Lone Star Pole Vaulting Newsletter
November 12, 2014


In this issue:

"In order to be a success it is important to know three things: where you started, where you are, and where you are going."   - Jimmy Valvano

Halloween Vault: Another fun time was had by all at our 8th Annual Halloween Vault competition, costume contest, and pot luck.  Some great costumes and a few new PR's along with terrific food highlighted the day.  Results are posted on our website: http://lonestarpv.com/results/20141101halloween.pdf

Upcoming Meets:  Listed below are upcoming pole vaulting competitions we plan to compete in.  NOTE: the Lions Relays meet that was scheduled for November 15th, then rescheduled to November 22nd has now been canceled due to a lack of sufficient number of entries.

Practice Schedule & Thanksgiving: I will be out of town from Monday, November 24th thru Saturday, November 29th, so there will be no group practices or private lessons available those days.  For members Open Gym is available at any time during that week, but must be scheduled online and you must contact me individually to get PIN code for the front door.  A full description of Open Gym is below under "Rates & Services." 

If you are a current monthly member for November and will lose practice opportunities during the week I am gone, I will credit you back $25 for Bronze Members, $37.50 for Silver Members, and $50 for Gold Members.  If you have not yet paid your November Dues, you can pay it short the appropriate credit amount.  If you already paid November Dues, you can take the credit by paying your December Dues short the appropriate credit amount, use it towards a private lesson, use it towards a pole and/or equipment purchase, or as a rebate in the form of a check.  Please contact our Office Manager Roxanne to let her know how you'd like us to apply your credit ( www.lonestarpv.com/contactus.htm )

Please remember to schedule ALL practices online AT LEAST 1 DAY IN ADVANCE.  The runway is beginning to get full and I am adamant about keeping no more than 7 people on the runway at once to ensure quality practice.  The Online Scheduler has been adjusted to no longer allow you to schedule a practice that same day.  Monthly Members should schedule all practices a month in advance and cancel or reschedule as needed.  Cancellations or rescheduling via text message to me is ok: 830-263-2526.  This is the only way to ensure you will get your spot at practice.

Rates & Services: October was the last month for Unlimited Group Practice and Open Gym for $120.  Beginning November 1st, our rate structure became:

To take advantage of any of the services we offer, we require 3 items:

  1. An Athlete Information Sheet completed and on file.
  2. A Waiver of Liability form completed and on file.
  3. A current membership with USA Track and Field (USATF) submitted and on file.  To obtain a membership, go to www.usatf.org/membership and sign up under Lone Star PV, LLC in the South Texas Association, then forward your confirmation email to me.  Memberships cost $20/year for youth and $30/year for adults.  This is not optional as my insurance company requires it.  USATF memberships operate on a calendar year basis, expiring on December 31st, so they must be renewed for January-on participation.  Memberships purchased after November 1st are good until December 31st of next year.

Group or "Club" Practice: The backbone of our organization and its best value, club members join by the month and practice between 1-6 times per week.  All practices are instructed and supervised by myself with occasional assistance from other qualified coaches.  Ongoing development of goal-oriented pole vaulting skills and fitness are at the core of this service.  Participation in competitions within as well as outside of scholastic track and field is encouraged and expected.  Members may be of any age, gender, or ability-level, therefore all group practices are heterogeneously mixed.   Group Practices must be scheduled via our Online Scheduler: https://instant-scheduling.com/sch.php?kn=570316

Private Lessons: I do offer private and semi-private (shared with another vaulter) lessons on request.  Since I am currently the only coach at Lone Star, my availability is limited to weekdays between 9-3, and Saturdays between 10:30-12:30.  Sunday is my day off reserved for family.  I charge $60/hour and offer 1, 1.5, and 2 hour lessons.  Beginner and youth vaulters generally only benefit from a 1-hour lesson, while 1.5-2 hours is sufficient for more experienced vaulters.  Private Lessons can be requested and must be confirmed via our Online Scheduler: https://instant-scheduling.com/sch.php?kn=570316

Open Gym: Open Gym is access to the gym to train on your own during times when there is no group practice or private lessons taking place.  You may use any of the equipment in the gym, but we have a few rules: 1) If you're under 18 years of age you MUST have a parent or guardian present.  2) You MUST have a signed waiver of liability on file including your health insurance information.  3) You MUST have a current USATF membership on file with us.  4) By scheduling, you agree to pay for or replace any equipment that is damaged or broken during your workout.  Like all services we offer, you MUST schedule Open Gym time online: https://instant-scheduling.com/sch.php?kn=570316

Preparing for Outdoor Track Season: For our youth vaulters it may still seem a long ways off, but in 3 months scholastic track season will be upon us.  While it provides excellent competitive opportunities, school track also presents 2 major problems:

  1.  For most of these vaulters, they will not have a pole vault coach at their school... at least not one that knows how to instruct or help them properly.  
  2.  Most of these schools will not have the proper poles to fit these vaulters.

In contrast to past seasons, I will not be attending track meets every weekend.  Instead, I am coaching these vaulters to prepare them to be able to coach themselves at their meets.  Detailed explanation and review of things like warmup routine, strategy (opening heights, which run to use, passing heights, etc...) as well as adjustments (moving steps, changing poles, standards, etc...) are being utilized each and every day.  I try to play Devil's Advocate by questioning each vaulter as to what happened on each jump, why it happened, and what to do next.  I check for understanding and explain and correct any misinterpretations.  This is extremely important if each athlete is to be successful not only in middle school and high school, but especially if they hope to someday compete in college.  Other clubs often spoon-feed information to their athletes with no explanation or rationale, and I feel it is a great disservice as it fosters total and complete dependence upon the coach.

Additionally, I recommend having each vaulter ask their school coaches if they may take an inventory of every pole the school has in its possession, then bring that list to me to review if there are poles that may work for them.  I can go several steps farther with my Assessment Service: http://lonestarpv.com/assessment.htm

If you still don't have the poles you need, you should consider purchasing poles either outright or via our Lone Star Pole Sharing Cooperative.  If you purchase outright, you can do so with us as we are dealers for every pole manufacturer in the U.S.  We offer a 15% discount to club members off of catalog price, and can best fit you for the exact pole or poles you need.  If you purchase through our Cooperative, you pay a flat rate of $300 per pole for however many poles you buy of any brand or size.  Those poles are put into our club inventory for everyone to use, however they are reserved for you for any and every track meet you attend.  If you outgrow them or are unable to use them if they're too big for your current ability, you can reserve any other pole(s) that fits you.  In short, you own stock in the number of poles you purchase, so if you purchase 3 poles, you can take any 3 poles you want for each meet.  If you graduate or leave the club, you can take any 3 poles you're using at that time with you (they don't have to be your original purchased poles.)  Sales tax and shipping does apply.  Contact me directly for more information.

Thanks and have a great week!

Kris Allison
Owner and Head Coach
Lone Star PV, LLC
830-620-1175