Building Momentum

From a new baseball coach to pole vaulting, spring sports at JA have never looked this exciting! Many teams have undergone substantial changes since last year, making this year a fresh experience for viewers and players alike. One of the biggest changes this year has been the debut of pole vaulting in track and field.

“We added pole vaulting this year because of the massive expansion of track and field, with the new track and all,” claimed senior James Brenneman. “For the first time, we would have the resources to operate a pole vaulting program, so the coaches just went for it.”

Even though pole vaulting is a new event this year, Brenneman has greatly enjoyed it so far and is excited to see where the team goes.

“My favorite part is easily the feeling right after clearing a new record height. You know you’ve done great, and you just get to revel in it as you’re falling back to the mat. There’s so much adrenaline tied to it, it feels addictive for sure. Because it’s so satisfying, there’s definitely a huge increase in people on the team who want to try it out.”

As exciting as pole vaulting can be, it’s not without its challenges. The event is notoriously tough, demanding extreme precision from the athlete. 

“Pole vault is ridiculously technical,” according to Brenneman. “Practicing the specific form needed to succeed while combining it with the required upper body strength and lower body explosiveness makes for a very challenging event as a whole.”

Track isn’t the only sport changing– the varsity baseball team got a new coach this year.

“I love our new coach,” claimed JA senior and baseball player Bentley Nielsen. “He was the JV coach before, but when we heard [our old coach] was retiring, everyone in the program wanted Mikey to become our head coach. He’s incredibly relatable and personable, and he’s the greatest ever supporter of the baseball program.”

Coach Mikey has done a lot of good with the team. He’s implemented new coaching systems and practice methods that allow the team to shine. 

“The culture has changed significantly under the new head coach,” stated Nielsen. “We’ve been lent a lot more freedom to be ourselves, we’ve begun to focus a lot more on hitting, and we’ve instituted new systems with team captains, allowing us as players to take a lot more ownership over the team.”