Q-and-A with Chad Weaver, Providence football
October 23, 2012 10:50PM
Chad Weaver, of Providence. | Gary Middendorf~For Sun-Times Media
high school
CUBE
Updated: November 25, 2012 11:34AM
Weaver, a senior wide receiver, is gearing up for the Celtics’ Class 7A first-round playoff game Friday night against Bradley. In between he’s trying to squeeze in college visits — just not for football.
You went to Louisville over the weekend for an official visit, but where else are you looking?
Central Michigan, Iowa, Michigan State and Miami (Ohio). I’m actually focusing on pole vault. If I had pursued football, I would only go Division III, but with pole vault I can go Division I.
Was it difficult to decide to pursue pole vaulting over football in college?
It is a pretty crazy thing to come to. But I’m not a 6-2 kind of guy (Weaver is 5-foot-10). After my sophomore year I was debating about it, and then junior year I decided to focus on pole vault. I had been playing football since about sixth grade.
Do you usually know when a vault will go bad?
Yeah, there are times you know when it’s off and you have to go in a different direction. I’ve been up there and gone straight back down into the box. You know when it’s wrong and you know when it’s right.
What was your scariest moment?
Last year during a warmup when I was working on my form and I broke a stick in half. One half gave me a huge scar on my forehead — I bled down my face — and I also have a huge scar on my stomach.
What is the weirdest thing someone has asked you about pole vaulting?
If I’ve ever gone up and let go and just fallen into the box. There’s a way to bend the pole and it only bends one way. People seem to think it can bend another way, too.
Why did you start pole vaulting?
Freshman year I started and I just was looking to try it. No one in my family had done it.
As told to Tina Akouris
