Hodags’ coach, mom of four breaks record in heptathlon

Jayme Wyss, 38, is a wife, mom of four, the head volleyball coach and assistant track and field coach at Rhinelander High School, and an accomplished multi-sport athlete who recently broke the American record at the USA Track and Field Masters Indoor Heptathlon National Championships.

She's also a three-time national pole vault champion and six-time qualifier for Team USA at the World Triathlon National Championships.

And yet, she still feels like an imposter.

"I feel a little bit of imposter syndrome, I'll be honest," Wyss said in a phone interview while her two-year-old played in the background. "I'm used to being surrounded by people who I feel are better athletes. At these master's events, I have so much respect for these women."

In it to win it

Despite those feelings, Wyss dove head first into her first heptathlon on Jan. 11-12 at Carthage College, just south of Milwaukee.

The USA Track and Field Masters Indoor Heptathlon consisted of seven events — a 60m dash, long jump, shot put, high jump, 60m hurdles, pole vault, and 800m run — over two days of competition.

Wyss jumped into college meets to train, and her husband coached her on the sprint, hurdles, and long jump at the Hodag Dome.

Although she wasn't strong in all the events, she drew on her experience and mental toughness to perform well and went in wanting to break the record. "That was a hundred percent the goal," Wyss said. "I'm going in with the intent of breaking a record."

"The former American record holder, she was actually there," she added, referring to Erycka Fisher of Broomfield, Colo. "I'd written down all her marks from when she got the record two years ago."

Fisher took the lead in the first day's events, but Wyss hit her stride in the final three events — 60m hurdles, 800m run, and pole vault, her favorite — to beat Fisher and claim the American record for her age group.

Her husband, Andy, also proudly noted that her pole vault mark was higher than every woman at the event and higher than 38 of the 39 men in the competition.

Women supporting women

Even though Wyss is fiercely competitive, she said the camaraderie and mutual respect among the female athletes at any event she competes in is a highlight of the experience.

"I went over [to Fisher] early on before we even started, and I was like, 'Hi, I'm Jayme, I'm the other one in your age group," Wyss said.

"She said, 'I've seen some videos of you vaulting, you're really good.' And I said, 'I stalked you too!' So it's a friendly competition. Everybody just wants to see each other do well."

Persevering through pregnancies

Wyss is driven more by a desire to continually challenge herself and see what she's capable of, especially after having her children, ages 11, nine, seven, and two.

Instead of viewing her pregnancies as a hindrance or a reason to give up on her athletic goals, they were motivators. "After having a pregnancy and coming back, I've always been like, 'I want to see what I can do again'," she said.

The attitudes and opportunities for women in sports during and after pregnancy are evolving, and Wyss was ahead of her time with her first pregnancy 11 years ago when she decided to train still and compete.

"I didn't want to feel limited because of my first pregnancy," Wyss said. "It was long enough ago that there was still some old-school thought of, 'Oh, you shouldn't work out too hard when you're pregnant. You could divert oxygen from the baby.' There was just the wrong train of mind. It used to be when you got pregnant as a professional athlete, you were done."

She even blogged about it then but waited until she gave birth to a healthy child to publish it and show other women, "Hey, this is what you're capable of."

"I had somebody contact me that I knew from college," Wyss said. "She's like, 'My doctor told me I needed to stop running because I'm pregnant. I'm going to hurt my baby.' I said, 'Find a different doctor.'"

There’s no crying in track and field

Although naturally tough, Wyss has had to learn to overcome mental barriers and manage emotions, which are key aspects of her approach to goal-setting and competition.

"Any goal worth chasing, I think there needs to be an allowance for the vulnerability of failing," Wyss said.

Returning to imposter syndrome, Wyss said, "There's definitely a feeling of 'I don't belong here.' You have to allow yourself to feel it. There could be somebody else who shows up that could outperform me for sure….[but] you can only control your own performance and decisions…and you can't let yourself be controlled by emotions."

She also said her experience dealing with the highs and lows of life in sports makes her a better coach.

"I have enough stories that I can say to them [her students], I understand how you're feeling," Wyss said. "I've experienced anxiety and nerves. Whatever you're feeling, I'm feeling. I care about you. I've been through this stuff. Your goals are my goals."

New goals

That doesn't mean she's letting go of her goals anytime soon. "I'm actually kind of ramping up," Wyss said.

She's already set her sights on competing – and, of course, breaking the record – in a national championship decathlon this summer.

As always, her husband and kids will be her biggest supporters. "They're like, 'Well, Mom, if you have a chance to go for any type of record, you should go for it!"