Sports aficionados debate endlessly over what type of athlete is the best ‘all rounder’.  It is a debate which is subject to personal opinion, passion and knowledge, but one that it is difficult to give a comprehensively correct answer to.

Is it the rugby back-rower, who must possess power, speed, stamina and skill in equally high measure?

Or perhaps it is the tennis player who, with razor reflexes, an electric turn of pace, a clinical eye and a gritty mindset, considers him or her self to be best of the best in the sporting world.

Scott Huggins doesn’t think so.  And he should know.  His father was a goalkeeper for Hibernian FC, his mum a junior international long jumper and sprinter for Scotland.  His coach competed at the highest level in athletics, cycling and golf.  He has heard enough in his lifetime about sport to make a sound judgement.

Scott, unsurprisingly, considers his own sport to be the ‘total package’ of athleticism.  However what may come as surprise is the sport which he praises so highly.  Not because anyone would consider it unworthy, but because it is a discipline rarely scrutinised in Britain, In The Winning Zone’s Rising Star for October told us.

“Pole vaulting really is an event that needs all abilities.  You’ve got to be strong, fast, gymnastic and athletic.  It is an event that brings everything together into one whole event. 

“I personally believe it is one of the most technical events in athletics, in terms of the fact that I am going forward as well as upwards.  My coach and I don’t count it as just a vertical jump, because you’ve got to go forward before you can go up."

Scott is obviously, considering his parentage, a natural athlete.  But then again, many young men and women are natural athletes.  Most of us, at some level, may have found we were better than our peers at a certain sport.

But how many of us have done something about it?  How many of us have seen our talent as a gift to be nurtured and developed, rather than assuming that ‘good’ is good enough?

Scott, 18, found pole vaulting almost by accident four years ago, and he capitalised on his talent.  In his case, it was rejection that allowed him to find his sport.  “When I was playing rugby, back in 2003, I was playing scholarship rugby for London Broncos [now Harlequins] youth team.  And when I went to Great Britain trials they said I had good talent and technical ability, but I would be too small to make it pro.  And when someone put me down like that, I just thought, ‘well I might have another career going elsewhere’. 

“I gave up rugby after trying out on the athletics team.  I gave the pole vault a go and realised I was alright at it and enjoyed it.  It developed from there really.”

He is now 4 times Scottish record holder at under-20 and has won several national titles, setting more records along the way, including the Celtic Games and under-23 Inter-Territorial International.  That is what you call nurturing a talent.

Most pole vaulters come from gymnastic backgrounds, but, having been a rugby player, Scott is moulded from a different type of genetic clay.  While he may be proficient on the ground, his movement in mid-air is where he feels he needs some work.  But he has no intention of resting on his laurels, relying on his talent and letting the competition catch him.

“I’ve got a lot of power in the run up and the take off, but I’ve got to work on the gymnastic side of my jumping.  When it comes to gymnastics everything is more technical so it took me a while to get used to it, but I’ve been doing it for a couple of years now so it is starting to become second nature.  I’d like to think so anyway, though there are some things which catch me out once in a while!”

When it comes to competition though, Scott is never caught out.  He is Mr Cool, always steady, always prepared, a key element in taking victory from equally capable opponents.

“My approach is to just stay chilled out.  I like to chat to my competitors before I’m jumping and just stay as relaxed as possible.  The way I see it is when you get on the run up, the focus starts.  There is no point focusing too much before the event happens, because when it comes to actually jumping you may have already spent so much energy thinking about the competition that you are exhausted.

“I switch it on as soon as I step in between the two white lines in the run up.  That’s when my focus starts.  It is the same with training and repetition.  My coach has always taught me that when you’re off the run up, chill out.  When you’re on the run up it is time to think about what you are doing, try not to think about what height the bar is at, just think about what technical aspects you need to work on to clear the bar.”

Scott is coached by Allan Williams, formerly a top British pole-vaulter himself, and is based in London.  Indeed, he has spent most of his life in London.  But even though he has been raised in England, Huggins, who studies Sports Science and Teaching at Brunel University, considers himself Scottish through and through.  He could have represented England due to naturalisation laws, but he chose to stick with his heritage.

