Grafton High assistant track and field coach Gary Haigh admitted he was a little surprised with senior Caroline Beaudoin’s response a few years back when he proposed that, if she ever leaped 18 feet in the long jump, she could pick her prize.
“She wanted a steak dinner,” Haigh recalled, chuckling.
That dinner promise seemed like a distant memory back in November when indoor track season rolled around.
In early February of last year, Beaudoin, the Clippers all-state long jumper, broke a bone in the top of her left foot that forced her to sit out the remainder of the track season and eventually miss the entire spring sports season as well.
Beaudoin, a two-sport athlete who will play field hockey at Stanford University in the fall, tried to endure the pain, but after her condition worsened, she was forced to have surgery in March. Beaudoin returned to physical activity in July, and despite the nagging injury, had a successful field hockey season leading the perennial Group AA powerhouse Clippers to the state quarterfinals.
Then track started, which, given the nature of the event she specializes, brought on an incredible amount of pain that was equally as discomforting as when she initially injured her dominant left foot, the one she uses to launch off the meet pad.
“I didn’t know what to do,” said Beaudoin, who recalls the first week of track practice being as painful as when the initial injury occurred. “Jumping just puts so much pressure on your legs. I could literally barely jump off my left foot. It was so weak whenever I put any sort of weight on it.”
So, rather than giving up the long jump and sticking to short-distance running events that would better suit her bum foot, Beaudoin chose a far more rigorous alternative and began training for the event by taking off with her non-dominant right foot.
“It was either that or just not do [the long jump],” Beaudoin said.
Haigh, a longtime specialist in field events, had his reservations.
“It’s like teaching an all-star pitcher how to throw with his opposite arm,” Haigh said. “She literally had to start from scratch and re-teach herself all the basic techniques.”
As expected, the progressions were slow.
“Things started pretty rough,” Haigh said. “All of her reps felt awkward and she just wasn’t getting the same elevation. The first few practices and meet at CNU were visibly discouraging for her.”
Said Beaudoin, “I kept questioning myself over and over again whether I should do it anymore. It was so frustrating; I almost gave up a few times.”
Beaudoin did not give up though, and slowly but surely, improvements came.
After jumping barely over 16 feet in the first Bay Rivers meet of the season in early December, Beaudoin progressed to better than 16-and-a-half feet at both the second 10-team district meet and CNU Winter Frolic in January.
Then, seemingly out of nowhere, Beaudoin launched herself 18 feet and one-quarter inches at the annual Virginia Tech High School Invitational on the first of February, easily breaking the longest jump of her career.
“That’s when I realized, ‘Oh my god, I can do this,’” Beaudoin said. “I went from having discussions with coach Haigh on whether I should even try to compete (in the long jump), to actually doing it on a different foot, and I’m still improving.
“I’ve definitely surprised myself a little. It’s nice to see all my hard work paying off.”
Haigh was even more amazed by Beaudoin’s remarkable turnaround, but says little that she does anymore surprises him.
“Anyone who knows track understands how unbelievable that is,” Haigh said. “To go from teaching yourself how to jump again to posting one of the top scores in the state is almost unheard of.
“She’s probably the most competitive person I’ve ever met, so it doesn’t totally surprise me because if I had to pick anyone that could overcome something like that, it would be her.”
Following her strong showing at Virginia Tech, Beaudoin went on to capture the Bay Rivers and Region I long jumping titles the next two weekends.
She’ll aim for her second all-state performance in three years this Saturday when she competes in the Group AA meet in Lynchburg.
As for the steak dinner, Haigh says he is thrilled to once again be reminded of it.
“Those are the types of wagers that, as a coach, you hope to one day have to fork up,” Haigh said. “She probably deserves two steaks.”
