Jason Hinkin in pole position

By Rodd Cayton	On-line Forty-Niner
March 5, 1997

Jason Hinkin has put in years of work at a sport that takes place for just seconds. Hinkin, a world-class pole-vaulter at Cal State Long Beach, will get his shot at the big time, when he competes in the NCAA Championships Friday and Saturday in Indianapolis.

"I want to qualify for the World Championships," Hinkin, who was an All-American in 1995, said. "That's important, career-wise."

Hinkin said he feels he will do well in Indianapolis, but there is a ceiling to his expectations; he said that he does not expect to move Ukrainian Sergei Bubka out of his position as the world record holder.

"I don't think that's a realistic expectation," Hinkin said.

Bubka's record is 20 feet, 4 inches; Hinkin's personal best is 18' 3," but he feels he can go as high as the mid-19-foot range.

The 22-year-old Los Gatos Native does not fit the typical "dumb jock" stereotype.

"I take my education seriously," Hinkin said, adding that he is taking 13 units while practicing 35 hours each week. "I don't understand the animosity toward student-athletes."

Hinkin said he has been involved in the pole vault since his early youth.

"That big," Hinkin said, holding a hand out just above waist level. Then, seriously, "I was about five feet tall and a hundred five pounds."

While many young athletes gravitate toward football and baseball, Hinkin chose to follow some family advice.

"My brother [James] told me it was a good way to meet girls," Hinkin said.

Hinkin was very candid about the possibility of injury in his sport.

"I land on my head about once a week," Hinkin said.

Hinkin's falls sometimes have effects which cannot be taken so lightly, such as the time when he was forced to redshirt in 1996 because of a broken leg.

In Indianapolis, he is looking forward to going up against UCLA's Scott Slover, whom he describes as, "one of my good friends."

Shunning steroids and other performance-enhancing substances, Hinkin is a pure athlete.

Of the medical dangers, Hinkin said, "all of the horror stories scare the crap out of me."

However, Hinkin did reveal a fondness for beer.

"In moderation."

Hinkin describes his family as athletic, and the pedigree backs up his contention. His brother John is a member of the U.S. national rugby team.

Hinkin played soccer as a youth, but decided to stick with track because he felt he had a greater chance for success in that sport.

"Your mark is your mark," Hinkin said. "Here it's me versus gravity."

Hinkin's approach to pole-vault as a team event is partially a social one.

"My event takes so long [waiting my turn to vault]," he said. "I get to walk around and talk to my teammates."

In his off-time, Hinkin volunteers at youth camps at Mount San Antonio College in Walnut, helping youngsters learn to vault.

"There's no money [for instruction] in high school," Hinkin said. "Gotta give back.."

Steve Stewart, Hinkin's friend who "helps out" with the CSULB track program, has known the vaulter for four years, and has his own opinion about what makes Him successful.

"The pole vault revolves around the mental," Stewart said, "Jason has such a strong mind .... "

Hinkin said that as much as he likes CSULB, he remains true to his hometown.

"Here, you can drive by someone and never see them again," Hinkin said. "[In Los Gatos], you know at least fifteen percent of the people you see."

Hinkin, a political science major, has a strong reason for choosing that degree.

"It's a degree you can do anything with," Hinkin, who comes from St. Francis High School in the bay area community of Mountain View, said.

As for what he plans to do with that degree, Hinkin has not made a decision yet, but is keeping his options open.

"I want to study marketing or go to law school," Hinkin said, adding that his educational decisions may be based on his future in track.

When Jason Hinkin plants his fiberglass pole on the turf of the RCA Dome this weekend, he may go through the roof and into the stratosphere, because for him, the sky is truly the limit.