Corbin Tessman and his family have enjoyed many successes doing what they love–pole vaulting. Celebrating after Mariah’s runner-up finish at the State Track Meet this year are from L to R: Hallie, Corbin, Mariah, Waylon, and Lisa.
It’s not often you see a father with a passion for a sport be able to coach all three of his kids through junior high and high school! But Corbin Tessman is living the dream, passing on his passion for pole vaulting and coaching his three kids, Mariah, Hallie, and Waylon, at Heartland Community School.
The Tessmans love pole vaulting, and it’s starting to look like a family legacy. It’s always been a big part of their family since they started as young kids in the backyard with a stubby pole, learning how to plant it and jump, said their father and coach, Corbin Tessman. He and his wife, Lisa, have lived in Henderson since 2005.
This past year, he coached his youngest son, Waylon, an 8th grader, and his two daughters, Hallie, a sophomore, and Mariah, a senior. They all had plenty of success, with Hallie vaulting 9’ and Mariah 10’6” and both making it to the Nebraska State Track & Field Meet in Omaha. Waylon made a P.R. of 10’ 6” and competed at the Jr. High State Meet in Gothenburg.
Mariah is no stranger to qualifying for State in the pole vault. She qualified for all four years of her high school career with her dad by her side. She placed second at State in her senior year after an exciting jump-off between Jana Roberts from Osceola.
“For me, it’s been fun having my dad as my coach. He understood what I was going through when I tore my ACL my junior year during pre-season volleyball. He helped me accomplish so much more since I knew he cared,” said Mariah.
Amazingly Mariah was able to vault midseason and made it to State her Junior year despite the torn ACL. Mariah is excited about attending Doane University and gaining valuable coaching from different perspectives.
“The only thing hard about coaching your own kids is balancing how much you want them to experience success with not wanting them to fail. As a coach, I have to be careful not to let the parent in me protect them from failing by not pushing them enough. Otherwise, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed coaching my kids. They are just a lot of fun,” he said.
“I like having my dad as my coach, and I think I’m more motivated and ready to practice with him,” said Hallie. Waylon agreed that he liked having his dad coach him. “I feel less awkward and happier with my dad as my coach.” He also added that his dad made sure he wasn’t messing around during practice too much!
It’s not surprising that Mariah will follow in her father’s footsteps and continue her pole vaulting career at Doane University, where Corbin vaulted. After high school, Corbin walked on at UNL and found out it wasn’t a good fit for him. He sat out a year, and then, after helping his younger brother Chad at the indoor Doane meet, he connected with Ed Fye, the Doane pole vault coach.
Doane then offered him a track scholarship to attend Doane in the fall of 1996, and he competed there for four years. His PR at Doane was 15’ 3” where he also competed at NAIA indoor and outdoor Nationals his senior year. Corbin appreciated all the good coaching he received there, which planted the seeds for his future coaching career.
Corbin is a 1994 Henderson graduate who started pole vaulting in junior high. He went on to place at State in his sophomore and junior years and won the gold in Class C his senior year. Corbin was influenced by his older brother Jake, who pole vaulted at Henderson. His younger brother Chad held the school record at 14’6” and won Silver at the Class C state track meet in 1997. Soon after his college career, Corbin volunteered to run the pole vault event at Doane College track meets and also pursued getting certified as a pole vault coach.
In 2005, Corbin began volunteering full-time as a pole vault coach for Heartland and was mentored by long-time Heartland track coach Larry Vancura. In 2010, he became a paid coach for the Huskies. It’s a big-time commitment to coach and have a full-time job, and Corbin expressed appreciation for Cornerstone Bank, where he works, for allowing him the opportunity to coach. He is Vice President and Manager of the Henderson, Bradshaw, and McCool Cornerstone Branch Banks.
A few years ago, Corbin started a pole vault club–something he’d always dreamed of doing. It’s called the Nitro Vault Club, and he has held summer camp sessions with pole vaulters for the past two years. They meet for 10 sessions in June and July to learn the vaulting basics. “My goal is really to teach them so they could turn around and coach as well,” said Corbin.
If you are interested in this camp, visit the NitroVault Club’s Facebook page for more information.
It’s great to see a family live out their passion and pass it on to others!
