Van Valkenburg Returns to Madison to Continue Dad's Pole Vaulting Program
By
Doug Donnelly
Special for MHSAA.com
April 8, 2026
Larry Van Valkenburg had two passions in retirement – coaching high school track & field and racing motorcycles.
In September, only a few months after completing his 25th season as the pole vault coach at Adrian Madison, Van Valkenburg loaded up his motorcycle and headed to Harpster, Ohio, a tiny, unincorporated city of 160 residents in central Ohio.
“He loved racing motorcycles,” said his son, Trevor Van Valkenburg. “Seems like an odd hobby for someone in their 70s, but he loved it. He hadn’t done it for a couple of years and said he wanted to give it one more shot.”
While at a race in Harpster, Van Valkenburg, 78, was involved in a motorcycle crash, had trouble catching his breath and tragically died.
“He took a very hard fall,” Trevor said.
This spring, after months of deliberations, Trevor decided to end his nine-year run as track coach at nearby Onsted and take over for his father as an assistant at Madison. For all intents and purposes, he’s coming home.
“It really is like coming home,” Trevor said. “I have crazy Madison ties that go way back.”
Trevor was a big reason why his dad began coaching at Madison. He was a high school sophomore in the early 2000s when he switched from baseball to track.
“When Coach (Josh) Powers took over the program in 1999, Madison didn’t have pole vault,” Van Valkenburg said. “Most of the schools in the 1990s had gotten rid of it. As a sophomore, I said if you have pole vault, I’ll run track. That is how my dad got involved.”
Trevor knew his dad had some background in pole vault.
“He was a vaulter in high school,” he said. “He always told us he had the school record. He vaulted in the 1960s where he would land in a pit of saw dust. As a junior, he broke his arm vaulting. He had a scar he would show us from time to time. His proud accomplishment was he came back as a senior and set the school record.”
With Trevor a senior, the Van Valkenburgs were part of Madison’s run to a Michigan Interscholastic Track Coaches Association (MITCA) track & field team state championship.
“He ended up staying 25 years,” Trevor said, speaking of his dad. “He loved it.”
Pole vault is a tough event to learn – and teach.
“In my opinion, it’s probably the most complicated high school sport,” Trevor said. “There are so many variables, how long your pole is, what the wind rating is, the flex rating and you have to set up your steps. You can move the bar so you have to know where to put it. It’s almost impossible to do well without a good coach. There are too many things an outside person needs to watch and give you feedback on.
“I always tell the kids every time you focus on one thing in pole vault about 30 other things go wrong – and that’s fine. It’s a very complicated high school thing to do. If you don’t have a good coach, it’s really hard to be successful.”
Last year, Trevor’s son Noah was on the Trojans middle school track & field team and chose the pole vault as one of his events. His grandfather was able to coach him.
“I am thankful for that,” Trevor said.
Over the years, the elder Van Valkenburg coached numerous league, county and Regional champs. Trevor joined his high school friend, Kyle Cessna, at Onsted, first coaching the pole vault but later coaching distance runners and the Wildcats cross country team. Madison and Onsted were in the same league, the Lenawee County Athletic Association, for the last several years.
“Over the years my dad and I had plenty of good pole vault coaching and team battles,” Trevor said. “We were really competitive at first. Over time, that relaxed a little bit.”
Returning to Madison to coach was an emotional decision for Trevor.
“I’ve coached Onsted for nine seasons,” Van Valkenburg said. “It was kind of always in the back of my head that if my dad was ever done, I’ll go back to Madison. I knew he would hold on as long as he could. It didn’t end up the way we thought it would, but it finally happened and I’m back home.”
Another reason it is home is because his wife, Kathryn, has taught at Madison schools for more than 20 years. His younger son, Dominque, also attends Madison schools.
“When I’m here after school, my whole family is here,” he said. “My wife is in the building. My one son is getting out of elementary at 3:30, my other son is on the middle school track team.”
Larry Van Valkenburg was an ex-Marine who retired as an air traffic controller in 2011. His legacy will remain at Madison, mainly because he teamed with Powers and the rest of the coaching staff to form a powerhouse track & field program that won numerous league championships and made an impact at MHSAA Finals.
“Larry was a great coach,” Powers said. “Trevor is a lot like him. We are really happy he came back to coach.”
Trevor Van Valkenburg is the director of the Lenawee District Library, a system that has six branches and a bookmobile. They circulate more than 150,000 items a year. Each spring, he adjusts his schedule to allow for coaching. He feels at home at Madison – and the track & field athletes can take comfort knowing a Van Valkenburg is still coaching them.
“We’re pretty similar,” Trevor said. “I learned a lot of it from (my dad), so it makes sense we would be similar. We both are pretty laid-back people. We’re not going to scream in kids’ faces. I might be a little more drill-heavy instead of just practicing jumping over the bar. I learned everything I know from him.”
