Feb. 15, 2010
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It isn’t often that a coach gets to coach someone from his or her high school alma mater. It is even less often that a coach gets to coach someone from his or her alma mater who is in the school’s record book for the same reason he is.
Vanderbilt assistant track coach Clark Humphreys has that unique opportunity this year as the coach of freshman pole vaulter Alyson Hasty. The two not only graduated from Brentwood Academy in Brentwood, Tenn., but they also hold the school records in the boy’s and girl’s pole vault, respectively, and were two-time state champions in the event.
When Humphreys first looked at bringing Hasty to Vanderbilt, the thought that he could potentially coach someone whose high school career was linked so closely to his never crossed his mind.
“When I first started thinking about (Hasty), I truly did not think about the connection,” Humphreys said. “An old teammate of mine (Hunt Atkins) who is an assistant coach at Brentwood Academy was actually the one who brought it to my attention that the boy’s school record holder could coach the girl’s school record holder.”
Beyond their ties to Brentwood Academy, Hasty and Humphreys also shared a connection with the late Bill Etheridge, who coached many area Nashville pole vaulters over the years, including Humphreys and most recently Hasty, until his death in the summer of 2008.
“It was a real friendship that we got out of being coached by him,” Humphreys said. “He was our coach, but there was a different level of friendship that I don’t know if I really ever had with any other coach.”
It was through Etheridge that Hasty first learned of Humphreys.
“Bill had introduced me to (Humphreys) so I knew he was the Vanderbilt coach before all the recruiting,” Hasty said. “Technically Bill was a really great coach, but what stood out most was that he had such a great relationship with his athletes.”
Given Hasty’s success in pole vaulting, it’s hard to believe that she only picked up the sport as a sophomore in high school after giving up gymnastics. Because she is still relatively new to the sport, Humphreys believes Hasty’s inexperience leads to her having a very large upside.
“Alyson could be very good,” Humphreys said. “She’s only been vaulting the last two years, so her growth curve is very high.”
Hasty’s high school resume looked similar to Humphreys’ in many ways. However, after high school, Humphreys went on to Auburn where he won the 1997 NCAA outdoor pole vault title and was a three-time All-American. Hasty’s resume after high school is only in its beginning stages, but she can only hope her career path continues in the same direction.
“Hopefully since I just started, I still have a long ways to grow and I can improve a lot this year with him as my coach,” Hasty said.
