Jen Sulpher Article (Canada)

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http://lfpress.ca/newsstand/Sports/Univ ... 1-sun.html

Sulpher vaulting to new heights
Sun, January 22, 2006
By JIM CRESSMAN, FREE PRESS SPORTS REPORTER



Jen Sulpher has only scratched the surface of her track and field career.

The 22-year-old from Waterloo graduates from Western in April with an honours degree in kinesiology.

She's applied to study athletic therapy at either the University of Calgary, York University or Sheridan College in Toronto.

But Western Mustangs track coach Vickie Croley feels Sulpher has the ability to one day make the Canadian team.

"She's got a list of things she wants to do academically that are career-oriented and I think originally she was thinking this was going to be it," Croley said yesterday during the 23rd annual Don Wright Team Challenge at Thompson arena.

"But she has had so much success this year, I will certainly talk to her about trying to continue in the sport because she has what it takes to maybe make a national team."

Sulpher's specialty is the pole vault, but this year she's taken up the pentathlon (60-metre hurdles, 800m, long jump, high jump and shot put).

Croley said this is a "breakout year" for Sulpher, red-shirted her first year at Western because of stress fractures in her foot.

"I think I'm having a lot more fun training and doing the different events," Sulpher said after winning the pole vault.

"It makes it more interesting when you're always on the go. Like my hurdles today. I was on the runway and five minutes before I was doing pole vault. It's just go, go, go and I really like that."

Her first pentathlon is next weekend at the Findlay Indoor Classic in Findlay, Ohio.

"If it goes well, I will keep trekking along at it. I guess it's the kind of thing where you take one event at a time," she said.

"I'm thinking the pentathlon might be the route I want to look into. It's been four years since I've done summer track, except for the Canada Games in Regina last year. It just depends where the summer is going with jobs."

Sulpher said the stress fracture did put her behind.

"It took me a good year to recover. I took some time off, tried to come back, then the stress fracture came back.

"I took more time off and really took good care of it the second time around. I learned my lesson."

Sulpher got into track in Grade 9 after dropping competitive gymnastics. She picked up a pole a little later "just for fun" and said her gymnastics training helped with that discipline.

Croley is now suggesting Sulpher try the heptathlon (hurdles, high jump, long jump, javelin, shot put, 200m and 800m) this summer.

"I did a lot of volleyball in high school, so the javelin shouldn't be too bad," she said.

Crowley said there's no rush because Sulpher is young by track standards.

"The best way to develop our track athletes in Canada is to have them in a university program where they can develop at their own pace and not be rushed and getting injured," Croley said.

"Then when they're done school, if they're good enough, they need to make a decision. But really, their best results don't come until after school. In our sport we've got athletes who are well into their 30s that are still competing for Canada.

"For Jen, there's been so much learning. That's why I don't like kids getting too competitive and training. I've seen it happen to so many, the parents have got their stop watches out so early and those kids do burn out.

"A lot of times our best high school kids are done after they graduate. If they're going to be good, and I tell parents this, we want them 10 years from now, not two years from now, doing really well."