Pole vault coach remembered with love

Pole vault coach remembered with love

Joe Hammond, the pole vault coach of Austintown Fitch High School, passed away on June 20 after battling with pancreatic cancer. Joe was my pole vault coach, and he certainly knew pole vault. (We would constantly exclaim “Joe knows pole vault” after eating dinner at Joe’s Crab Shack with him during the 2002 State Meet where we saw “Joe knows crab” memorabilia everywhere).

Pole vaulting is a science, and Joe certainly was an expert. To be an above average vaulter, you must be extremely quick, perhaps the fastest on a track and field team, and you must drive your knee.

Though Joe scrutinized many other technicalities of the pole vault (planting high, initiating a turn, and throwing the pole) you would always hear him shout “Drive your knee, drive your knee.”

Joe had such a devout love for pole vaulting that he constructed a pole vaulting area in his backyard for when the pits were removed from the track in the summer. Though the pole vault pit was substituted with “donated” high jump mats, the runway was a dirt path, and the box was rusty, it was awesome.

In the fall, we would work on invert drills in his garage where he built an indescribable wooden contraption to practice them. In the winter, he would have practice at 5:30 in the morning before his 7-3 shift at the General Motors car plant where he installed the windshields on Chevy Cavaliers and Cobalts for 35 years. Of course, we would complain at the time, but in hindsight, I am certainly grateful for his commitment.

Joe was also the only person I know who could pole vault 12 feet at the age of 52. I’m thankful I had the opportunity to jump with him at an open meet at Kent State a year ago before the pancreatic cancer had spread. He kicked my butt.

You will be missed Joe.

Donations can be made to Hospice of the Valley and www.carringbridge.com

Allison Bragr

Boardman

Coaches praised for commitment

Recently, the father and son duo of Larry and Dean Cicoretti coached the 13-year old Rondinelli Tuxedo team to the Babe Ruth Championship.

It all started last spring when Larry Cicoretti was approached to take on the 13-year old team. Larry had been an assistant coach for the Canfield Little League Team for the past few years and was excited to take on a team of his own.

The first person he called was his son, Dean, to join him. With Dean’s experience when working for Doyle Baseball and East West Ambassadors, they knew with the right mix of players they were going to become a contending team.

Twelve years ago, the two coached Class B’s Sports Cage for four years, winning two state championships and finishing in the top 16 in the nation during all four years. They have no son or grandson on the Rondinelli team. They just have a complete love of the game. I commend this coaching team for giving so much of their time to the kids and to the sport for no other reason but simply, for the love of baseball.

Thank you Coach Dean Cicoretti, Coach Larry Cicoretti and Coach Jim Standohar for all of your dedication and a big congratulations to the Rondinelli 13-year-olds.

Marie Karas

Struthers