Several years ago, we had a young vaulter die as a result of a vault accident in Ohio. The coaches / athletes were faced with a very serious movement to eliminate the event. There were many coaches on a war path to eliminate the event. The Ohio Track Coaches Assoc. took a proactive stance and began a coaches eduction program to teach Ohio coaches how to safely coach the vault. The end result is that the level of coaching in Ohio high schools in respect to the vault is now very high and the level of event safety has escalated. Not only has the safety issue been addressed but the results in height has gone up.
Ohio has a very active coaches association. The resultant program has been restarted several different time so as to keep new coaches in the PV education loop. It is not a one time learning situation but a continual development situation. Eduction is not the only answer but it makes a great deal of sense in the total picture. The new minimum pit size regulation that is near effect will help (20'x21') in 2002 at the HS level. But the reality is that everyone must do a better job of teaching, coaching and working together to work toward a safer event. Criss Somerlot USATF Men's Dev HS Chair
