About a year ago, Bolles School senior Harry Glasser faced a difficult decision. He was one of Florida’s top athletes in two sports: wrestling and pole vaulting. One of his primary goals had always been to play a sport in college. However, he had to decide which sport he would choose. Would it be wrestling or would it be pole vaulting? The answer ended up being an easy one. “Florida wrestlers don’t get recruited much for college. I didn’t think I would get a big scholarship offer for wrestling. So I decided to focus on pole vaulting my senior season,” he says. It didn’t hurt that Glasser had surpassed the 15’ mark and colleges – particularly the University of Florida – were already showing some interest. For his senior season, it would be pole vaulting and pole vaulting alone.
It turned out to be the right decision. Glasser finished his sophomore and junior seasons as the number four-ranked pole vaulter in Florida. However, he admits that his marks weren’t that great. He still had a lot of work to do to become an elite-level vaulter. “Everything came together this year. I wasn’t very fast or strong last year. I got in the weight room and did more speed training. There were a lot of little things I needed to do in order to improve,” he says. And just how much did Glasser improve? As a freshman, he went 12’6”. A year later he topped 13 feet. His junior year, he cleared 14 feet. This year? He went over 16 feet. “So yeah, that was a pretty significant jump to get over 16 feet,” he says.
Glasser has an advantage that probably nobody else in the state has. He has the benefit of living with an elite-level pole vaulter, someone whose brain he can pick every day. His sister, Daisy, won multiple state championships in high school and went on to vault for the University of Florida. She now coaches Glasser, and he believes she is a big reason why he has improved as much as he has. “She is very knowledgeable about the sport. She knows a lot more than me. She’s the perfect coach, and I have access to her brain 24/7,” he says. Daisy’s expertise, along with the knowledge he has gained from his other coaches and his own tireless work ethic, transformed Glasser into the best pole vaulter in Florida.
As we tell Glasser’s story, one may get the impression that everything comes easy to him. After all, with a sister who was also one of the state’s best, there must be something in the Glasser genes, right? Not exactly. Glasser admits that he is far from a great athlete. In fact, he didn’t qualify for state in wrestling or pole vaulting as a freshman. He didn’t like the way that made him feel, and he decided then and there that it wouldn’t happen again. “Not getting to state really motivated me,” he says. “I went to work, and the next year, I was fourth in Florida in both.”
All the hard work – and the success he experienced as a result – is what brought colleges to his front door. Several schools were interested in Glasser, but one stood out above the others. The Glasser family has quite a tradition with the University of Florida. In addition to Daisy, two other siblings went to UF. The Gators were the first school to come calling. “They showed interest in me before any other college did. They are competitive in both indoor and outdoor seasons. I want to contribute to their track team. Florida is also a great school academically, and I felt secure going there. I thought it was the best fit for me,” he says.
What does the future hold for Harry Glasser? At the time of this writing, he was a week out from the state track meet. From there, he would be graduating and heading west to Gainesville. “I just want to do as much as I can for my team. I want to do well in school and contribute to my team,” he says.
When Harry Glasser started high school, he thought he would be focusing on wrestling. He loved the physicality of the sport and the warrior mentality required to be a great wrestler. Pole vaulting was just something he did on the side to keep busy. Then things changed. His vaulting talent passed his wrestling talent, and he realized that his future would be more secure on the track than on the wrestling mat. “I didn’t see myself going in this direction. But I’m all in. I totally love pole vaulting,” he says.
Favorites:
• Pole vaulter: Sergey Bubka
• Sport you wish you could play: Wrestling
• Place to travel: Europe
• Subject: History
• Least favorite: English
• Last book: Lone Survivor by Marcus Luttrell and Patrick Robinson
• Superpower: Flight
• Person to meet: Sergey Bubka
Special Feature/Jacksonville/May 2014
Harry Glasser
Bolles School
Jacksonville, Florida
Robert Preston Jr.
Hard work, attention to detail propel Bolles senior to top of Florida’s pole vault heap
Avery Geehr’s goals for her senior softball season were simple. Individually, she wanted to record 222 strikeouts and keep her earned run average under 1. Before Districts, she had tallied over 240 strikeouts, and her ERA stood near 0.4. As a captain and leader, she only hoped her team would play together as a cohesive unit. That was enough for her.
She had already signed with Georgetown University and was looking forward to enjoying the time with her coaches and teammates. There are four seniors on the 2014 team, and they’re all the best of friends. She’s been playing with her battery mate, Taylor Zitielo, since they were both six years old. Their fathers started coaching their teams a few years later, from 8-and-under park ball up until they were freshmen.
