Haley Steele reaches new heights for West Milford

BY PATRICIA KELLER
WEST MILFORD — Haley Steele runs full speed, plants her pole, soars through the air, over the tenuous bar and lands 11 feet below in the cushioned pit.

As winner of the Passaic County Championships, the North 1 Group 3 State Sectionals, and the Group 3 State Championships, the sophomore Highlander was elated to capture those coveted titles.

Injuries may have hampered her performance at the state competition, but that didn’t dampen her accomplishments for this, her first full year in the sport. These are tremendous accomplishments for the West Milford High School student, in a sport that is not as well recognized or as popular as many other sports.

“I qualified for state championships but because of injuries could not compete well,” said Haley.

Haley has been pole vaulting for almost a year, and said she believes pole vaulting has become an overlooked sport in the high school. She said she hopes to inspire more people to become pole vaulters in West Milford, and says pole vaulting is “the most fun I have had in my entire life.”

From gymnastics to pole vaulting

Haley became interested in pole vaulting after she stopped competing in gymnastics. She was inspired by a friend’s sister who had moved on to pole vaulting from gymnastics and competed well as a pole vaulter. Haley said after trying it, she fell in love with the sport.

“When I vault, it feels like I'm flying through the air. It's the most exhilarating feeling in the whole world,” said Haley.

Haley’s parents, Gillian Hemstead and Gary Steele, are proud of their daughter and her accomplishments.

“I am very proud of her,” said Hemstead. “She has worked very hard to become competitive in pole vaulting.”

“We are very proud of her and the things she has chosen to excel at,” Steele said, adding his daughter’s interests are vaulting, music (bagpipes and clarinet) and chemistry. “Both her mother and father are not so good at any of these things.”

Steele said his daughter trains with the high school track team for 2 1/2 hours after school five days a week. In addition to that, she also attends specialized pole vaulting training three days a week for 3 1/2 hours each day at the Heights Unlimited Vault Club (HUVC). “That's 23 hours a week of track,” said Steele.

Haley credits HUVC head coach Al J. Berardi as “the biggest reason I have been successful.”

“Ms. Steele is a wonderful young lady and is gifted in many areas, athletics, music and academics” said Berardi. “In my opinion, her greatest strengths are her ability to understand a complex skill like the vault and her ability to focus on it and make things happen when she trains. Haley’s progress has been literally fantastic in the short time she has been at Heights; her natural speed and strength are among her best assets. We have a saying at the club which is, ‘If you want to be a great athlete, pick your parents well.’ The other part to that is, of course, self determination on the athlete’s part. In my 50 years being associated with the vault, it is always the athletes who want it the most that ends up usually with the best results: This is Haley.”

A team player
Steele loves being part of the West Milford track team and said she hopes to compete well and add to the team’s success.

“Haley is a very talented athlete and has worked very hard to get where she is in pole vault,” said West Milford track Coach Alyssa Douma . “She is versatile and able to excel in any event that she is placed in. During meets, she will do a variety of events to help the team.”

Berardi said Haley “comes in with a self determination not often seen in many young athletes.” Haley’s background in gymnastics and other sports, he said, “allows her to have a very unique feel for where her body is in the air at all times. I find that when I coach her, Haley’s ability to listen and then implement the instructions right away is again a major asset for her.”

She's come a long way
“In just six short months Haley has learned the basics of pole vaulting which is to approach the box with speed, move the pole to a very high position over her head and jump upwards to create a great swing,” said Berardi. “These elements, when put together correctly, produce great vaulters.”

Berardi described Haley’s progression this indoor season as “nothing less than spectacular,” adding that Steele has cleared 11' 0" vaults officially in competition, but has cleared 11' 6" in practices several times with solid jumps at 12 feet. “This is a spectacular accomplishment for a 10th grader and places her among the top female high school vaulters in the state of New Jersey.”

Records are made to be broken
And while being a team player is first and foremost in Haley’s mind, she can’t avoid the attention that her sky-high vaults has brought.

“My current personal record is 11 feet, which is only six inches under the school record,” said Haley. “My goal is to try to break this record in the future.”

Nail biting experience
Hemstead described watching her daughter vault as a “nail biting experience” since she has watched other children land wrong and get hurt.

“I find it to be nerve wracking to watch. Seeing your child running full speed down the runway and then launch themself into the air 11 feet isn’t easy to watch.” But Hemstead says she is putting her own fears aside because her daughter loves the sport. “She is dedicated to being the best she can be and I am so proud of her accomplishments.”

In addition to her love of pole vaulting and competing with the track team, Haley is also very involved in the band program at the high school. She plays the clarinet and bagpipes, currently holds the position of “bagpipe corporal” in the Highlanders Pipe and Drum Corp., and is a member of the Claddagh Pipe and Drum Band. Haley said she loves participating in the marching band and that it has been a wonderful experience for her.

As for her pole vaulting future, Berardi said, “I believe that Haley will continue to achieve major heights in the vault and with two more years to go, the sky is literally the limit.”

With her passion for the sport, her dedication and commitment to training, and the support of her parents, team and coaches, we just may see that new school record- as well as more state championships in pole vaulting- from Haley Steele in the near future.