Unlocking the Vault

Then, just as he approached the pole vault pit at the southwest corner of the Jim Hickey Track and began his plant that spring afternoon in 2022, he quickly sensed that something was seriously amiss.

 

Had he stopped right there, dropped the pole, and let his momentum carry him into the mass of canvas-encased foam before him, the outcome would likely have been quite different.

 

Instead, he found himself in a stall and well off the ground, and he had only an instant to react.

 

“I think I wasn’t pushing back far enough, and I was running flatfooted,” he said. “I was very out. That’s when you’re farther back on the runway than you want to be when you plant, so the jump doesn’t connect. The moment I got off the ground, I realized my hands weren’t moving through and I wasn’t able to move on the pole.

 

“The pole stood up. My weight made it bend down. Then it went at a 45-degree angle, and I shot off the pole. I should have let go then and landed in the box.”

 

He didn’t, though, and the next thing he knew, he hit the concrete sidewalk near the pit. His right hand, chest, and chin absorbed the brunt of the fall. Teammates and coaches rushed to his aid. Trainer Shannon Winston arrived quickly, assessed the damage, and treated his injuries: scuffs, abrasions, and a cut on his chin which would require seven stitches.

 

“I think there was a good amount of blood,” Ned said. “They cleaned most of it up before I saw it. It was a little traumatizing, but I got through it.”

 

Indeed, he did.

 

Later in the spring, he increased his outdoor personal best a foot to 13-0, which he cleared to place third in the prestigious Dogwood Track Classic and fourth in the VISAA championship meet.

 

This past winter, he equaled his personal best indoors (13-6) to take third in the Prep League championship, then increased it to 13-11.75, good for ninth place in the Adidas Track Nationals in mid-March at the Virginia Beach Sports Center. His mark ranked him fourth in Central Virginia and 13th among all vaulters in the state during the winter season.

 

Then, in Collegiate’s first outdoor home meet and still early in the spring training cycle, he vaulted 14-6, which ranks second in Central Virginia and fourth and the state and puts him within range to challenge the school record (15-7.25) set by Trib LaPrade in 1981.

 

“Ned has gotten stronger and faster, but his technical ability has been where he’s improved the most,” said John Vellenoweth, Collegiate’s pole vault coach. “He’s become a very mechanically efficient vaulter. He’s just getting started as far as PRs go.”

 

That’s high praise from a former 18-6 vaulter and respected coach and practitioner of the event. Equally laudable, however, is that Ned’s greatest accomplishments came after the fall.

 

“The toughest six inches for a vaulter is between their ears,” Vellenoweth said, referencing Ned’s ability to respond to adversity with a positive, determined mindset. “Ned never had a fear factor. He got back into it after a little time off and then got his bearings back and made changes from where he was.”

 

Now a junior, Ned first tried the pole vault at the suggestion of his friend and classmate Stuart Hall during the indoor season of his 8th grade year.

 

He cleared 9-0 that winter, and in July of 2020, after missing the spring because of the Covid shutdown but honing his skills while workout out with Vellenoweth at his club facility in Montpelier, vaulted 9-5.75 in the Virginia Amateur Sports Track & Field Games in Lynchburg.

 

“Upperclassmen like J.P. Mintz, Trey Thompson, and Hayden Luckert were working out with Coach V and doing very well,” Ned said. “I saw them getting 14-foot heights. They were an inspiration for me. Coach V is great. He’s a very positive guy. He’s not harsh, but he pushes me at the same time. And he tries to keep things as simple as possible so you don’t stress out.”

 

Though he’d also played football and lacrosse, the pole vault became Ned’s athletic outlet of choice.

 

“The summer between sophomore and junior year, I went to Coach V’s place a lot and worked on drills,” he said. “Drills are a large part of my progression because muscle memory is so important.”

 

He entered his sophomore year with great expectations. Then, the fall set his training, but not his spirit, back almost two weeks.

 

“By that spring, I was comfortable dealing with mishaps,” he said. “It was definitely nerve-wracking, but I was fine. I thought (the accident) would be on my mind for a while, but it was only a week or so. My first jumps (afterwards) weren’t perfect, but I was gaining confidence as I kept sticking more jumps.

 

Which is proof positive that while the pole vault is a physical endeavor involving speed, strength, and dexterity, there’s also a cerebral component.

 

“I think pole vault is very mental,” Ned said. “It’s whether you’re overthinking a little tweak in your run or moving your hands through or guiding your hands when you’re inverted and overthinking it. My strategy is not to think about it because I don’t want to overcomplicate it.”

 

That said…

        

“Right now, I have some knee issues (tendonitis) on my takeoff leg,” he said. “My last two steps I’m reaching out and overloading my knee. As cliché as it sounds, to have a positive mindset about something so negative is the best way to deal with it.

 

“I can be hard on myself. I scrutinize everything. That can be a good and bad thing for my pole vault progression. Externally, other athletes getting higher than me doesn’t bother me. That I can’t control. I focus on what I can control. I know if I’m training consistently, I can control my progression.”

        

He knows, too, that he can control his reaction to the pressure inherent in this unforgiving event requiring speed, strength, skill, and courage by trusting his training, disregarding the distractions, and focusing on the task at hand.

 

“I know there’re people watching,” he said, “but the only thing that’s ringing in my mind is what my coach told me to do, things like ‘Move your hands through’ and ‘Keep your feet going back when you’re inverting.’ I’ve trained myself to think about things in the moment. That helps a lot.”

~Weldon Bradshaw