Doug Donnelly has served as a news and sports reporter at the Adrian Daily Telegram and the Monroe News for 30 years, including 10 years as city editor in Monroe. He's written a book on high school basketball in Monroe County and compiles record books for various schools in southeast Michigan. He is now publisher and editor of The Blissfield Advance, a weekly newspaper. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Jackson, Washtenaw, Hillsdale, Lenawee and Monroe counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Adrian Madison track & field assistant coach Trevor Van Valkenburg stands at the entrance to the school’s track this spring. (Middle) At left, JaLonn Borders stands for a photo with Larry Van Valkenburg and Larry’s grandson Noah after breaking the school’s pole vault record during last season’s Lenawee County Championships. (Top photo by Doug Donnelly. Middle photo courtesy of Trevor Van Valkenburg.)
Self-Taught Overholt Firing Record Tosses
By
Wes Morgan
Special for MHSAA.com
May 10, 2019
We’re all students at YouTube University now, with information — some useful — accessible from experts around the globe. Trending this week are videos ranging from Gordon Ramsay’s breakfast tacos tutorial to step-by-step guides for picking locks with hairpins.
Centreville senior Tyler Overholt made better use of his online browsing time, eventually stumbling upon Poland’s two-time Olympic silver medalist in the discus, Piotr Malachowski. Though he doesn’t know it, Malachowski became Overholt’s coach.
An immeasurable amount of determination, and countless hours of watching film of Malachowski, led Overholt to break a 42-year-old school record earlier this year — a mark he since has bettered twice. At the White Pigeon Invitational in April, Overholt registered a distance of 155 feet, 7 inches to surpass Trent Grossman on the Bulldogs’ record board. A week later, Overholt made a toss of 160-6 in a meet that wasn’t officially finished due to inclement weather. In the following meet, he recorded a throw of 158-1.
“Let me tell you, I don’t smile much, but I had a big smile on my face,” said the soft-spoken Overholt, who earned Division 4 all-state status with a seventh-place finish after posting a mark of 138-3 at last year’s MHSAA Finals. “I was jumping up and down.”
Centreville jumped up to Division 3 this year, but Overholt’s marks still make him one of the favorites a few weeks from now at this year’s Finals at Jenison High School. Yet, you probably wouldn’t assume that with just a passing glance.
As a lanky freshman, Overholt was encouraged to try something other than discus. Still lanky now at 6-foot-6, 192 pounds, Overholt doesn’t look like a prototypical thrower.
But his fascination with the event only grew. As a sophomore, he approached new head coach Mike Hunter about giving it a try. Hunter, like most coaches at smaller schools, does the most he can to instruct his athletes in a wide variety of events. But he’s honest about a lack of expertise in the discus.
“He worked hard at the discus basically by himself,” Hunter said of Overholt. “He did some research and found some people. The hard thing with track is it is hard to coach every event if you don’t understand it, so to speak. I never did field events. I’ve tried to do the best I could to help him, but he’s done a lot on his own.
“He has just worked hard and has great technique. It’s not just arming the thing out there. He’s been great to coach, and he’ll do what you ask him to do. He’s right (in the state championship mix) if he can relax and throw with confidence.”
Overholt, who also took on the shot put and hurdles for the first time this spring, knew mastering the technique could trump strength. So he studied Malachowski and other high-level throwers, had his mother, Debra, record his meets, and he broke down that film as well.
“For the first year, I just searched a lot of Olympic discus throwers and tried to copy them,” he said. “Then I started applying details into the spin. There was a lot of improvement, especially my junior year.”
Gaining 20 pounds over the last year has factored in as well after Overholt begrudgingly followed Hunter’s advice to spend more time in the weight room.
“I wasn’t really into it at first,” Overholt said. “It took me until my senior year to really start lifting. Now I’m a lot stronger.”
And more confident and experienced. He admitted that his performance at the
Finals last year was far from his best as he wrestled with the nerves that often come into play for first-timers. Overholt entered this season with the school record in his crosshairs, and now that he’s crossed that off his list, he’s chasing 170 feet. As a result of his success in the circle, his future plans have been altered in the last week.
Instead of going into the Navy after graduation, Overholt is headed to Olivet College, where he’ll throw for the Comets. He still intends to enlist in the Navy when he’s done.
“Some people are amazed by what I do and want to know the secret,” he said. “I’ve surprised myself.”
Wes Morgan has reported for the Kalamazoo Gazette, ESPN and ESPNChicago.com, 247Sports and Blue & Gold Illustrated over the last 12 years and is the publisher of JoeInsider.com. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Berrien, Cass, St. Joseph and Branch counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Centreville’s Tyler Overholt watches one of his discus tosses soar. (Middle) Overholt unloads a toss during a meet this spring. (Photos courtesy of JoeInsider.com.)