Wharton pole vaulter could be world class, coach says.
By SCOTT PURKS
Published June 25, 2003
TAMPA - If you want to get Wharton track coach Dave Watson started, ask him what kind of a person Natalie Moser is.
Then try to get him to stop.
"Natalie Moser?" he said. "Oh, she's just a great, great kid.
"She's funny, fun to be around, never sad, always has something positive to say. She is family oriented, treats people with respect, works hard, excels in the classroom ...
"She's outgoing but she doesn't seek attention. When people wanted to interview her through the year, she almost acted like she didn't want to get interviewed. I think that's because she didn't want to be portrayed as somebody more special than anybody else on the team.
"And talent, now she has a lot of talent. She's athletically strong, but also a quick and eager learner. ... I haven't said this but a couple times in all my years of coaching (nearly 15 years), but she has the potential to be a world-class pole vaulter."
What? World class?
"Yes, I'm saying if she continues to have the desire, she might be able to be a world-class vaulter," Watson said. "That's what I'm saying."
If anyone around here knows, it's Watson, who in the mid and late 1980s was a near world-class pole vaulter himself.
Watson said he bases his lofty assumption on what Moser already has accomplished as a junior.
This year she not only won the Class 4A state title by clearing 12 feet, 6 inches, but that vault ranked her among the top 15 scholastic girls vaulters in the country.
She also showed competitive fire at the state meet when she passed on a chance to tie the state record of 12-8 and went for 12-9, narrowly missing on three attempts.
"And remember," Watson said. "She's only a junior."
He said 13 feet is within range next season, and Moser concurs.
"I feel like I can go a lot, lot higher," she said. "I really do feel that."
There's no reason she shouldn't considering she has yet to hit the weight training hard and "there's much more I can learn."
Indeed, she barely knew what the pole vault was three years ago when she walked onto Wharton's track as a freshman.
"I just told the coaches that I used to be in gymnastics (more than eight years), and then they said you should try the pole vault," she said. "I guess gymnasts can vault because they're not afraid of going upside down."
This does not mean Moser lives by the vault alone.
In many meets she competed in five events, and she was among the county leaders in the 100- and 300-meter hurdles and the 100-meter dash. She also ran on Wharton's 4X100 and 4X400 relay teams.
"What more can you say about Natalie Moser?" Watson said. "Put it this way: If you have a daughter, this is who you want your daughter to grow up to be.
