Training for Petrov Model Takeoff

[Boomer]

Hey all,
I am wondeirng what drills, training people use to work on the 'free takeoff'?
I am consistently 6 inches to 1 foot inside and need to work on being behind the pole better at takeoff.

Thanks,

[vault3rb0y]

go from a short run and have a coach look at you from the side. Ideally your top hand will be directly above your head at take off, while staying completely upright. The pole will not hit the back of the box until the very millisecond your trail-leg toes leave the ground. It will feel like you are in the air before the pole hits the back.

As for drills to help with this, start with just a one handed pop up. Make sure you are completely upright and in the right positions like i described above. Learn what it feels like to have the pole hit the back only right after you have left the ground. After you feel very comfortable with that split second of "free" take off from a pop up, put it to a 4 or 5 step approach with a soft pole. To line up where you should be taking off, assuming your upper body is in the right position at take off, you should put the pole in the back of the box like you are going to run your steps back. Then get up on your trail-leg toes as high as you can, while still staying as tall as possible, ideally perpendicular with the ground. It should move you back just a bit (3-6") from where you take off normally.


If you are consistently 6"-1'0" inside, a number of things may be happening to cause that. But if you go through the steps above and follow the petrov model at take off, you shouldnt be inside. A lot of it might be confidence, which you can build up by just having a free take off with a pop-up, then short run, etc.

[achtungpv]

20-in-20...20 steps in 20 meters. This will help you get your feet down at takeoff.

Sliding box. If you can't take off free with a sliding box you can't expect to do it on the runway.

You need to work on everything from pole carry, first step, rhythm, pole drop, and everything else though also. There's no one aspect that will magically give you a technically sound takeoff.

[baggettpv]

Beccca and I will have about 50 of my little Hip Pocket guide with drills to help vaulters learn to vault. Come get one from us there.

Rick Baggett

[rainbowgirl28]

Beccca and I will have about 50 of my little Hip Pocket guide with drills to help vaulters learn to vault. Come get one from us there.

Rick Baggett

Wear your PV Power t-shirt on Friday and you'll get one for free in the prize bags!

[Powervaulter]

I'd like to take a look at those hip-pocket booklets... when are you guys going to be at UW? I should be there for at least one of the next two meets.

Thanks!

[rainbowgirl28]

I'd like to take a look at those hip-pocket booklets... when are you guys going to be at UW? I should be there for at least one of the next two meets.

Thanks!

I should be at all of them, pretty sure Rick will be too, the trick is making sure he remembers to bring the books.

[ifavault]

Here's a good drill for helping to get the feel of a free take off:

It's what I know as "Lawn Vaults"...Done on the track or runway or grass. It's kind of a beginner drill, but great to feel the pole tip hit after you jump.

With your pole tip in contact with the ground and pointing straight up, reach as high as you can with your top hand, then add about 6-8 inches to your grip. Do this on level ground (not in the box).

Then do a small jog, plant the pole with both hands (again on level ground...not into the pit), and ride it through. The trick is to not let the pole tip hit the ground until the pole itself is perfectly straight up (perpendicular with the ground). Do NOT plant the tip out in front of you. The pole tip must hit directly underneath you. Therefore you must "jump" into the air first before the pole tip hits the ground because you are holding 6-8 inches higher than you can reach.

Then see how high you can actually hold above your standing reach height while still planting the pole so that the tip makes contact with the ground at the very moment the pole is completely straight up and down. When done well you should be able to ride the pole through with a foot or significantly more above your standing reach height.

On a rubberized track, sometimes it is helpful to turn the pole upside down as your grip goes up just to make sure the pole tip doesn't slide out from underneath you in case the pole isn't completely vertical when it hits the ground.

This is also a great drill to help with jumping up at take-off. Use it as a competition to see who can hold the highest above their standing reach height and still ride the pole through.

Hope this was helpful.

ifavault
www.inflightathletics.com

[baggettpv]

All this and others, in sequence with competancy basics for good teaching..I will put a bunch in my truck from now on. Or just send $10 to me and I will send a copy right out. I have alot left after the first printing...

Rick Baggett
WSTC LLC
www.willamettestriders.com

[Karma]

An excellent "free takeoff" drill is to vault into the long-jump pit. When you plant a pole in the long-jump sand, it digs in for about 12" before it finally stops solid. This allows the vaulter to target the plant area (the point on the sand where you are planting) and still get a free take-off without absent-mindedly opening up that last stride and putting yourself inside...because you are not all of a sudden reaching to get in closer to the point your eyes are focused on. The feeling is very accurate to what you feel if you get an actual free take-off.

