NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State track & field team is set to host its annual pole vault and throws clinic on Jan. 5-6, 2019, at the Horton Field House on the ISU campus. The two-day clinic is open to students in grades 6-12 and will include four sessions of hands-on instruction.
The pole vault clinic will be led by Redbird Associate Head Coach, Mary Wood, who enters her fifth year with the ISU track & field program. During her four seasons at ISU, she has coached 11 Missouri Valley Conference champions, 18 MVC All-Conference performers, 10 NCAA West Preliminary Round qualifiers, five USA Junior National Qualifiers, and four Illinois State record-holders.
Over the course of the 2017-18 campaign, Wood led pole vaulters Ariana Cranston and Ryan Ashenbremer to Valley Championships. She also guided her men's pole vault squad to a completely dominating performance at both the MVC Indoor and Outdoor Track & Field Championships, as her student-athletes swept the pole vault podium at both meets.
The purpose of the pole vault clinic is to offer individual and small group instruction to pole vaulters with varying levels of experience. A variety of basic, intermediate, and advanced drills, as well as other vault-related activities, will be taught to help campers improve their vault and increase their knowledge in the event.
The throws clinic will be directed by Illinois State first-year Assistant Coach Jeff Rebholz. Rebholz joined the Redbird Track & Field staff this summer after working as an assistant coach at Towson for the past three years. During his time with the Tigers, Rebholz coached one NCAA Honorable Mention All-American, five NCAA Preliminary Round qualifiers, and three individual Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) individual champions. In addition, Rebholz guided three student-athletes to Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) titles.
The throws clinic will focus on the two indoor events: the shot put and weight throw. Technical sessions will be included for novice to expert level throwers. Introductory sessions for the weight throw will also be given. Basic, intermediate, and advanced drill progressions will be taught in both events.
The cost of the clinic is $160. Lunch for both days is included, and campers will receive a t-shirt as well. Checks should be made payable to Illinois State University Track & Field Camps and returned to Coach Wood (see camp brochure for address). The deadline to register is Dec. 28, 2018, and there are no refunds.
For more information, please refer to the clinic brochure.
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