“Well both my parents have represented Scotland, and I wanted to carry it on.  I love the way that the Scots are really patriotic about their sport and about their country, whereas down in England they sometimes don’t really seem to care.”

And even though he has hardly a hint of a Scotsman’s twang, Scott feels more than welcome, and often overawed, by the respect and affection given to him by his Northern team-mates at international meets.  It inspires him.

“When I am representing Scotland I like the atmosphere in the teams.  I am greeted into the team regardless of my accent.  Obviously you get on with people but it’s always about the individual rather than the team.  It feels like a real ‘Scottish Team’.

“This summer I did the Inter-Territorials and I was going for a Scottish National record.  The Scottish team came down to England, and they were on the other side of the track in the stands, all clapping.  It was the loudest clap I have ever heard, and they were on the other side of the track!  That was a big highlight for me.”

Unfortunately for Scotland, but thankfully for Scott, we won’t be seeing too much of him up here.  No triumphant homecomings just yet.  England is the only place for him when it comes to his sport, mainly due to a lack of sufficient equipment in Scotland.

“In Scotland there are very limited facilities for pole-vaulters.  There are probably only three centres where top class jumpers can jump, which I think personally is holding the event back in Scotland.” Indeed, there are only about a dozen high level pole vaulters competing here right now.  Not that England is ‘leaps and bounds’ ahead.

“There are a lot more places in England where you can train, but top quality facilities are rare.  Sometimes I feel it is an event which is neglected.  For the uprights not to be working efficiently makes it into a very dangerous sport, which I feel in Britain isn’t bringing youngsters up to think ‘I can try this event and I’ll be safe.’ 

“There are people who maybe don’t have qualified coaches or the right facilities, and accidents could happen.  I think that is maybe where UK Athletics falters a bit.”

There is no doubting that pole vaulting is a dangerous, high risk event; maybe even the original extreme sport for adrenaline junkies?  It has certainly been round much longer than bungee jumping, and what is pole vaulting if not an inverted bungee jump?  Add the British climate to the equation, and you begin to see just how tough Scott’s discipline is.

“I think this year I have under-performed in terms of progression.  My coach thought I should have cleared 5 metres quite comfortably [his PB is 4.80m], but this year in Britain it has been a bit of a washout, it hasn’t been the best British summer.  It has been raining near enough every weekend or there have been nasty crosswinds or headwinds, which has taken a lot of psychological strength to win the competitions. 

“For example, this year at the Senior Inter-Counties [where he competes against adults], which is a national title, only 6 people out of 15 cleared the height because it was absolutely tipping it down with rain.  I came out and cleared 4.70 to win the competition.  I think that is probably one of my best performances, technically and psychologically.  Lots of other people faltered in those conditions.”

Scott Huggins has the makings of a very successful track and field athlete.  He has already taken junior athletics by storm in Britain, and he is set to make the step up to compete with the big boys on a full time basis very soon.

Ironically, the only thing that is holding him back is the one thing that is most important to his success.  His poles.  Not only do they cost up to £500 each, but they are almost impossible to transport.  Buses, planes or trains will not allow a person to carry a 16-foot carbon rod on board with them. 

Asides from financing his supply of poles, it is costing poor Scott and his Dad a fortune in fuel, driving up and down Britain with Scott’s equipment strapped onto their car roof.  It may seem minor, but these inconveniences can often become a hindrance, which may ultimately lead to an involuntary, early retirement. 

But Scott has enough fire in his belly to see it through. 

Why?  Because not only is he a winner, a competitor, but he also has the most important asset available on his side.  Passion.

“I want to be successful for myself, rather than wanting all the fame and glory.  As long as I keep enjoying the sport, I’ll carry on going, I’ll be happy.  Realistically I think I can get to world class level.  To get to that next level I think I will need a lot of work, like any other athlete, but I’m willing to put that work in.”

RO

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