Former University of Northern Iowa track athlete Brenda Bumgardner believes it’s never too late to try something new. Pole vaulting was not a competitive choice while she was a college student in the late 1980’s. Now at the age of 42, she hopes one day to become the world record-holder in women’s pole vaulting for the 40-to-44-year-old age group.
A Platteville, WI, native, Bumgardner graduated from UNI in 1989 with a degree in physical education with a coaching emphasis. She was a four-year heptathlete for the Panthers. Competing for former head coach LeaAnn Shaddox, she was a team captain and MVP her senior year. Women did not compete in pole vault until 2000.
Bumgardner recently competed in the State Games of America in Colorado Springs, Colo. Suffering from a sore shoulder, she says the event was not her best performance. She planned on competing Aug. 23 in a regional master’s meet and at a state fair Street Vault in September.
She lives in Denver, Colo., with her Weimaraner, ZuZu.
Explain what you have been doing professionally since you graduated.
Following graduation in 1989 I took an assistant track coaching position at Montana State where I also completed my first master's degree in 1990 in physical education. I then coached track for one year at Illinois State before becoming the assistant track coach at Millersville University in Pennsylvania. I had a chance to coach decathletes in the pole vault and wished I could start vaulting then, but women didn't pole vault yet so we didn't have any small poles. After five years of coaching track, I was ready for a change and became the assistant women's basketball coach at Lebanon Valley College in Pennsylvania. I coached there for two years and then moved to Oxford, Ohio, where I was a teaching assistant and completed my second master's degree in sport behavior and performance. I realized I missed coaching so took an assistant basketball position at Oregon State. After three years there, I decided I had enough of recruiting at the PAC 10 level and decided to move to Denver, Colo., for the newly formed Women's Professional Football League. I was a wide receiver for the Colorado Valkyries for one season and then started teaching elementary P.E. in Arvada. I'm still teaching at Swanson Elementary and working on my Ph.D. in the social psychology of sport at Northern Colorado in Greeley.
How long have you been competing in the pole vault?
I started vaulting about two-and-a-half years ago, the day before my 40th birthday. I'm still pretty much in my infancy as pole vaulting goes. I have a lot to learn yet technically since it's such a challenging sport. It's by far the most difficult sport I've ever done.
Why the pole vault?
I have always wanted to try pole vaulting since I started coaching track in 1989. It always looked like so much fun and I thought it would be a good event for me speed- and strength-wise. Unfortunately, when I wanted to start there weren’t small enough poles available. I would have started about five years ago but tore my labrum in my shoulder ice skating and had to have surgery.
What other activities do you participate in?
I've always loved to play football. I grew up playing with my older brother whenever he would let me and always wanted to play tackle. When I learned about the women's football league in Sports Illustrated, I thought the timing was right for me (before I got too old!), so I drove to Denver to try out. I had trained a professional athlete in Denver in the 90's and knew I would love it here. After the first try-out with about 250 women, I went back to Oregon and moved all my stuff to a coaching friend’s house in Laramie, Wyo. I didn't even know if I had made the team, but figured it looked like I would. We played against Austin, Houston, Minneapolis, and Oklahoma City. We played NFL rules and flew to all our games. It was the most fun playing a sport I ever had! I played the following year in a regional league, but it wasn't nearly as competitive. I also enjoy the great outdoor activities Colorado has to offer -- camping, skiing, and hiking.
What are you doing professionally now?
I'm teaching elementary PE at Swanson Elementary in Arvada, working half time on my Ph.D., and do some sport psych consulting with the Air Force women's basketball team.
What do you want to do in the future?
I would like to teach sport psych and sport sociology at the college level, but don't know if I'll give up elementary PE to be a professor. I may look to teach some night classes at one of the local universities. As far as sports are concerned, I will continue to pole vault until it's no longer fun or I feel I've gone as high as I can go. I enjoy competing at something, so who knows what's next!
Any plans for the Senior Olympics?
I will probably continue to compete in USATF master's meets regionally and nationally, but don't plan on the Senior Olympics. I compete mainly in college meets during the indoor and outdoor seasons locally at Colorado State, Colorado and Air Force and these are the most competitive meets. It's kind of like competing in college again, but I place a lot higher now than I did then!
Do you stay in touch with any of your UNI friends, coaches?
I have stayed in touch a little with one of my former teammates, Donna Wheeler, and our coach, LeaAnn Shaddox.
What do you miss most about UNI?
I think I just miss having teammates and also going to the football games in the Dome.
What’s your advice for others who want to stay competitive as they grow older?
I would say it's never too late to try something new. I've always found that if you believe you can do something (even if -- and especially if others think you're crazy!), it's worth trying. Unfortunately, I think people in general have specific ideas about what is and isn't appropriate or possible at certain ages and too often it prevents people from even trying things they've always wished they could do. If you just go out on a limb and try, you might surprise yourself.
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