Photo by Sarah Finnegan
James Courson competes in the pole vault competition during the AHSAA Class 6A-7A sectional meet April 27. Courson cleared 16 feet to place first. He won at the state meet by clearing 16’ 9”, just 3 inches shy of the state record set by McGill-Toolen’s Sean Collins in 2015.
After his first pole vaulting practice, James Courson came home and told his mother that he was going to do it every day for the rest of his life.
The recent Hoover High School graduate is well on his way.
Courson started pole vaulting his freshman year of high school, close to four years ago. He started it because an older friend had always tried to get him into it in middle school. As high school began, Courson decided to try, and it has been a tremendous decision.
Courson earned scholarship offers from Auburn University and theUniversity of South Alabama and looked at Samford, Alabama and Virginia Tech. He chose to sign with Auburn.
“Auburn was the best fit for me,” Courson said. “That’s where I had originally planned on going in the beginning of the year, but after looking at lots of different schools Auburn was by far the most impressive school and track opportunity for me. I really hit it off with coach [Scott] Richardson, the pole vault coach, on my official visit.”
At Auburn, Courson plans to study software engineering.
“I have always been interested the way things work, especially computers,” he said. “I was introduced to some basic coding my junior year, and I really enjoyed creating programs.”
At Hoover, Courson has created records. At the AHSAA state Indoor Track and Field Championships in February, he won the boys’ pole vault event by clearing the bar at 16 feet, 1 inch. He cleared more than 18 inches better than his nearest competitor.
In May at the AHSAA state Outdoor Track and Field Championships, he won the boys’ pole vault event by clearing 16 feet, 9 inches, just three inches shy of the state record set by McGill-Toolen’s Sean Collinsin 2015.
“James is an all-around athlete,” said Hoover track and field coach Devon Hind. “He does the decathlon for us and is pretty good at it. Very good student. Very consistent in his performances. Best we’ve ever had. Works extremely hard throughout the entire year. First to arrive and usually the last to leave.”
Courson said he has looked up to various pole vaulters since he started almost four years ago. More than anything, though, he puts a lot of effort into it because he loves it.
“Because pole vault is such a mental as well as physical intensive sport, it really has to be something you want to do,” he said.
There is a lot of failure before success in pole vaulting.
“You have to have the body awareness of a gymnast, the speed of a sprinter and the mind of an adrenaline junkie,” Courson said. “A lot of hard weight lifting, running and long days during and after preseason have to be put in order to be successful, and that’s only for the lucky ones. You have to be willing to stick to the process and hope that your hard work will pay off, and for many it never does.
“There have been many technical breakthroughs I have encountered in these past four years, but there have also been many times I just had to trust my coach and be OK with not [getting a personal record] for long periods of time,” he continued.
Ava Weems, a Hoover runner who signed with Mississippi State, has seen Courson’s work ethic.
“What stands out about him is that he’s such a good vaulter, yet you would never know because he is so humble about it,” Weems said.
That humbleness may trace back quite a few years. Courson was born in Texas, but his family moved to Moscow when he was just 2 years old. They stayed until he was 12, working as missionaries and starting churches for the deaf community, as well as creating a sign language interpretation of the Bible.
“I definitely had a different upbringing than most, but it was the only thing that I knew,” Courson said. “I went to a small Christian, English-speaking school, and it really helped root me in a strong relationship with the Lord. Living overseas has also given me a different perspective on life than most have. I’ve been to many countries and seen many types of people groups, and although I’ve not dealt with many of the hardships that come with being a minority, I know what it feels like to be an outsider in a country, and it has made me into a person that views everything from an outside perspective.”
As for his future career at Auburn, Courson hopes to break Auburn’s all-time collegiate record of 18 feet, 4½ inches, and compete in the NCAA Championships each year. He also hopes to compete beyond college in the 2024 Olympics and other worldwide competitions.
“Pole vaulting has definitely taught me to be patient in my life,” Courson said. “Success often never comes without failing first, but it has also taught me how to interact with others and enjoy life. The pole vault community is like no other thing I have ever been a part of. Although we are all competing against each other, there is always a deep camaraderie between athletes at the meets.”
Courson is one of about 12 to 15 pole vaulters that Hoover has. Riley White, a female pole vaulter, has only been participating for a year, but already holds a personal record of 11 feet, 8 inches. She was previously a gymnast.
“Extremely talented athlete,” Hind said of White. “Very strong and flexible. Holds our indoor and outdoor records after only vaulting a little over a year. Pretty amazing. Very driven.”
Hind said Courson and White have set new standards of excellence and shown others what is possible.
“This group likes each other and trains hard together,” he said. “They are constantly helping each other in practice and meets. They record and analyze each other’s vaults all the time. They have a great leader and coach in coach Billy Lamb. He is the reason for their success. He is willing to work as hard as they are.”
