How Pole Vaulting Saved Bill

I guess it all started the spring when Meagan was 12. She came home from her first day of junior high track practice and informed Bill and me that she had always wanted to pole vault. That was news to us. Until that year, it would have been an impossibility, but that was the year when girls' pole vault first became a sanctioned sport in Nebraska.

So, Meagan attended track practice faithfully, and figured out several innovative ways to practice at home. She was not a natural pole vaulter, but she worked hard and, by the time she was a sophomore, people were beginning to take notice. To make a long story short, I'll just mention that she vaulted 12 feet, 8 inches when she was a senior in high school, and won the state class B championship in spite of vaulting with a stress fracture in her ankle. As a college vaulter, she vaulted 13 feet, 2+ inches, and won the national NAIA championship when she was a senior.

This article isn't really about Meagan, but you can click here to read more about Meagan's pole vaulting journey, and about our whole family's pole vault adventures.

Bill, offering encouragement to 15-year-old Meagan

It is track season once again, and Bill has started another coaching season. He was never Meagan's coach, but he attended virtually all of her high school and college meets, and accompanied her to some national meets, including Junior Olympics, where she took second place as a 16-year-old. I would say that Bill's favorite pole vaulting experience happened when he went with Meagan to an elite vaulters' camp at the Olympic Training Center in California. She was invited to attend the camp, as long as she brought a coach or parent with her. That's where Bill really learned so much about the sport of pole vaulting. A year or so after Meagan graduated from college, Bill was asked to assist with pole vaulting at Gering High School and the rest, as they say, is history, at least where Bill is concerned.

From the time Bill first started attending Meagan's track meets, he has been studying the finer points of the vault. From the very beginning, track meets provided an outlet for Bill, a time for him to get away from business pressures and concentrate on something else. For a work-aholic like Bill, Meagan's meets provided a much-needed diversion. But it was several years later, when Bill began to coach high school kids every spring, that pole vaulting made a significant impact in Bill's life.

Bill knew what workouts would be most beneficial for his vaulters, and he wasn't afraid to ask Meagan for assistance, or even an occasional demonstration, when he needed help. But he soon realized that he wasn't providing a very good personal example for the kids he coached. To put it bluntly, he was overweight and out of shape.

So, very quietly, Bill researched effective weight loss methods and diets, and without telling anyone, not even me, he set a goal. He found an app on his phone that let him record all of the calories he consumed each day, and he replaced his daily McDonalds lunch with a healthy salad, which he usually ate at home. He started working out early in the mornings, before the rest of the family was awake, eventually doing an exercise program that his physical therapist recommended, and using the high school weight room several times a week. It took a year or more, but Bill dropped 50 pounds, and gained energy and overall good health. Even after he met his goal, Bill continued to exercise and eat healthy foods. And, to take things a step further, Bill decided to learn to pole vault himself, so he would have first hand experience to share with the teens he coached.

Coach Bauer, running a junior high meet

I am convinced that Bill would have died from his first heart attack, nearly three years ago, except for this: he had already lost weight, changed his diet, and established a workable exercise routine. Click here to read more about Bill's heart attack. I don't think I am mistaken when I say that God had a hand in Meagan's first desire to try pole vaulting so many years ago, seemingly out of the blue, knowing that Bill would need some tremendous incentive to get in shape.

Pole vaulting certainly changed Meagan's life, giving her experiences she could have never imagined. I am convinced, though, that God used Meagan's pole vault passion to ignite Bill's own passion for the sport that ultimately saved his life.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 

Romans 8:28