Softball was her way of obtaining a prestigious education and passage to the bustling Washington D.C. area. She had always planned to attend a school based on its academics, not just its athletics (though the Georgetown softball program is no slouch as an up-and-coming Big East contender).
“I fell in love with D.C. in eighth grade and cannot wait any longer to live there!” she says.
Her weighted grade point average is above 4.4. She probably would’ve made it to Georgetown solely on her grades. She’s enrolled in six Advanced Placement courses split evenly between PVHS and Florida Virtual School: calculus, statistics, physics, microeconomics, government and politics, and language and composition.
Geehr didn’t expect her Sharks to win all 24 games on their regular season schedule, but they did.
“Our young players really stepped up,” she says. “[Going undefeated] was a great way to go out.”
She’s modest, so she might not tell you, but she helped a little bit, too. During a tournament over spring break, Geehr pitched four games in a span of two days. She admits the quick turnaround was physically taxing, but welcomes challenges like these anyway. She’s in the weight room multiple times a week working on core muscles and arm strength. She takes her preparation as a pitcher seriously as well. She practices painting the corners of the strike zone with precision and shows good control of her off-speed pitches.
Geehr is an accomplished violinist and has been playing since fourth grade. She performed for patients at the Mayo Clinic over the summer and participates at her church, Christ Episcopal Church. Her musical endeavors double as cross training: she possesses exceptional muscle memory and strength in her fingers, which help her grip the laces when she throws breaking balls.
Geehr credits her development into a Division 1 college athlete in part to the excellent coaching she has received at school and on her traveling team. Practices are intense and push her and her teammates to their limits, but she is most appreciative of their focus on the mental aspect of the game. Her coaches drill obscure situations just in case they are faced with one, even if they have yet to encounter it in a game.
Geehr’s six-year old cousin Meredith plays youth league softball and wants to be just like her. Geehr sees the responsibility in that and relishes the opportunity to be a positive influence in Meredith’s life. She knows the value in having a role model, because she had one when she was younger, too. Molly Manning, a former Villanova University standout, gave pitching lessons to Geehr while at Bartram Trail High School. Geehr then went on to break most of her area records.
Favorite Athlete: Derek Jeter
Favorite Subject: Calculus
Least Favorite Subject: History
Ideal Place to Vacation: Bora Bora
Gatorade or Powerade: Gatorade
Movie: A Cinderella Story
Last Song Played: Grillz by Nelly
Superpower: Read Minds
Player Spotlight/ Jacksonville/ April 2014
Avery Geehr
Ponte Vedra High School
Ponte Vedra, FL
Brandon Ibarra
Ponte Vedra Senior Leads Team to Undefeated Regular Season
A strong right handed baseball pitcher who enthusiastically values the achievements of his teammates, volunteers in his free time and puts up some truly impressive stats, Sean Reid-Foley is about as apple-pie American as they come. An 18-year-old senior at Sandalwood High School in Jacksonville Florida, Sean plays baseball, basketball and golf and will be graduating spring 2014.
Unsurprisingly, Foley comes from a family of excellence. Son of Beverly A. Reid and David X. Foley, Jr., a retired Warrant Officer in the U.S. Coast Guard, Sean is the youngest of four children. His sister Emily, 21, currently attends the Florida State University, while his eldest sister Hannah, 25, is a graduate of that same prestigious institution. Sean’s Brother David, 23, attended Mercer University and is currently a minor league baseball player for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Having played baseball since he was 4 years old, Foley accurately describes himself as, “competitive and a team player”. Perhaps the defining example of his camaraderie, Sean describes his career highlight as when he watched, “my teammate Alex Wisely throw a perfect game”. Foley currently pitches for his high school baseball team the Saints. A right-hander, Foley had 7 wins and 3 loses, 15 walks, and an impressive 5 shutouts this season. He pitched 57.2 innings, 3 of which were no hitters and managed a .607 ERA with 108 total strikeouts. Academically, Sean excels in history maintaining a 2.987 GPA, expressing a desire to further develop his skills in English composition.
In addition to his athletic and academic achievements, Foley supports his local community through a variety of humanitarian projects. Outside of school, Foley spends time volunteering in Fort Caroline National Park. Sean similarly serves his community through programs within his school. “This school year I helped with an adaptive PE class. I worked with students that have physical, mental and emotional disabilities,” Foley explains.
As an athlete, Foley cites his older brother David as his greatest source of inspiration: he taught me that hard work and determination will make you successful. David’s example motivates Sean, who advises underclassmen hoping to follow in his footsteps to always work hard and strive for excellence.
Player Spotlight/ South Georgia/ May 2014
Sean Foley
Sandalwood High School
Jacksonville, Florida
Mike McGuire/ May 8, 2014
All Around American
