By Taylor Mola – Staff Reporter

Senior Joey Richardson is a captain of the Jonathan Law outdoor track team. Advocate Staff reporter Taylor Mola interviewed Richardson about his final year of track and field in high school.

Taylor Mola: How does it feel to break the school record for pole vault?

Joey Richardson: It honestly felt amazing to break it. Clearing 12 feet was a long time goal of mine that I really wanted to achieve, and being able to finally do it honestly made it feel like it was all worth it. All the time and effort put in, but even all the frustration and trouble I went through, it was all worth it after setting a new record for Law. In the back of my head, I was always thinking this was my last season to try and achieve this goal. I definitely feel like a lot of skill went into it but I also think there was a little luck that day that just helped boost me a little higher and I honestly couldn’t be more thankful for it. It was so fulfilling at the end of the day  to be able to celebrate with my friends and teammates and even my other competitors because pole vaulting is one of those communities where you’re not competing against each other, rather you’re cheering each other on, hoping that we all progress and get better. 

TM: How did you take on the responsibility as captain and coach for pole vault while still improving yourself?

JR: It’s honestly been quite a difficult task to do because it’s hard to decide if I should do what’s best for myself or what’s best for my team. It’s a constant battle of back and forth of where I put my time and effort. I find it best that it helps to try to lead by example when in my scenario this way I still get to practice and improve, but I can offer advice and reference my own jumps and experience, but also find time to help everyone individually as I feel like everyone should get their chance to improve. As long as they try and give it their all, that is the most I could ever ask for. 

TM: How do you feel you have improved, and what were some struggles you faced this season?

JR: I feel like my biggest struggle that I’ve faced this season is that, on paper, I haven’t improved at all. I’m kind of stacked and I feel I’ve plateaued, and I’m just consistently stuck at this one height. Since I’m getting quite good at pole vaulting, there aren’t many big changes that I can make so a lot of the things I have to do to improve are like fine tuning my jumps and how I compete. That’s a way I’ve improved this season, though. I’ve made a lot of little changes that are helping, and I’m hoping that they are starting to add up. I’m hoping to hit a big breakthrough soon. Along with them, I feel like I’ve improved the most as a captain and coach. This year, pole vaulting has been more popular than all of my previous years so it’s amazing to be expanding such a great community and being able to lead so many people. It’s something I’m super passionate about, and I really think I’ve developed as a leader for the people I help and for those who look up to me.

TM: What are some goals you have set for yourself as you continue track in college? 

JR: As of right now, the only real goal I have is just to fly higher. I don’t quite know what the college experience will be like but I plan on giving it my all and trying my hardest to keep improving as much as I can. I want to focus more on what I can do to achieve greater heights and just work on a lot of self improvement when it comes to pole vaulting.

TM: What advice would you give to younger members coming up in the program?

JR: One of the biggest things I tell my pole vaulters that I think can apply to everywhere in life is “confidence is half the battle.” As scary as things might seem and as hard as things get, stay confident in yourself. Also, going along with this I often tell them to run hard and jump harder, and any progress is good progress because it goes back to the mentality of everything. Sometimes you just have to commit to something and just go for it but always remember that no matter how small of an improvement you make, any progress is amazing and it’s a great thing to remember whenever you’re feeling frustrated.