The sky is the limit
A spectator watching Shae Bair set school records in the pole vault might be surprised to learn she has a five-month-old baby nearby and has only been back at training for two months.
During her pregnancy, Bair worked out on her own at home. She has been doing light training since her baby was six weeks old and has been consistently training for just over two months, she said.
Bair brings her baby boy Peyton with her nearly everywhere, including practice and meets, she said.
“It’s a little different, but I’m used to having him with me all the time,” she said.
Bair, who is married to Brad Bair who competes in the decathlon for USU, said it is nice having him on the team with her.
“It’s fun for both of us to be there when we’re competing and to have the same interests,” she said.
Peyton gets passed between Shae, Brad, family and teammates during practice and at competitions, she said.
“I’m able to juggle him with my husband,” she said. “We have family that live close to our meets in Pocatello, so they help when we’re there. And there’s always a teammate that is not competing at the time who is willing to watch him if we can’t.”
Bair currently holds both the USU indoor and outdoor records for the women’s pole vault. She first set the indoor record in 1999, which she broke last month by two inches after not competing in the event for three years.
Head Coach Gregg Gensel said he was pleased at how well Bair did in the indoor season.
“She’s made more progress than I thought she would at this point, having just had a baby, but I wasn’t really surprised [at how well she did] because I know her attitude and what she’s capable of,” he said. “I’m really happy about her indoor season.”
This is Bair’s last season, and she said her goals are to win the Big West Conference, do well at nationals and become an All-American.
Gensel said she has a good chance of accomplishing her goals.
“I don’t know how the competition is at this point, but I’d like to think she has a shot at winning conference in the pole vault and being All-American,” he said. “She set an individual personal record in indoor and has always been better outdoor.”
Bair is a strong competitor because of her attitude, Gensel said.
“I really like her attitude,” he said. “She has a killer attitude towards training and competing. She does everything she can in training and waits. She doesn’t force good things to happen – that’s the mark of all great athletes.”
Bair said, “I just let my body do its thing. I try not to think about too many things because if you get thinking too much you miss.”
Bair originally came to USU to compete in sprinting events and the long jump, but was recruited to do pole vault early on, she said. She tried it a little during the 1997 season, but didn’t compete because she redshirted that year. She first competed in the pole vault during the 1998 season, and a year later had set the indoor school record in the event.
She said USU has a young team in regards to pole vaulters, but she thinks they will do well this season.
“There’s a lot of people I don’t know because it’s a young team and I’m so much older,” she said. “But we have some good girls. Debra Barker should do really well and so will Tricia [Jacobsen]. We have quite a bit of talent in our group.”