FAYETTEVILLE -- If he coached college football, Bryan Compton would carry the "genius" label.
All-Americans sprout up under Compton like flags on the Fourth of July.
However, since he coaches women's pole vault, the University of Arkansas women's field events coach is recognized by none outside his sport. It took a prolonged while for him to be recognized even within his sport.
"I think a lot of people in the vault world kind of overlooked him," said Lance Harter, Arkansas' head women's track coach who hired Compton in 1998. "He was so quiet about it. He never pounds his chest to be recognized. He lets his athletes speak for his success."
Their success speaks volumes.
"He was so consistent that finally the rest of the world figured out this guy is really the man," Harter said. "He has established a niche of his own that is established internationally."
April Steiner, Compton's first great Arkansas vaulter, was a 2008 U.S. Olympian and still vaults.
Tina Sutej concluded her Arkansas career as a NCAA Indoor champion. She held college vault records indoors and outdoors and is certain to represent her native Slovenia in this summer's World Championships and the 2016 Olympics.
Current senior Sandi Morris of Greenville, S.C., won the NCAA Indoor vault last March for Harter's first national champion Arkansas team. Morris briefly held the college record this year both indoors (15-1 1/2) and outdoors) (15-1 3/4). She is a strong U.S. candidate for the World Championships this year and the Olympics the next.
In between Bennett and Morris, Compton's All-Americans abound like Duggars.
"We have had one [or more] every year since April Steiner, so that's about the last 14 years," Compton said.
What's the secret to his success?
"I think Coach Compton's secret is he is just a student of the pole vault," Morris said. "He spends hours just studying the vault, figuring out anything he can get you to do to jump higher. I have trouble with my takeoff, so he has done a lot of long jump stuff with me and a lot of hurdles to get me jumping off the ground better."
Compton makes great ones greater but also fashioned All-Americans from those he did not recruit. Academic All-American Katie Stripling walked on at Arkansas from Jonesboro High as a 9-6 vaulter. She finished as an SEC champion and multiple All-American surpassing 14-6.
Compton knows the best of each athlete and won't settle for less, Morris said.
The quiet man at meets -- "If you see him turn his hat backwards, that's bad news. He's mad," Morris said -- isn't so quiet at practice.
"He runs a tight ship," Morris said. "He teaches you to be tough. He knows what he wants you to do and if you don't, he doesn't have any sympathy. We respect him so much we try our very hardest to do it regardless of whether we want to or not."
Sports on 05/09/2015