Beyond The Bar: More Than Just A Pole Vaulter
By: Elsa Hemmes and Ally Kragt
In the world of track and field, few athletes have versatility like Bella Tamminga. The Hamilton senior is a dedicated runner and pole vaulter who constantly pushes her limits. Bella has done track and field for 3 years.
Being a multi-sport student athlete, she balances playing basketball, indoor and outdoor track. This shows her commitment to her performance at a high level.
“My biggest influence is my dad because he has always encouraged me and taken me to indoor track practices while being supportive and invested in my pole vaulting.”
She has a great support system and a positive attitude, which helps her succeed. Her dedication extends beyond participation; she seeks improvement and is constantly striving to better her techniques.
Bella’s dedication combined with her support system, puts her on the track for success in both athletics and academics.
Coach Pertner was the reason that Bella started pole vaulting.
“Pert was my biggest coaching influence because he made me try pole vault and kept encouraging me to get higher heights and getting me the poles that I needed.”
He made her try something new, and Bella quickly fell in love with it. Since then, Coach Partner has always equipped Bella with the necessary coaching and support to excel in the sport.
Bella is a constant scorer on the team and her teammates can always count on her; “She is always positive, even if we are losing and always does her best.”
This shows Bella’s selflessness and team first attitude. Bella is a very valuable asset to the team and she inspires others to perform at their best.
“As a captain, I always make sure all of our relay handoffs are good and out of the way at the beginning of our meets, and when our pole vault coach can’t make it to practice, I try to help all the other pole vaulters as much as I can.”
Bella has had a successful start to her season and is continuing to reach higher heights and faster times
“My favorite track memory is probably my sophomore year at the regional meet when I qualified for individual state on a PR, and my teammates and coaches were really excited for me.”
As Bella is trying to qualify for state for pole vault, she will continue to work hard to be a top pole vaulter in the state.
“Right now I have no plans to do track in college because the college I’m going to doesn’t offer pole vault and I’d rather look for a career in college rather than a sport.”
Bella’s future is very bright, but she will not be continuing her athletic career in pole vault.