Loving the Grind
CHERRY TWP — Kendall Grossman doesn't mind the repetitive drills.
Or the insane workouts that include climbing a rope and lifting her chin up over a bar.
While most would find those kinds of things boring and unfulfilling, the Moniteau sophomore pole vaulter relishes them.
“If you love it,” Grossman said, “it doesn't seem like work.”
And Grossman doesn't shy away from the grind.
As a freshman last season, she steadily improved and found herself atop the podium at the District 9 championships.
At the PIAA Track and Field Championships, she finished tied for second in the Class AA pole vault with an effort of 11 feet.
“It was super unexpected,” said Grossman, who set the school record last season at 11-4½ and broke it again Tuesday at 11-6. “The ref told me to stay down by the podium and then they announced a three-way tie for second. I turned to my dad and asked, 'Did they just say my name?'”
They did.
Grossman has carried that confidence over into this season.
Despite being slowed by the poor weather, Grossman is excelling again in the event.
The key?
Turning off her brain.
“You can't think — it sounds easy, but imagine the hardest thing in the world for you to do and then multiply the difficulty by 100,” Grossman said, chuckling. “When I first started vaulting, I always counted my steps wrong. Now I just say, '3-2-1, 3-2-1 jab.' It resets my mind. It's the simplest thing, but it works.”
The pole vault is anything but simple.
Grossman said it's hard to explain to people who have never tried the event just how vexing it is.
“I would say many aspects of the pole vault are difficult,” Grossman said. “There's the mental part of it. Then there's the physical part of it. Your arms and legs and shoulder and core all have to be strong.”
To that end, Grossman is constantly working on getting stronger.
“It's definitely been a lot of work. It's been a grind,” Grossman said. “Practice every day. Do repetitive drills over and over and over again. Sometimes it gets frustrating when you do all those drills and you have a bad day. You're like 'What the heck?'”
But then Grossman has a day like she had on Tuesday when everything clicked.She said she was unusually calm and confident before the meet against Clarion.“I was definitely going for 11-6 like no other,” Grossman said. “Confidence has been a big problem for me, but I was feeling it on Tuesday.”The pole vault is a kind of Grossman family business.Grossman said 10 of her relatives have competed in the event, all at Moniteau.Her father, Matt, still holds the boys school record at 14-1.But when it came time for Kendall Grossman to join the rest of her clan in the event, she initially balked.“My dad said that I should try it when I got to the seventh grade,” She said. “I said, 'No, I don't want to try that. It doesn't look at all fun. The first year, I didn't even touch a pole. I just did simple drills, but even that I loved. I loved the thought that I could fly.”Grossman wants to keep flying — and breaking records.“Of course, I want to clear the next height,” she said. “You take what you can get. Hopefully I can get 12 feet this year, but I have some time.”There's another number Grossman has in mind.“I always joke with my dad that I'm going to get 14-1½,” Grossman said, laughing. “Hey, you never know. It's always good to set your goals high.”
