Junior high jumper Paul Galas is well aware of his former accomplishments but does not want to be known only for his high school achievements.
The Toronto native has already represented his country on a global scale at the Under-18 World Championships, but now as a third-year college athlete, Galas is eager to help the school he cares so much about.
“I don’t want to be one of those people who was just good back when they were 18,” Galas said. “I want to be as good as I was then but in the current state of competition.”
The problem for Galas is he set the bar high for himself due to what he was able to accomplish in high school. He began his high-jumping career after one of his sixth-grade basketball coaches saw him touch the rim in practice.
Galas then began to take his new sport seriously and said he was very fortunate his parents were extremely supportive of the change. The first big moment of his career came when he won Ontario’s provincial championship as a 10th grader.
He won a total of three provincial championships and went on to represent Canada in the 2013 U18 World Championships. Galas said the moment he made the national team was when he realized he could take his sport beyond high school.
“Everything that has happened to me I credit to those experiences,” Galas said. “I went out there and established a name for myself in high school. Moving forward from there, I’ve just used it as motivation to one day get back to that level at a more competitive age group.”
Galas said he felt like IU could potentially be a good college for him because of the connection through former IU track and field star, Derek Drouin, who is also a Canadian high jumper. His visit to Bloomington sealed the deal.
“The moment I came on campus I knew this was the place I wanted to be,” Galas said. “It was a decent distance from home. Home is about eight hours away so it’s a drive, but it’s also still close enough for my family to come within a day’s trip.”
Shortly after making his decision to come to IU, there were a few coaching changes Galas was not expecting. After meeting with Coach Ron Helmer, Galas decided to stay at Indiana.
“I sat down and talked to coach Helmer after the coach who recruited me had left,” Galas said. “I was still sold on the campus, the facilities, the culture of the team and the vision coach Helmer had for the team.”
Helmer said he knew Galas would be affected by the staff changes so he called him to discuss things over.
“I think he was a little disappointed because it wasn’t going to look like he thought it was, but at the same time he kind of indicated to me that he still wanted to be here,” Helmer said.
Galas said he had his struggles when he first got to Bloomington mainly because of the difference in the competition level between high school and college.
“I just trusted the process, and it’s started to show now that I’m beating some people that I previously thought I couldn’t,” Galas said. “I’ve said if I could be anywhere near the level Drouin was, I’d be content with my career.”
It’s tough to replicate the type of career Drouin had. He won five National Championships in the high jump while at IU. Drouin went on to win gold medals at multiple different world events, including the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Galas may not be able to match Drouin’s legacy as a Hoosier, but his coach said he thinks a possible trip to the NCAA Championships could be in the future for the junior.
“It was good to see that he could make that jump and rise to the occasion at a high-level competition like the Big Ten Championships,” Helmer said. “Hopefully over the course of the next year and a half, he gives himself a chance to grow even more and find himself in the national meet.”
Galas placed third in the high jump at the indoor conference meet and helped the Hoosiers win the overall team competition. Galas said there is just something different about this team that makes them all motivated for each other.
“I think it’s the fact that we are now at a level where it’s fun to watch,” Galas said. “Once you are good and you are winning, you want to see each other perform. When you want to see that stuff, you want to cheer for amazing performances.”
With the 2017 outdoor campaign and next year’s two different seasons left in his career, Galas still has plenty of time to bring in plenty of individual accolades. Despite whatever happens in the future, he can proudly know that he helped his school to its first indoor championship in five years.
