From a young age, long before he took up pole vaulting, TJ Rowan’s coach knew he was destined for great things in the sport.
A former Olympic silver medalist himself, Monarch pole vaulting instructor Mike Tully saw a potential, a drive in TJ, even as he was simply showing up to practice to watch his older brother.
“He was a little kid. He was only maybe four foot tall at that time,” Tully recalled. “The middle brother of the family, Cole, he won the state meet as a pole vaulter (in 2017). He would come on down with Cole and he would try to do some pole vaulting. He just wasn’t matured or big enough and strong enough to be able to do anything.
“There’s different sizes of poles and how long they are. And because he was so young, he could jump with the smallest pole that we had. The thing is, he was so small at that time, he couldn’t bend the pole. That’s funny, but it was frustrating for him because he couldn’t bend the pole and at that young age, I’m not sure he had any understanding of it. From that point on, he was going to (accomplish) what he did. He really, really worked hard on it.”
Rowan began his own training with Tully the summer before his freshman year with the Coyotes, and continually ascended to impressive marks throughout his high school career. At the Class 5A state track and field championships in May, he won his second straight crown by clearing the 16-foot, 9-inch pole and reaching a new personal record before he heads off to college.
He contributes his success to an open line of communication between himself and Tully. He said his run and swing helped elevate his performances throughout this season, after having a bit of a rough time during indoor.
“At this point, there’s zero hesitation with any constructive feedback or criticism. I think that that really helps our relationship, because a lot of coaches and a lot of athletes struggle with saying what needs to be said,” Rowan said. “Outside of practice and outside of meets, it’s just a lot of running and a lot of lifting, but also it’s a lot of mental prep and a lot of recovery.
“One thing that I don’t think a lot of people realize is pole vault is more of a mental sport than it is a physical sport. You see a lot of professional pole vaulters struggle with the mental aspect of the sport because they’ve been doing it for 30-40 years and there’s a lot of mental blocks that come with it.”
This fall, he’ll follow in Cole’s footsteps and head to Duke, where Tully believes he’ll improve even more in the sport. He can’t wait to see what else his protégé achieves as a collegiate athlete.
