Hackett Soars to Great Heights With a Boost From His Father

Shane Hackett is living a fairy tale.

Once upon a time, he was a 4-foot-11, 98-pound freshman at Verdugo Hills High, the perfect size to fit into a trash can. Except he had far more ambitious plans--he wanted to fly through the air like a witch on a broomstick.

He tried the pole vault. Nothing would stop him from soaring higher. After one practice with his private coach, Anthony Curran, Hackett improved his vault by two feet. It was as if someone had sprinkled pixie dust in his blond hair.

For the next three years, pole vaulting became as much a part of his life as breathing.

“I trained year-round,” he said. “I trained summer, fall, spring, winter--three days a week.”

He grew to 5-8 and 135 pounds. Many couldn’t understand how Hackett, who once was hospitalized for six days because of an asthma attack, could compete against muscle-bound teenagers five inches taller.

“Everybody keeps thinking, ‘He’s going to plateau, he’s too small, he doesn’t weigh enough.’ A lot of people have said what I’ve done, I shouldn’t have been able to do,” he said.

Last weekend at the state track and field championships at Cerritos College, Hackett became the first City Section pole vaulter since 1972 to win the state title when he cleared 16-4 on his third and final attempt.

“It was probably one of the most nerve-racking attempts,” he said. “I probably made that bar by an eyelash.”

It was a special moment of triumph he shared with his father, Paul.

Last July, Hackett had to sever ties with Curran, an assistant at UCLA, who could no longer coach Hackett under NCAA rules because Hackett had become a senior and a recruitable athlete.

Paul agreed to take over coaching duties despite knowing little about pole vaulting.

“First of all, I’m not a pole vault expert--I’m a dad,” he said.

Paul coached basketball at South Gate High for 10 years. A good motivator and conditioning coach, he recognized Shane’s strengths and weaknesses. For the next 10 months, they became more than father and son. They were a team.

Shane signed a contract dedicating himself to the event and his father’s instructions. That meant when Paul ordered him to run--something Shane hates--he’d run. That meant when Paul told him to pass up a school dance--something Shane never turns down--he’d do it.

“He did everything I asked him to do this year without an argument,” Paul said.

The state championships meant a lot to Paul. He and his brother were runners in high school but never won a state title. Their father was a former track coach. Sixteen family members were at Cerritos cheering for Shane to become the first Hackett to win a state title.

There was a peculiar sight during the competition. Hackett and the other vaulters helped each other with support and advice.

What other sport features opposing athletes giving tips in the middle of a competition? Do you think Reggie Miller would help Shaquille O’Neal with his free-throw shooting in the NBA finals? Do you think Davey Johnson would offer hitting advice to Mike Piazza during a Dodgers-Mets game?

“If doing your best helps you beat other people, that’s icing on the cake,” Hackett said. “You’re competing against yourself and you want to see other people do their best. That’s why you help them.”

It came down to Hackett and Travis Offner of San Diego Mt. Carmel. Offner would have won the title based on fewer misses if Hackett had not cleared 16-4. When Offner missed his final attempt, Hackett was declared the winner.

“Oh my God, I’m state champion,” was Hackett’s reaction.

“I’ve worked four years for that moment. To realize it was pretty mind-boggling.”

His father was emotionally drained watching the competition from the stands.

“The dream all year was to win a state title I couldn’t accomplish,” Paul said. “The boy did it. It was like this huge weight came off, almost like I was floating. For four years we’ve been talking about it, all these practices, driving to Santa Monica and carting all these poles every place. It felt so good.”

Then came the gesture his father will never forget. After the awards ceremony, Hackett found Paul in the stands.

“He put his arms around me and whispered into my ear, ‘A Hackett is finally No. 1,’ ” Paul said.

Paul has retired as a pole vault coach. Curran is back in charge. He’ll be coaching Hackett full-time this fall at UCLA.

Hackett is such an inspiration that teachers and coaches from elementary schools and junior highs would be wise to invite him on campus to address their students.

“Nothing is going to stop me except me,” Hackett said.

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Eric Sondheimer’s local column appears Wednesday and Sunday. He can be reached at (818) 772-3422 or eric.sondheimer@latimes.com