PoleVaultPower.com

So you want to be a pole vaulter... Having trouble getting inverted? Need some drills you can do to get better? Want to learn all the basics and jump your high school record?

Here's where you start...
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Some things to keep in mind:
1. There is no such thing as a magic drill... and there are rarely TRUE silver bullets.
2. Hard work is pointless without intelligence.
3. Patience...
4. The sand pit and high bar are your friends... BEST friends (especially if you're using a stiff pole in the sand pit!)...
5. There is a search button on this site.
6. It takes ~10,000 hours of practice to 'master' a complex task... This includes pole vaulting. Do your best to avoid getting too frustrated.
7. Set reasonable goals.
8. STAY HEALTHY/UNINJURED! Be concerned greatly about preventative safety.
9. Know the rules of the sport.

Good luck!

(Feel free to add any tips and/or threads/links/whatever.)

Dont be paranoid- then you get nowhere in the vault if it's uncalled for. Instead, i would say "know the risks, and only take properly calculated risks. If you do things right and know some rules in the vault, you shouldn't get hurt."


My #1 for new vaulters would be to have an open mind to everything you hear, even if it goes against what your coach says, but take everything you hear with a grain of salt. Dont listen to advice unless you trust the source, and dont take someones statement as fact unless they can back it up and defend it against others.

Once you start studying the vault, be able to listen and try to fight become an absolutist. "This is the only and best way to do things..." I have learned so much from coaches where I don't necessarily agree with there method of the vault. They help me look at the vault from a different angle, or help define my method of the vault. But generally being tunneled vision in the vault can be detrimental to growth.

And in fact magic does exist... There is no other word to describe how this sport can make you feel other than magical...

Coming from a beginner:
Don't be afraid to ask questions, everything I'm curious about that my coaches don't know I come on hear and ask. I've improved so much in the two months that I've been reading these forums, I mean two feet only comes with hard work and good training.

Besides asking questions, listen to the answers. Don't try to defend the way you are doing something, the people helping you out on hear know about 1500x more about the pole vault than you do. So listen to what they have to say!

http://www.ashidakim.com/zenkoans/1acupoftea.html

My only advice to beginners is:

1) If you focus on bending the pole, you won't get very far. The bend will come eventually.

2) You get want put into this sport, the harder you train, the better you'll get!

3) If you put in the effort, PRs will come, even if they come later than you wanted (Lesson I learned this year)

Also, thanks to PP for making this, good idea