West London Pole Vault Coach Ellie Spain Endorses 'Maggie Vaults Over the Moon'
LONDON -- A former British Champion and Great Britain International in the pole-vault has endorsed the inspirational sports novel, Maggie Vaults Over the Moon.
“Maggie is a great read for any aspiring young athlete, and covers many of the topics young people and athletes face as they grow as a person and in sport," writes Ellie Spain, Coach of the West London Pole Vault Club.
Maggie Vaults Over the Moon tells the story of Maggie Steele, a gutsy Kansas farm girl who overcomes tragedy and soars to new heights as a pole-vaulter. The novel has been endorsed by top vaulters and coaches around the world, including Coach Spain, who identify with the book’s inspiring message for young people.
West London Pole Vault is a new training squad founded in 2012 to promote pole-vaulting and provide a stable, professional training set-up for athletes to develop as a pole vaulter and a person. The club trains at the beautiful indoor facility at Brunel University.
West London Vault Coach Ellie Spain, center, a former British champion, has endorsed Maggie Vaults Over the Moon.
"It's a young group and we’re a young squad," Coach Spain says. "I’ve had most of the crew for less than a year, so we have a way to go! I’m excited for winter training, as it will be the first winter of this scale. I’m hoping the combined energy and passion of the group will really boost them all over the winter and help them onwards!" Coach Spain is eager to introduce Maggie Vaults Over the Moon to her young vaulters.
"The book shows that true perseverance, faith, courage and self-belief hold true and is a great story for young people to learn from," she adds. "It's a great addition to the literature available for the pole-vault community and is recommended to any young person who has faced loss or hardship at any time in their lives."Ellie Spain was one of the greatest female vaulters in British history. Her career highlights include:
Stephanie Broomhead, England Athletics Champion U15 trains at West London Vault.
British Champion 2006
British Junior Champion 2000
Commonwealth Games Finalist 2006
World Junior Championships Finalist 2000
World Youth Championships Finalist 1999
Represented England & Great Britain numerous times between 1999 and 2008
Here's Ellie Vaulting to the British Championship.
Since retiring from competitive sport in 2008 Ellie has turned her focus to coaching. In addition to developing a number of promising beginners, she coaches Stephanie Broomhead, the No. 1 U15 female pole vaulter in the UK.
In addition, Ellie acts as a consultant to British Athletics and England Athletics for the event, writing Coach Education material and delivering at various conferences and workshops. Ellie is also passionate about Athletic Development and Strength & Conditioning and has worked in a consultancy capacity across multiple sports including Rugby, Football, Olympic Weightlifting and other Track and Field disciplines.
Ellie is a UKA Qualified Jumps Coach, holds an MSc in Strength and Conditioning, is a UKSCA accredited Strength and Conditioning Coach, a NSCA certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist and BWLA Certified Olympic Weightlifting Instructor. She is also a VTCT Certified Sports Massage Therapist.
Ellie currently works as Head of Athletic Development at Woking College, and is also a qualified teacher PGCE(LLS) with 7 years experience teaching 16- to 19-year-olds. Ellie is mentored by USA Master Coaches Dan Pfaff and Greg Hull, and UK Event lead Alan Richardson.
The beginner's vault group of summer 2013 had a great surprise when they arrived at their session to see Usain Bolt training alongside them at the beautiful West London Vault facility. Bolt was training for the World Championships campaign in Moscow.
The West London Vault squad is divided into groups, whereby athletes are placed into the most appropriate training group to their level of experience and individual needs. Athletes coming to us with experience in vaulting are normally placed directly into one of the squad groups.For complete beginners who want to get started with Pole Vault, the club runs a separate beginner's course on a termly basis to give athletes a structured introduction to the event. To receive further details on the next course and register your interest please use the contact form.
Author Overstake is delighted that his story is being welcomed in a country where athletics (track and field) is one of the most popular sports.
“So many British youngsters are passionate about vaulting, especially girls,” Overstake added. “Coach Spain's endorsement is a great boost because she's such a great leader in the vaulting community there. We also want to mention that Maggie can now be purchased in the UK directly through Amazon.UK.”
Maggie Vaults Over the Moon is now available in paperback or eBook and can be purchased through Amazon.com in the United States, Canada, China, Japan, United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, France, and Italy. Maggie also is available at Australia’s premier online bookseller, Angus & Robertson, and at hundreds of local independent US booksellers near you.
