I’m looking for any knowledge or experience people have of walking on to a D3 team for pole vault, for women in particular. Anecdotal or second-hand stories are fine; I’m just trying to get a general sense of the landscape.
What is the lowest performance, if any, that a D3 coach would accept for a walk-on? I’ve tried looking at the numbers on Runcruit, but pole vault is missing from the list for most D3 schools.
I know of one D3 school that literally lets anyone join the track team who wants to, with the result that some vaulters who can’t go higher than 6 or 7 feet are allowed to join the team. (They may not compete in all the meets, but they get to practice with the team and compete at some meets.) At the other end of the spectrum, I’ve known of another D3 coach who turned down a 10’ 6" vaulter because he already had 3 vaulters going at least that high and had no interest in taking on another.
Which scenario is most common for D3 schools? Or do most fall somewhere in between? If so, where is the cutoff, generally speaking?
There are over 300 D3 track programs so there is no blanket answer here. Maybe go to tfrrs.org and look at the rosters and results of schools you are interested in.
You really need to ask the coach. As momofthree says, no blanket answer.
But I’d say in general D3 leans toward inclusivity. PV is one of those events that can go either way.
Coaches are usually excited to find vaulters because not everyone wants to do it; and with the right coaching there are diamonds in the rough. Especially true for women vs men.
But at the same time it’s pretty labor intensive to coach, kind of a headache if there are too many bodies and not enough coaching/operations bandwidth.
Probably not many coaches are turning away vaulters who have at least a shot at making opening heights. That’s probably around 2.50m for D3, give or take. But it depends on the situation.
Are you looking for the women or men’s team? How high have you jumped in competition?
D3 is a wide range and many schools do not have a PV coach. In general, a female who can jump 10’6 or a male vaulter jumping 12’ might have an option to walk on a team. Washington and Lee, Denison, and Davidson are D3 schools that have had a pole vault program in the past (with a coach). You might look up the stats at these schools.
In general, even at D1 schools it is difficult for the track and field program to have a formal vaulting program. There are not a lot of coaches available, funding is definitely an issue, and it is a niche event. Coaches like to spend the money on events that will garner points.
whoops just looked at the body and not all of the title.
Some things to do when reaching out to coaches. Send 2-3 videos of jumps from the beginning of your run, approach, and then clearance. Also, what your usual run is during competition… 10, 12, 14 steps, size pole your are on, how long you have been vaulting, and background… ( were you a former gymnast, soccer player, dual sport athlete etc.) The coaches will be able to determine quite a bit from video but any other information you can give them is helpful.
Thank you! Yes, it’s definitely a niche event. I know of at least one D2 school whose coach refuses to even bother recruiting pole vaulters. It makes sense to focus on the runners who will get points in multiple events.