. When it happens to me I just make sure and not sit around doing nothing for too long. Every once in a while I’ll get up and do a couple sprints or jog a little just to stay loose. Make sure you don’t tire yourself out though! Other than that I just try not to think about it too much. Usually, the more I think, the more nervous I get and the worse I do. Hopefully that helps and good luck with everything!!
Thanks, Jillena
…I’m a headcase as it is, so I wouldn’t be surprised if it was really just me psyching myself out.
HAHA.
Ya same goes for me. I usually come in after most people are done for the majority of the meets and I find what helps is doing somewhat of a mini warmup before I start jumping again. It might not involve all the jogging I did the first time I warmed up but it does involve doing my sprint drills and dynamic stetching again. It’s a pain to have o warm up twice for one event but it’s either that or not do it at all and jump cold turkey when it actually matters
. Also as coach mcguinn once told me, if you’re not sweating after warm-ups, you didn’t warm up enough. Haha not sure if that helps but there’s my twocents 