Novice to seasoned in a second

In his first season pole vaulting, Justin Corder sets a record.

By Chris Girandola
Published April 4, 2007

ST. PETERSBURG - Justin Corder has wasted little time in becoming one of the best pole vaulters in the county, let alone the state.

The Lakewood senior started vaulting a little over a month ago and has progressed more in that time than most high school athletes do in a three- or four-year career. He set a school record with a vault of 13 feet in winning the 78th annual West Coast Invitational.

"It's pretty amazing and a bit surreal," said Corder, who was a varsity football player and wrestler the past four years. "Now, though, I want to try and win states."

Nearly two months ago Corder attempted his first leap in a meet, barely clearing 8 feet in the Steak 'n Shake Invitational.

"It wasn't pretty at all," Corder said "I was flailing over the bar, just trying to clear it any way I could."

When Corder originally responded to Lakewood track coach Anthony Snead's request, he did so simply out of boredom.

"I didn't have anything to do," Corder said. "It sounded like fun so I tried it and ended up liking it."

Snead, who also is an assistant coach in football, had tried in vain to recruit other kids for the sport.

"I would get any and all reactions from kids whenever I asked them," said Snead, a business teacher at Lakewood. "Pretty much everybody would end up laughing at me, though, whenever I tried to describe it to them.

"They would say, 'Man, you're nuts, I'm gonna break my neck. No way.' It's not something that just anyone can do. You have to have a certain mind-set to first do it and then they have to be athletic enough and committed to do well "

Snead found that person in Corder. The coach and the player would see each other almost daily along the running path at Lake Vista Park, where the wrestling and running teams would bypass each other during the winter months.

"They'd be going one way and we'd be running the other way and he'd always yell to me, 'I'll be out there. You'll see,' " Snead said. "I pretty much expected, though, that he might be good at it because of his work ethic in school and sports."

With the help of volunteer coach Phillip Morgan, who is in his first year as a math teacher at Lakewood, Corder reached a height that forced Snead into buying new standards, which raise the bar up to competition regulations.

"I didn't think he was going to do that well that quick," said Snead, who purchased the $1,100 standards after Corder cleared 9 feet within two weeks. "Coach Morgan helped him improve faster but Justin still had the right mentality to get better quicker than a lot of others would."

Corder has impressed his competitors as well.

"(Corder) has a lot of heart and he's really excited about what he's done," said St. Petersburg junior Stephen Klement, who finished second at the West Coast Invitational with a 12-foot vault.

Corder's meteoric rise has him thinking a state title is within reach, maybe even an Olympic gold medal someday.

[Last modified April 3, 2007, 23:54:18]