Jeff Truman Memorial Summit-ship

On Track CEO Ron Morris catches up with Mark Morris High School (no relation!) pole vaulter Carrie Hauck and her coach, Bill Baker, winner of the third annual Jeff Truman Memorial Pole Vault Summit-ship.

Coach Baker puts in some time in the the gym working with Carrie Hauck on the rings - he constantly searches for fresh approaches to teaching the fundamentals of pole vaulting to his young athletes.

Posted February 1, 2006

Longview, Washington Coach Wins Trip To National Pole Vault Summit in Reno, Nevada

(Burbank, Calif.) On Track the Burbank, California based track and field equipment supply company recently hosted the winner of the company's 2006 pole vault coaches' competition during a free trip to the National Pole Vault Summit in Reno, Nevada. Bill Baker, a resident of Longview, Washington, was selected from among nominees from around the country to received the award—the Jeff Truman Memorial Pole Vault Summit-ship—which sent the popular coach to the two-day convention (January 27-28) offering intensive workshops and exhibitions for instructors and athletes focusing exclusively on the pole vault event.

“Coach Baker’s impressive coaching career, his level of commitment to his athletes and the event, and his great enthusiasm for constantly enhancing his coaching skills made him the obvious choice for our third awarding of the Summit-ship,” says Ron Morris, On Track's CEO. “We were thrilled to honor Bill as a representative of all those dedicated pole vault coaches around the nation who, at great personal expense, keep this event going for our country’s young track and field athletes.”

The Summit-ship is named for Jeff Truman, a former On Track employee, athlete and pole vault coach who suffered an untimely death in 2002, at the age of 27. “When we lost Jeff, we felt compelled to keep his positive spirit and coaching legacy alive to inspire other pole vault coaches and athletes. We decided to do this by selecting someone who embodied similar qualities that we could celebrate as exemplary, and at the same time, encourage that person to persevere in their efforts and give them an opportunity to continue their coaching education,” said Ron. “We feel that sending our honoree to the Pole Vault Summit is a great way to accomplish these goals.”

When Bill isn't spending countless hours instructing about a dozen young vaulters at Mark Morris High School, this husband to wife Jayleen and father of sons Britton (13) and Morgan (10) works as the youth and family life pastor at Calvary Community Church in Longview, a position he has held for nearly 20 years. In addition to the 18 years he has devoted to coaching vaulters, until recently, Bill also served several swim seasons as a coach working with the school’s diving program.

Bill Baker has blended his technical experience gained as a high school pole vaulter, and later as an athlete at Chicago's Wheaton College, with his affinity for working with youngsters to admirable success, producing several Washington State championship qualifiers, including vaulters Bo Fisher (ranked #1 in 2002) and Loren DuVall (ranked #1 in 2004), each of whom placed second at the State level.

Bill received glowing nominations from fellow coaches Jim Fisher (with whom he coaches at Mark Morris High) and Clay Taft of Sacramento, as well as Debbie Hauck, the mother of pole vaulter Carrie Hauck, one of Bill’s current athletes.

Mark Morris High School Pole Vault Coach Bill Baker (center) is flanked by members of his team including (from left) Ryan Walker, Carrie Hauck, Liz Domreis and Tom Mortimer.

Wrote Coach Fisher: “I have served with Bill as a volunteer assistant pole vault coach for many years and you won’t find a more deserving advocate and supporter of the sport. He [spends] exceptional amounts of his time after hours and weekends to assure his vaulters are as well-prepared as possible. And, in the face of ever-declining school budgets, Bill continually seeks alternative ways to acquire the proper equipment to keep his jumpers safe and competitive (such as negotiating with Booster Clubs, obtaining surplus equipment from other schools...and acquiring donations from private individuals). Bill wants to do everything possible to preserve and improve the pole vault program he has worked so diligently to build over the past many years.”

The National Pole Vault Summit is an annual event sponsored by USA Track & Field the governing body of track and field in the United States, represented by Bob Fraley, USATF Director of Pole Vault Development and Pole Vault Summit Co-Director and UCS Spirit, manufacturer of pole vaulting poles, landing systems and other track and field equipment. For more information about the National Pole Vault Summit, please contact Pole Vault Summit Co-Directors Lane Maestretti and/or Steve Chappell at UCS Spirit at (800) 537-7117, or visit www.polevaultsummit.com.

Prior recipients of the Jeff Truman Memorial Pole Vault Summit-ship have included inaugural winner Dick Henrie of Bellingham, Washington (2004) and Brian Elmore of Leander, Texas (2005).