Plant City High senior Jackson Hardee is one busy guy, but he finds a way to excel wherever he can. Athletically, he makes his mark pole vaulting for the Raiders’ track and field team and has placed first in most events throughout this season.
You’ve got the Vernon Korn championships coming up on Tuesday. What are you looking forward to?
I’m looking forward to jumping with some kids who are more upper-level pole vaulters. A lot of the kids in my area aren’t really. They don’t do it enough to be that good at it. I’m hoping there will be some kids that are real competition, so I’ll have a run for my money.
What sets you apart from other kids in the area, then?
The biggest thing for me is, I’ve been working at it year-round. Most kids do it for the three months out of the year that we have track season. I have a coach in St. Cloud that I go to at least twice a week, and I jump out there and work real hard.
You take this very seriously, then.
Yeah, I do. It’s something I’ve worked hard at. I’ve wanted to be good this year, so that was my goal.
How long have you been doing track and field?
I’ve never done any track. I actually started pole vaulting my sophomore year, so this is my third year doing it. My sophomore year, I didn’t really have any coaching. I jumped, like, 10 feet. There was a kid that I jumped with that went to this coach, that kind of showed me how to do it, and after track season ended, I decided that I wanted to be better at it. So, I started going to this coach. I started working hard my junior year to be where I’m at now.
What drew you to pole vaulting?
I played baseball for pretty much my whole life, from tee-ball. I played in high school my freshman year. I played on JV. After the summer, we had a new coach my sophomore year. I didn’t make varsity. I made the practice squad that we had, and I didn’t really want to do that. I heard one of my friends talking about pole vaulting, because somebody that he knew pole vaulted. I had never heard of it at our school, at the time. Once he mentioned trying it, I decided I’d go out there and try it just for fun, and I found out I was pretty good at it.
Do you play any other sports?
No, just pole vaulting. I have a job at Outback Steakhouse, and I’m President of the Civitan Club. I try to stay involved in school.
You’re a pretty busy guy, doing well in school, in the community and on the field. How do you balance everything?
The biggest thing is, I try not to slack off. I put my schoolwork before anything else. If I have to study for a test, I’ll skip pole vaulting practice for that day if I have to. It’s paying off, because I’m going to Florida in the fall for the building construction program at Santa Fe for two years. You can’t start Florida’s program until your junior year, so I’m starting with this one and then transferring to UF after two years. Hopefully, I’ll get my master’s in construction management.
Who’s your favorite athlete of all time?
Probably, honestly, Tim Tebow, as generic as that sounds. I’m a huge Florida fan, and my family is, and I think he’s a really inspirational guy.
Let’s say you could meet someone you’ve always looked up to. Who would it be, and what would you want to talk about?
Probably George W. Bush. I’d like to talk about, basically, his opinions on what’s going on with America right now. He’s one of my favorite Presidents we’ve had, and I think he’d be an interesting person to get to meet. Coming from a conservative family, I just think that he’s somebody who I get a lot of my ideals from.
If you could be either rich or famous, what would it be?
I’d rather be rich, because I feel like fame would get annoying. I’d rather have money so that I could help give back to people — my family, help support anybody who needs help in my family, and any charities. I feel like, being rich, I’d be able to give back.