The trick to this is to make sure you continue extending your arms up in an effort to stand the top of the pole up high, after you take off. When you feel the pole sinking into the sand instead of catching, the natural reaction is to drop the bottom elbow and hang on the top hand as it is an unnatural feeling.

Be sure the sand is well tilled so it's soft and allows the pole to sink quite a bit.

I start my vaulters with a low grip...9-10 feet and a short approach....2-3 lefts max to start. Use a pole that will bend, but not a very soft pole as you don't want to break it if hang on the top hand the first few times. Slowly work your grip up and move the run back to however many lefts you are comfortable with. I would not suggest going back past 5.

Be careful not to twist an ankle or lock out your knees when you land.

Be sure to keep the toes and hamstrings flexed on your last 2 steps going into the plant as a free take-off is useless if you are not "digging" your last steps for excellent energy conversion.

Once you get it down in the sand, move into the plant box, again starting with 2 or 3 lefts and moving back from there. Don't try moving back all in one day or one week. Adapt to the mechanics by working 2 lefts for 3-4 weeks, then go to 3, then 4 and so on. IT TAKES TIME TO PROGRAM THIS IN! You can't hit it right on 3 lefts and then go back to 7 or 8 and expect to do it at all.

Someone also told me about how he places a piece of thin white cardboard in the box, so that the vautler targets the cardboard 6 inches out from the back of the plant box. I have not tried this yet, but it sounds like a good idea to me.

Very important with all free take off drills to always push the arms up, fully extended over the head. Don't hang your weight and get in "the pocket", lowering your center of gravity with this take-off drill...bad idea.

[robillard]

one problem you may have that no one may have addressed yet is your stride. if you've tried moving your steps around and stuff and still consistantly take off under maybe your looking at the box. because you look at it you may get a little nervous that your to far out or something and your nto going to reach your takeoff spot so you lengthen your stride length in the last few strides. this may cause you to take off 6 inches or w/e under even though you moved your steps back. have a coach watch your run and make sure you are not overstriding. you want your foot to be right under you at takeoff, not way stretched out in front of you. also if your heel is hitting the ground in the penultimate step that is a good indication of if your overstriding or not. you should be on your toes throughout the run-up take off. if your heel his the ground it slows you down and means your probably overstriding and takeing off under.

[OUvaulterUSAF]

'Free Take-off' then what...

So after thousands of drills and short run vaulting you finally have your first few free take-offs from a competition run. It's going to feel unnatural and weird that first time. You won't feel the pressure of the pole in your hands at the take-off. You'll pretty much feel weightless. In your mind, the pressure of the pole you felt in your hands at take-off was your security blanket, it gave you confidence that you knew you could penetrate into the box. You'll probably do the opposite what you need to do at take-off...
- low take-off or slow down from a lack of confidence
- didn't jump at the end of your take-off
- stopped the natural swing/whip into a bail out

You need to do the exact opposite! Eventually, you'll gain experience with a 'free take-off'. With experience, comes confidence in your jump.

The times I don't have a dynamic, jumping take-off with a free take-off, I don't penetrate the pit as well. The times I don't whip/swing after my prestretch, I don't penetrate as well.

The times I get that sinking feeling at take-off, I probably didn't have a dynamic, jumping take-off and/or my arms weren't fully extended and/or I took off too far outside.

As far as having a true free take-off every time...hmm...in my mind the jury is still out on that for me. Transitioning to a free takeoff brings with it a whole new set of problems...rather things to work on. As a competition continues, I get tired and don't have the energy to do all the right things to take advantage of a free take-off. And I tend to take-off too far outside, so still trying to find a happy medium.

Anyway, one of the exercises that benefits me the most to work on a free take-off is alternate leg bounding. 3 sets of 20 with other bounding exercises. When bounding, I make sure I bounding as hard, high and far as I can with each stride. You should feel your calf ball up really tight and keep your toe point down. The other leg should be a textbook picture of a knee drive.

I agree incremental drills, sand drills and slide boxes to work on a free take-off will hellp teach you how to jump with a free take-off. I think once you learned and have a few hundred jumps, it becomes natural.