Melissa Yap exceeding pole vault bar (NY)

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http://www.thesunnews.net/sports.php3?idkey=3095

High School Track and Field: Yap exceeding pole vault bar
By Michael J. Petro

Melissa Yap may not be a prototypical pole vaulter but she has made one of the larger transformations in all of Western New York high school track and field in that event.

The senior at Hamburg High School can thank her mental toughness, preparation and approach for much of the headway she has made in a little more than a year competing in one of the more intimidating and challenging events in the sport and overcoming what could have been a career-threatening injury.

Toward the end of the winter indoor season in 2007-08 just months after having reconstructive knee surgery the summer before, Yap was pole vaulting just eight feet. About a year later, she has literally vaulted all the way into the high school’s record book and fifth place all-time among Section VI competitors.

After blowing away the competition during the regular season then capturing ECIC and Section VI titles in the pole vault this winter, Yap reached the 11-foot mark at the state championships on March 7 then again a week later at a national competition in New York City. The vaults may not have been good enough to win either of those competitions, but Yap was able to attain a goal set back when she was just another face in the crowd of the pole vault field and some were doubting if a return from injury was even possible.

“I’m ecstatic about all of this,” said Yap, who just recently verbally committed to compete next season at Manhattan College. “It’s one thing to talk about it but it’s another thing to be able to get to states and nationals and live it and see it happen. What you only believe at one time has actually come true. It’s the best feeling getting over that bar. It’s what you have worked so hard for.”

Getting to this point has taken endless work not only at school practices with her coaches’ Bill Malican and Bob Beach but also driving two to three hours to Warsaw for the past 14 months for extra training with personal coach Mike Auble.

“I’ve seen superior athletes but they’re mental midgets compared to Lissy,” Auble said. “Lissy beats them because she’s prepared. She’s got grit and determination and is mentally one of the toughest. She doesn’t get rattled or scared and doesn’t panic. Lots of girls melt down in this event.”

Malican, the school’s girls track and field coach for the past six seasons, has watched proudly as Yap continues to demonstrate the tremendous personal growth that it has taken to become one of the state’s best in an event with increasing competition.

“I’m really happy for her — it was a long row to hoe,” said Malican, who also lauded Yap’s contributions in the high jump, 100-meter dash and last spring’s 4x100 relay which took fourth at the Section VI Championships. “She never quit despite the frustrations and disappointments and she appreciates what it takes to be a champion.”

In an event in which competitors use built up speed from running down a lane and a long and flexible pole to vault high into the air to reach a specified height, Yap has developed an edge by simply becoming confident in what she is doing,

“If you’re standing there with an attempt you never tried before, there are nerves,” Yap said. “So mental toughness is key. You also need to trust your coaches.”

With the help of Auble, she now has three coaches she can rely upon. To help take her vaulting to the next level, Yap began getting some extra help from Auble, a voluntary track and field coach with Warsaw High School who also trains between 25 to 30 athletes at his home-based outdoor pole vault facility and indoor training complex. There, Auble also acclimates athletes to additional drills, such as the use of the trapeze, to help improve their jumping and vaulting.

Yap had been battling perfecting her own technique in the wake of having knee surgery to repair a popped knee cap originally suffered in eighth grade during gymnastics. The procedure, in which a ligament was inserted into the knee to get it into the right track, was performed the summer before her junior season and took nearly three months of rehabilitation and initially required the use of a knee brace to compete.

“After her knee surgery, I didn’t know if she would ever vault again,” said Beach, the boys track and field coach, who works with the school’s pole vaulters. “But she fought through all of the pain and continued to train, even though she was often unable to run. Most people would have given up....Her desire to do well and tenacity have been inspiring to me. When you consider the obstacles, her success has been amazing.”

Teaming up with Auble has become the perfect compliment for Yap to practicing at school with Malican and Beach.

“It’s a very relaxed environment down in Warsaw and I needed that to help my mental game,” Yap said. “It’s all about technique but we also have fun. It’s also made me more disciplined and I’ve learned the event much more.”

She not only became a more sound pole vaulter but set some high goals to provide extra motivation for the rest of her scholastic career. Several months later, Yap finished off the 2008 spring outdoor season vaulting 10 feet in her final two competitions, one of which landed her second place at the Section VI Division I Championships and a trip to state competition.

In preparation for her senior year, Yap trained rigorously this past summer and fall. She finished the winter indoor regular season without losing once at any meets and set the school’s pole vault record with a 10-6. At the state championships in Cornell, Yap not only took fifth in the most competitive overall field ever, but reached a goal initially thought to be unattainable until the spring outdoor season.

“Was I surprised — yes and no,” Auble said. “No, because I’ve been there every step and have seen the hard work and yes, because I knew I could help get her to 11 feet but I just didn’t know how long it would take. I was surprised that she did it as quickly. Who knows now what could happen in the outdoor season.”

She repeated the 11 foot vault at the national competition and advanced past the preliminary round and into the championships where she finished 21st.

“Competing at states and nationals is on a whole different level,” Yap said. “They are the names and scores you see on the Web site and now you’re competing against them. It has taught me not to get as intimated and not to worry about others. I just need to tend to my own problems and can’t worry about things out of my control.”

Yap is now working on increasing her speed down the runway as she attempts her new goal of getting as high as 12 feet. With her temperament and belief fully intact, anything is possible.

“She’s a big meet jumper,” Auble said. “She’ll take care of business.”