Balady Takes Flight by Reaching State in Pole Vault

Love of extreme sports fuels latest adrenaline rush for Jesuit senior-to-be

Thatch Balady has leaped from a roof to a trampoline and performed his share of extreme skateboard stunts. 

Pole vaulting would seem to fit his personality.

Indeed, Balady routinely clears 15 feet and qualified to represent Jesuit Dallas in the event at the Class 6A state track and field meet this spring.

However, his first exposure to the sport came via a bit of trickery, and a lot of hesitation, when his father, Louis, asked him to ride along to an unknown destination that turned out to be pole vault practice.

“I did not want to do it at all. I don’t really like to try new things, but he thought I would be good at it,” Balady said. “It looked kind of scary.”

Louis Balady is a former three-sport standout at Jesuit who competed in pole vault before a successful college football career at Rice. Thatch favored football, too — until that first jump at that first practice.

“Since then, I fell in love with it,” he said. “That feeling of being in the air, and the adrenaline rush, nothing else is like that.”

In middle school, Balady joined the Texas Express club team and began pole vaulting year-round when he enrolled at Jesuit two years later since the school has the proper on-campus facilities.

His third season competing at the varsity level for the Rangers culminated in a personal record height of 15 feet, 3 inches on his final attempt at the Region II meet in April. That earned him a qualifying spot at state, where he placed ninth.

“I thought I had a pretty decent shot of making it. I was pretty confident,” Balady said. “State was a new experience. I was pretty stressed the night before. It was an honor to be there.”

Because of the event’s unique nature, the pole vault community tends to be tight-knit. For example, three of his competitors at the state meet are Balady’s club teammates.

“At every meet, I know people I’m competing against. It makes it a little more competitive,” he said. “The people you train with push you.”

Balady, who also competes as a diver for Jesuit, has traveled to several national meets as a pole vaulter, including the USATF Junior Olympics in Sacramento and Nike Outdoor Nationals in Oregon.

After another season with the Rangers, he hopes to continue at the college level.

“People who know me think it’s the perfect sport for me,” Balady said.

In other words, Dad was right.