Sophomore Demarco Easter has a hard act to follow this season after making it to State as a freshman pole vaulter.
“When I made it to state it was such a surreal experience,” Easter said. “It took a lot of hard work to get there the entire season, there were a lot of ups and downs, because I didn’t think I was going to make it.”
At State, he and his teammate were proud of his placement.
“I placed 24th out of 28 people, and I really did enjoy the entire experience,” he said, “At first my teammates were surprised, and then they congratulated me.”
Ironically, pole vaulting was not a sport Easter was initially interested in.
“I said that I would never do a sport like that because it seems scary,” he said.
He tried it at the urge of Coach Patrick Coffey. The coach noticed his potential based on his build, plus the benefit of having a younger athlete to mold.
“I suggested it to him last year because of his athleticism,” Coach Coffey said, “He was able to adapt quickly and qualified for the IHSAA State Meet as a freshman, which is very impressive.”
Ever since Easter joined pole vaulting, he’s set his mind to goals he wants to achieve.
“My main goal is that I want to break the indoor record which is 14’9 and the outdoor record which is 15’4. Both of those are very achievable for me especially when I do what I need to do at practice,” he said.
Practicing pole vaulting on his own is difficult, but Easter manages to find a way.
“It’s pretty hard because I don’t have matts in my backyard so I go to the gym and I go to pole vault clubs, and the Valpo coach has pole vault pits in his backyard so I go with him in the summer,” Easter said, “and the coach opens up the pits in the summer and with that we can practice, but normally I can get some practice with the PVC pipe.”
The one downside to outdoor season is the weather conditions.
“If there’s lightning we have to go inside, cancel the meet and reschedule,” Easter said, “[One meet], the wind was so crazy that I physically could not pick up my pole so I had to power through it.”
Easter was nervous about the sport at first, but then fell in love with it.
“It could look scary at first, but if you try it out you could really love it,” he said. “The first time I tried it, it became the only thing I could think about.”
The sport never fails to bring Easter joy and excitement before and during practices.
“The entire sport, even just from warming up to grabbing my pole and getting ready for practice, it’s a big excitement like a kid in a candy store knowing that you’re going to get a present.“
