Mostly, that's a good thing. Like when he's soaring in the high jump or pole vault, two of his specialty events as a member of the Thousand Oaks High track and field team.
"I'm not all that comfortable with heights," he points out, "but I'm pretty good in the air."
The versatile-as-a-Swiss-army-knife senior, who is on his way to becoming a decathlete next year at Moorpark College, has been on top of his game the last few weeks.
The 6-foot-4 Hanley recorded two top-five placements in the CIF-Southern Section Division 2 finals at Cerritos College on Saturday, landing third in the pole vault at 14 feet, 3 inches and fifth in the high jump at 6-4.
The finishes earned him spots in both events in next week's CIF-SS Masters Meet.
That was on the heels of his performance the prior week in the Division 2 prelims at Moorpark High, where he tied for first in the pole vault (14-3) and placed fourth in the high jump (6-5).
Before that, Hanley earned second in three events in the Marmonte League finals on May 7. He was runnerup in the high jump (6-2), pole vault (14-0) and shot put (45 feet, 4 inches).
The results are gratifying and rewarding, particularly as a senior on the cusp of closing out his high school career.
"It feels really, really good," he said. "I was hoping to finish my senior year on a high note. I'm happy with how it's turned out."
Truth be told, Hanley's real satisfaction comes simply with competing this season. If good results invariably follow when Hanley leaves his feet, well, there was that one exception.
Last July 1, Hanley's zest for going airborne all but turned disastrous.
He joined a group of friends on a close-by hike along the picturesque terrain inside Wildwood Regional Park that borders Lynn Ranch in Newbury Park, with the objective Conejo Creek and the ravine that locals refer to as "Barranca."
Once there, everyone took turns jumping off the 40-foot-plus waterfall that highlights the area. It was an afternoon for cooling off, splashing off and having fun ... until the final round of jumps.
"It was my last jump of the day, and I knew something was wrong as soon as I hit the water," Hanley said. "There wasn't too much pain, but I couldn't put any weight on my leg when I tried to climb out."
The injury turned out to be a broken right ankle, where doctors would later insert a screw to hold the relatively clean break in place.
First, there was drama to complete. Hanley tried to climb up the cliff, broken ankle and all, while a friend raced to a nearby road to locate cell phone reception and dial 911.
The firemen arrived to find Hanley still inching his way up the cliff.
"They were like, 'Whoa, what are you doing?'" said Hanley. "They told me to stop where I was."
Firemen summoned a helicopter, which airlifted Hanley to Los Robles Hospital in Thousand Oaks.
Surgery would subsequently be performed at Kaiser hospital in West Hills, and rehab was scheduled for Kaiser in Thousand Oaks.
The prognosis? Better not get excited about the upcoming track and field season. Hanley was informed. to complicate matters, Hanley pushes off his right foot for his initial lift.
"The doctor told me that I wouldn't come out of the cast until late November, then I would need to stay in a boot for a couple of months," he said. "I was thinking, 'That's it. I won't be doing any track in my senior year."
Hanley beat all the timetables.
He was out of the cast in late October, and was finished with the boot around Christmas.
Hard weeks of rehab followed, but Hanley was running by March and ready to take on the rigors of track and field.
"I still didn't think I would be ready to compete in major events," he said. "I din't think I'd be able to high jump 6 feet, much less 6-5. There was still some pain, but I was willing to give it a shot."
Five months after exiting the walking boot, Hanley is competing against top athletes in Southern California, and beating most of them.
There's still pain in the ankle, but Hanley has been undaunted.
"There's a point where you just don't think about it anymore," he said. "You've got to ignore all that if you want to perform."
While a serious injury is never a good thing, his dad Mike has been impressed by Philip's response.
"I think this has made him more focused and more determined to get back to where he was before the injury," said Mike. "He's always shown that kind of resiliency. He's worked hard and I could be prouder of him."The broken ankle isn't the first notable injury that Hanley has overcome as a Lancer.
As a sophomore, while competing in the pole vault in a Marmonte League meet against host Simi Valley, Hanley overshot the landing pit and cracked his head on adjacent surface. The result was a major concussion that sidelined him for four weeks.
He still has no memory of the event, but wasn't detered from continuing with what might be the scariest event in track and field.
Elite vaulters face their fears in every competition: To clear great heights, one has to come down again, too.
"It can be scary, but you just can't think about it or you never will be able to compete," said Hanley. "Basically, you've got to approach every vault like you want to break the stick. You have to push everything to its limits, or you won't succeed."
Before injuring the ankle last summer, Hanley appeared to be headed to UCLA to compete as a Bruin. Now he will attend Moorpark College next fall and hone his skills as a decathlete.
There's little doubt Hanley owns the athletic ability. As a freshman and sophomore, he wrestled for the Lancer varsity team, and won the Marmonte League 215-pound championship as a 10th grader.
Now the challenge is to land a spot as a track and field athlete in college.
"That's the goal," he said. "I would love to become a decathlete in college. It's going to take a lot of hard work, but that's part of the challenge."
