Montgomery County News

“He dreams big.” May 28, 2008 - No reporter cited

Danielle Cummings - Editor
Approximately 103 miles southwest of Little Rock, a few right turns and a couple lefts later- will bring you to an unassuming intersection in grand central Black Springs. An intersection where most choices will lead you to a dirt road not too many miles away.

What you may not realize is that any given Sunday afternoon, 50 yards away, is a dream being lived by Morry Sanders, his wife Christy, their children and a considerable sized extended family.

They come from as little as two miles away to as far as 2,000 miles away and they quite literally push the limits of gravity at every opportunity.

This family goes by the name of the “Arkansas Vault Club.”

The Arkansas Vault Club (AVC) was founded by Morry Sanders in 1999 but the love of the event goes a good deal further back.

Morry began competing in Pole Vault when he was in eighth grade at Lake Hamilton High School. He vaulted his way to and through Arkansas State University on a full scholarship and graduated in 1993 with a B.S. in Exercise Physiology. 

After several years of enjoyable work in physical therapy, personal training and fitness management, Morry was approached by Billy Plyler who asked if he might be interested in helping his daughter Brandie learn to Pole Vault.

He accepted and began training with Plyler.

“She was a good student. She picked up on things really fast and the next thing you know, she was jumping high and all the sudden a lot of other kids wanted to learn,” said Sanders.

Up until that point, he had not even picked up a pole in eight years.

“As a present for Christmas, they (the Plylers) bought me a pole so I could jump. That’s when I really got back into it. When I was 30 years old, I jumped 17 feet again… and it just went down hill from there,” he laughs.

He reentered the vaulting world at age 30, able to compete as an open athlete at college meets.

“After doing that for a while, I realized that I have way more fun coaching the kids because I know every time they are on the runway, there is a chance they are going to break their personal record (PR).”

Or in some cases, Morry’s own personal record.

Spencer McCorkle of Lake Hamilton, paid Morry the ultimate compliment of great coaching by breaking Morry’s own PR as a sophomore in 2007 with a jump of 17 feet. McCorkle has just finished his freshman year at the University of Arkansas and won second place last week in the SEC.

Sanders went on to earn his B.S.E in Health, Physical Education and Recreation and began coaching at Caddo Hills.

In 1994, he made the other best decision of his life and married Christy (Meeks) Sanders.

“She has become the Pole Vault Mom. She loves to watch and gets just as fired up as I do. She really understands whats going on with it,” said Sanders. “If I couldn’t be at a meet and she had to coach, she would do a great job.”

Morry and his family host training sessions every Sunday afternoon, camps during the summer and USA Track and Field sanctioned Meets throughout the year.

Many members of the AVC team have earned scholarship opportunities through vaulting. Locally, Brandie Plyler of Glenwood who attended Ole Miss, Stephanie Irwin of Mount Ida, now a Senior at the University of Arkansas and John Martin Ellis, a senior at Caddo Hills, who recently signed with Sander’s Alma Mater at ASU on a full scholarship. Sheena Howell and Zac Felts of Centerpoint are both two time State Champs. AVC teammate Jason Pelletier of Bryant, has signed to Vault with Penn State. The list goes on and on.

The positive impact he has made for many goes much farther than just the Pole Vault pit. While coaching football and track at Caddo Hills, Sanders worked with Tyler Whisenhunt, a 2003 graduate.

“Coach Morry Sanders is arguably the best pole vault coach in the state of Arkansas but he is far more than just a track and field coach. He is a mentor and an individual that cares far beyond winning. He actually shows interest in each individual’s life rather than just their athletic performance,” said Whisenhunt. “I first met Coach Sanders when I played football at Caddo Hills. We were all new to the sport, were coming off a losing season and no idea of the concept of dedication or teamwork. In no time, he had taught us all respect for our coaches, ourselves and to want more than defeat.”

The Sanders dreams of expanding the AVC facilities were realized in the last year. The grandparents of vaulters in the area, donated a few acres of land to begin the process of building an indoor facility. With the help of many volunteers, parents, students and former students, the clearing began in August of last year and has progressed rapidly. The concrete was poured in November and two days after Christmas, the first arches were raised. Work continued through the winter and spring in the face of several bizarre months of weather.

On May 24, the dreams and hard work came to fruition as the Grand Opening AVC Meet was held.

“He dreams big,” said John Martin Ellis of Sanders. “He dreamed we would have an indoor facility and he made it happen. It’s definitely a dream that we’ve all shared.”

Ellis continued, “He’s given a lot of us a chance to go to school, that otherwise might not have had the money. He has taught so many of us, so much.”

The Grand Opening Meet was attended by competitors from all over the United States. Since the AVC is USA Track and Field sanctioned, it serves as a qualifier for meeting Olympic standards, other meets and any records broken officially hold.

The highest vault of the day at the Grand Opening was 18’3” by Brian Mondshein of Virginia, competing in the Elite Men class. Caddo Hills senior John Martin Ellis, completed a vault of 14’07”, competing in the Young Men division. Ellis also won indoor and outdoor State this year in 2A and placed second in the Meet of Champs. Thirteen new PRs were set at the Grand Opening meet. Other local competitors at this weekends meet were, Robert Bobo of Caddo Hills, Dakota Brown of Mt. Ida, Whitney Wilson of Mt. Ida and Josh Hall of Mt. Ida.

Sanders continues to think of expansion as interest increases in Vaulting. He is planning to build small dorm style rooms inside the new indoor facility to house camp participants. Two camps are scheduled for this year and are filling up fast.

Since 1999, Sanders estimates that he has worked with over 20 kids that have earned Vaulting scholarships, either partial or full.

Looking back, Sanders laughs when he thinks of the good natured ribbing he received from a friend when he began gathering equipment and turning his backyard into a Pole Vaulters paradise. Sanders said that he can’t think of anything he’d rather be doing and joked that he was likely to have more success and enjoyment with his hobby than he might with a new fishing boat.

Recently AVC teammate, John Martin Ellis, competed in the 2A State track meet. Both Sanders and Ellis happened to be going in different directions that day. Talking to Ellis prior to the meet, Sanders told him, “Just go up there, do what you do and get the job done.” That afternoon, Sanders received a phone call from Ellis. “I did it Coach. I went out and got the job done.” Ellis won the 2A State Championship by a foot and a half, and earned a birth in the Meet of Champs.

“Those are the calls that make it all worthwhile,” said Sanders. “I love what I’m doing! What else would I want to do?”

Arkansas enjoys an established tradition in the collegiate athletic world, of outstanding track and field performance.

With his record of commitment to all of those he coaches, Morry Sanders and the AVC family will continue to drive that tradition for years to come.

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