“Let’s Go, Cam-Dog!!”  I hear this all the time from the end of the runway.  Coach Ribble encouraging, and hoping that every jump will be the best one we’ve ever taken.  

Starting track freshman year, walking in not knowing what to expect, I figured that I would just continue with distance just like I did in the fall.  But then I was told about another part of track by my sister: Pole Vault.  Walking in that first day and seeing the large amount of equipment that went along with this sport I was a little nervous to try.

Then I started going through the motions with coach Ribble and I thought This is weird.  I was very unsure about this, but I gave it a shot and began progressing. Hitting height after height I was very excited, but as I walk over to coach Ribble I can tell he is just as excited as I am.

Over time I really got to know coach more and more and he is such an easy person to talk to.  He has such great stories to tell all the time—he is just one of those people who is a fun time to be around, and he really shows that you have to take the best parts of every little thing that you do.  The knowledge that coach Ribble has about so many things is very interesting to see. Whenever I am having a conversation with him, or he is helping me focus on certain aspects of my jump, he just has such a wide variety of knowledge and it is always awesome to see it emerge.

I will always have so much respect for coach because having to teach stressed out high schoolers a completely new, different, and unusual set of movements can be very difficult at times. But he is so easy to understand because of the way that he explains things.  When explaining things he uses gestures and motions that really allow you to connect. But not only does he just tell you what to do, he goes through it with you and is able to help you gain more understanding. 

Even when there are a multitude of things going on at once, he is still able to take the time to talk to you or go over a video and give feedback.  This is another thing that I think is amazing about coach Ribble is that he will never tell you that you did anything bad,  he will just tell you that you have some improvements that can be made.  So when you are mad at the fact that you are having “One of those days” where everything is just not going right, that encouragement and inspiration makes all the difference.  

I am very thankful that I was able to meet such an amazing, funny, and helpful person that not only helps me achieve my track goals, but also shows me how to be the best version of myself.  Thank you coach Ribble for helping me through my track journey and I am excited to see you at the end of the runway cheering me on.