Early failures lead to big success for Gerbick

MERRILLVILLE -- He's tried them all -- football, baseball, soccer, basketball -- and determined that sports requiring hand-eye or hand-foot coordination just aren't his thing.

"In sixth grade I decided to do track because I sucked at every ball sport," said Andrean junior Matt Gerbick, whose brother, sister and father, ironically enough, played soccer, baseball and volleyball, respectively

"So I figured, why not be good at exercising?"

You'd think Gerbick, a state-caliber high jumper, would at least be able to dunk a basketball. He's tried. And failed.

"I'm so uncoordinated," Gerbick said. "I can't even (dunk) with two hands. I'll end up losing the ball."

But when it comes to just jumping, few in the state do it better than Gerbick, who will try to defend his regional title today at Valparaiso.

"I would love to win it because I won it last year," Gerbick said. "I feel like I've got to uphold the title. But winning would be really tough."

Last year, Gerbick's winning jump was 6-6. That same jump would likely qualify him for state. But to win the regional for the second straight year, Gerbick knows he'll likely have to clear 6-10, if not 7-0.

"I know I can jump 7-foot," said Gerbick, who cleared a personal-best 6-10, tying the school record, at the NCC Meet. "Everything needs to be right, though."

Everything was not right at last week's sectional. Gerbick cleared 6-6 and finished third to Lew Wallace's Damion McGee (6-10) and Merrillville's Ashton Cole (6-7).

"My head wasn't in the right place," Gerbick said. "I was thinking about my other races."

Gerbick shouldn't be distracted today. High jump is his only event. And he knows what's at stake.

"Cole and (McGee) will be at 6-8, no doubt," Gerbick said. "I'm focusing on 6-6. If I get 6-6, I'm going to state. Once I clear that, then I'll go for whoever's in first."

The odds of repeating as regional champ might be stacked against him, but Gerbick has a few factors working in has favor. For starters, he's competed at the highest level before. As a sophomore, Gerbick took 17th at state.

"I wasn't ready mentally," Gerbick said. "Everyone was (starting) at 6-2, and that just blew my mind because I was starting at 5-8. My coach called it a learning experience."

In the likely event he gets back to Bloomington, Gerbick will know exactly what to expect.

"I've been starting at 6-2," he said, "just to get ready."

At 6-foot-5, Gerbick has an ideal frame for high jumping. But he's had to work hard at improving his leaping ability.

"My vertical freshman year was really low," Gerbick said. "My coach is amazed that I can do high jump."

Gerbick, who competes in AAU events and runs cross country in the fall to maintain his leg and core strength, increased his personal-best jump by 4 inches each of the past two years.

"He's very versatile," Andrean coach Rick Torres said. "He's got speed, he's got the ability to jump both vertically and horizontally. But he's had to work at it."

Gerbick hopes to see the payoff of that hard work again today.

Contact David Robb at 648-3122, drobb@post-trib.com or visit his blog at blogs.post-trib.com/robb.