Strength Through Diversity – Stacy Dragila Olympic Success Story

I can vividly remember watching in awe during college track meets as Stacy Dragila amazed the crowds with her grace and strength in the woman's pole vault.  Pole vault champions combine diverse skills in one sport.  The amazing thing about Stacy's story is that she wasn't just focused on one thing, but had a very diverse athletic background and she made it all pay off in a single sport at the right time.  She won the gold medal in the 2000 Olympics when the sport for women was still in it's infancy.  I am a huge proponent of focus and single-mindedness when it comes to principles of success, so Stacy astounded me when she shared the obstacles she overcame and her convoluted journey to Olympic success ...

As a young girl in the beautiful town of Auburn, CA, Stacy Dragila had a passion for physical activity and sports.  She was feisty and would try anything!  Growing up in a rural area, she learned to run fast on the gravel driveway running away from her brother!  On the small farm, she worked, moved hay, made forts, had huge animals and became tough and strong.  She started with YMCA gymnastics and even jumped into rodeo, joining her older brother Eric in the sport.  She even tried fencing!  In high school she played volleyball and jumped, sprinted and did hurdles in track.  Her dad supported her by making PVC hurdles for her to practice on at home.  She also doesn't take no for an answer and believes in creative solutions.  Volleyball conflicted with powder puff football, and the volleyball coach forbid the team to do both ... so Stacy talked the whole team into joining the football team, so the coach couldn't say no.  Love that story.

In middle school, she was diagnosed with asthma and her family did everything they could to help her overcome this serious challenge.  They moved from California to Idaho to Phoenix and worked with pulmonary specialists for years.  She tried a variety of prescription remedies and still struggled.  She ultimately learned to warm up by walking slowly for 6 minutes so she didn't trigger the asthma response.  Then she was able to wean off the medicines and really train at a high level - sprints, lunges, circuit training etc.

As a young girl, Stacy watched the Olympics with her dad and was amazed at the athletes!  She remembers Mary Lou Retton's beaming face, Flo Jo's amazing outfits and her dad recalling Jesse Owen's incredible and historic feats.  She was beyond inspired.  She cut out her Olympic hero's pictures and created a vision board.  Her natural personality is very competitive with a mix of passion, a fun attitude about trying everything and loving the journey.  She also used what many might consider insults or deflating comments as inspiration to do her best.  One of her early teachers told her she would never go to college.  She would prove them wrong.  When the women's pole vault was first arriving on the track scene at the US Nationals as an official event, she would hear comments like:  "women aren't strong enough to do pole vault effectively" or "pole vault for females is cute", "are you race walkers".  Watch out, here comes Stacy feeling awesome in her shiny new USA unitard with her gear bag with USA emblazoned on the side ...

She had other sources of wisdom and inspiration.  The late coach Joh Orognen, of Yuba Community college, was ill with cancer and on his deathbed shared "pursue your dreams without compromise".

In high school, she was recruited and offered a scholarship by Idaho State University's track and field coach Dave Nielson.  Together they would pioneer women's pole vault.  They developed a powerful relationship and Dave knew not only what to say, but how to say it to propel Stacy to tremendous success.  I asked Stacy how sleep, self-care, diet, positive thoughts played in to her success.  She shared the story of when coach Dave was trying to help her lean out to maximize her vault height.  She's Italian and grew up on meals of pasta.  He carefully chose his words and advised "you don't have to give up carbs altogether, just limit them to a side, not a meal".  Brilliant and it worked.  For maximum sports performance she recommends healthy nutrition not bulimia.  Also, if you like ice cream as much as she does, don't buy it and keep it in the freezer in the first place.

She strongly believes in setting big goals - go big.  Then break down your big goal into daily steps.  While Stacy came from a diverse sports background, she gives wise FOCUSED advice.  Break down a complex process a detailed plan with gradual building blocks.   Love your sport and the personal challenge, live in the moment, get out of your element [comfort zone] and do your best.  Put photos of your heros on your wall and know that you can do it too.

Visualize success.  When she was getting ready to compete in the championships in Great Britian, she actually wrote a post-card to her coach thanking him for all his support and that now that she jumped over 12 feet, she was enjoying crumpets and tea in England.  That was a made up story before the fact.  She ended up vaulting 12' 1 and 1/4"!   Don't compare yourself to others just enjoy your progress.  If you have a bad day, think of a time when you did well.  If things go badly, or you get injured, be creative with your solution to keep moving towards your goals.  Ice, stretch, work out in the pool, whatever it takes.

Stacy is a wonderful, humble person and ambassador for the sport.  She is grateful for her experiences and loves sharing her passion with others.  She founded the Altius Track Club in San Diego and went on to start and run Dragila Vault Company in Boise Idaho.  Please invite her to share her unique new sport stickjumping.com with your children's school administrators.  It's fun, healthy, kids love it and it's a new activity, so nobody is already great at it, so it evens out the playing field.  Stacy also weaves life lessons into her kids programs.

Thank you Stacy Dragila for all your inspiration and all you do for today's youth!

If you enjoyed this article and want to see more inspirational life and business lessons, please check out my book:  Gold Medal Business Marketing.