Videos of Olympic medalists lifts Sanden's game

Bureau Valley's Adam Sanden is the 2009 Track and Field Athlete of the Year

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MANLIUS — In the days before he made his county record-setting triple jump of 45-0 1/2 at the Erie Sectional, Bureau Valley’s Adam Sanden had a little help from the top triple jumpers on the planet.

While he did not attend a clinic with triple jump gold medalist Nelson Evora of Portugal, or work out with silver medalist Phillips Idowu of Great Britain, Sanden was still able to learn from the jumping elite — by watching them on Youtube.

“I was bored one day, so I was looking at Youtube videos and watched the Olympic finals at Beijing,” Sanden said. “I noticed they stay a lot lower through all three phases, where before I think I was really jumping up more. It kind of helped mentally to stay low and get further.”

Along with the height of his jump, Sanden also picked up on other aspects of the triple jump he could improve, like his run-up.

“I figured out that you’re supposed to build speed, and that’s how you get to your top speed when you jump. You don’t start out full speed at the beginning.”

Armed with his new found knowledge, Sanden blasted off for his record-setting triple jump at Erie, which earned him the No. 1 seed heading into the Class 1A state meet.

Despite a nagging toe injury he developed just before the state meet that kept him from replicating his sectional jump, Sanden was able to finish off his junior season with a seventh-place medal in Charleston.

Along with his state medal, Sanden ended this spring with a TRAC-8 Conference championship in the triple jump and top spots on the BCR honor roll in both the triple jump and 200 (22.99), as well as second-place rankings in the long jump (19-9), and 100 (11.08).

With his versatility it is easy to see why Bureau Valley coach Nick Hartz said Sanden “is somebody you can build a team around.” It is also easy to see why Sanden is the 2009 BCR Boys Track and Field Athlete of the Year, the sixth athlete from Bureau Valley to earn the award.

“Adam’s a great all-around athlete. There’s a lot of events you can put him in, and he’s going to do a pretty good job in all of them,” Hartz said. “He’s a kid you can ask to do anything, and he’s going to do what he has to do to get the job done.”

Now that the 2009 campaign is finished, Sanden has several goals in mind — to finish his track and field career at Bureau Valley with a gold medal in the triple jump, and to try to make state appearances in the 200 and 400 as well.

To win state in the triple, he predicts he will need a jump in the 47-foot range.

“I’ll have the whole winter off, so I’ll be training for it,” Sanden said.

“He’s going to put the work in to make himself better,” Hartz said.

Sanden says one area he will try to continue to make improvements in is the second phase of the triple jump.

“For most people it’s the shortest jump, so you have to work on that and make it longer,” Sanden said.

Along with his perfecting his form in the triple jump, Sanden will work on upping his speed on the track to make the trip to Charleston in his running events. He says the 200 is his favorite running event “because it’s longer, and if you mess up, you can catch up.”

Sanden one day hopes to compete in track and field at the collegiate level. He said he has already been recruited by several schools but is in no hurry to make a decision.

Before college though, Sanden still has his goal of being a state champion in his senior season. Along with strength and conditioning, Sanden said he will continue to utilize another of his training tools — surfing the Internet, to help reach that goal.

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