I consider it the least favorite part of my job.
Obituary writing, that is. No matter how many kudos you might get for a job well done, you can’t ever forget that the job was to summarize the life of someone who just passed away.
Such was the case Wednesday while gathering information to write about Ryan Moberg, the 18-year-old DeSales High School senior who died that morning from injuries suffered two days earlier attempting a practice vault on the Irish’s indoor facility.
The school, understandably, isn’t saying much about what happened that day. When I talked to the school president, Dr. David Schmitz, he said only that Ryan “fell backward” while attempting the vault.
That’s consistent with the account head coach Mike Michels gave Thursday -- that Ryan “took a practice run but didn’t make it all the way up. He landed backward on the runway.”
Ryan is the first high schooler to die from a vault-related injury in more than six years -- March 30, 2002, to be exact, when Samoa Fili of Wichita (Kan.) Southeast HS died two days after hitting his head on the pavement at the end of the mat while attempting a vault at the Wichita East Relays.
Fili’s death was the third vaulting fatality in a two-month span that year -- a Penn State University athlete and a Florida high school athlete -- and combined they prompted several rules changes to improve the safety of the sport (among them, mandating larger landing pads and adding pole/weight rating guidelines).
Could Ryan’s death prompt more rule changes? Mandatory helmets, perhaps? Right now, six states (Minnesota, South Carolina, North Dakota, Wisconsin, New Mexico and Maine) require vaulters to wear helmets in competition.
A company called PoleVaultHelmet.com advertises a helmet called the KDMax designed specifically for vaulters.
However, their information is copyrighted from 2004. I found this 2006 article talking about pole vault safety, and how at that point, there were no helmets that were proven to protect a vaulter in a severe fall (say, anything above 7 or 8 feet).
National pole vault safety director Jan Johnson was quoted in the article as saying: “For a vaulter to have total protection, he would need a helmet 3 feet thick. Nobody wants a heavy helmet.”
Would a helmet have prevented Ryan’s death? Not being either a doctor or a physicist (I’ve long forgotten the laws regarding momentum and gravity), I can’t say. According to one article following a 2005 accident to a Pennsylvania vaulter, the USA Track and Field Pole Vault Safety Committee investigates all catastrophic vault accidents. If it investigates Monday’s accident, perhaps we’ll know the answer, and that might go a long way in determining whether mandatory helmet rules become a reality in this state.
The WIAA is one of 10 states that requires pole vault coaches to receive specific training and be certified at least once every three years (Rule 23.3.1D). DeSales vault coach Scott Notturno was an eight-year veteran of the program, and he’s had three of his children vault for the Irish, including current team members John and Beth. No way he doesn’t emphasize safety.
But I’ve met dozens of pole vault coaches during my time at the Herald, covering various meets. I think the same could be said of all of them -- safety is their first priority, even more than winning titles. Glory is fleeting, as is life. Which would you value more?
The USA Pole Vault Education Initiative has a good article for parents and athletes regarding pole vault safety.
Finally, I agree with Southridge vault coach Dave Hurst, with whom I spoke for about an hour Wednesday afternoon, that pole vaulting should not be banned at the high school level. That would be an over-reaction to this terrible tragedy. But if Ryan’s death prompts another look at how to take further steps to make this sport safer, then I’m all for that.
OK, some quick hits before I call it a blog.
-- The popularity of girls wrestling continues to skyrocket in this state. The WIAA Executive Board, recognizing this -- as well as analyzing data showing the actual weights of girls participating in the sport -- adjusted the weight classes for the 2008-09 season, adding the 152- and 171-pound classes and replacing 145 with 140. The new weight classes will be 103, 112, 119, 125, 130, 135, 140, 152, 160, 171 and 171+ pounds.
-- At the same meeting, the board tabled a request by Rosalia HS to switch from District 9 to District 7. With reclassification, the Whitman County League 1B is headed for extinction, with Sprague-Harrington returning to District 7 (Bi-County League) and St. John-Endicott, LaCrosse-Washtucna and Colton getting absorbed by the Blue Mountain League.
Rosalia, for geographic reasons, wanted to move to the Bi-County in volleyball and boys/girls basketball, while continuing to combine with Tekoa-Oakesdale in football, baseball, softball and track and play in the BML 2B. School district superintendent Tom Crowley brought up the dreaded “L” word (lawyer), and after going into executive session, the board recommended that the school district’s legal counsel contact the WIAA’s lawyers to figure out where to go from here.
-- Skyline assistant coach Mat Taylor has been named head football coach of the Spartans. Taylor, 32, takes over for Steve Gervais, who is now on the coaching staff at the University of Washington. Gervais won three state championships in 10 seasons at the Sammamish school.
Til next time ...