Focus....

[birdi_gurlie]

Okay, so a lot of the time when I have problems with vaultings because its "all in my head." I literally just run through it bc of something. IDK what. And I did that at my last and ONLY meet I've been in this year....I hate it because I do decent at practice but when we're having a vault-off off or a meet, I suck at it.

Now, recently that made sense bc I had a lot of things on my mind from a VERY VERY VERY weird day.
That said, how do you do you keep your focus while vaulting [while OFF of other things in your life]?
And get rid of those "all in your head issues" for those days when it makes no sense to have that problem.
And in the event of a very weird day, or a LOT of things on your mind, how do you keep it off of that and get rid of the "all in your head" problems?

[powerplant42]

There are a number of things you can try:
Breathing excercises (like a 'centering breath'... 7 seconds in, hold for 2 seconds, out for 6 seconds)
Shutting off/spacing out (this is almost how it should feel at a meet...almost)
Various relaxation techniques (there are hundreds)
Self-talk
Building a routine

I might think of more. Ask about one if you don't know what/how I mean.

[VaultPurple]

Most people run through not because they can not focus on their vault, but because they are trying t focus too much.

The only times i have ran through lately is because I was trying to fix something and i was going over stuff in my head too much and it got to me going down the runway. I jump twice as good when im thinking about something besides pole vault.

You are probably just overthinking stuff and getting frustrated. If you can do it in pracice, you can do it in a meet. Just get there and pretend it is practice and do what you have practiced, no need to over think or try to change things or make any adjustments. JUST JUMP!

ps. Greatest advice my coache has ever gave me came after two misses at opeing height of first meet. "Quit jumping like you're afraid to no height". And that was exactly what I was doing, i was so scared I was going to no height that I was 'safety' vaulting by not running as hard because i was afraid i would blow through, not rocking back and dropping my sholders, and just jumping at the low height... And Missing it! The last attempt I just forgot the bar was even there and pretended it was practice, then cleared the height by like 2 foot.

[birdi_gurlie]

Thanks.
I'm not worried about this Monday's mistakes...I really couldn't focus bc of a LOT of stuff that had happened...and I'm not worried about that. [Our captain said, "Its all in your head!" "I know its all in my head! Everything's in my head at the moment!"
But I DO run through a lot other than that.
I do it at practice too sometimes. And it bothers me.

Thanks! The over-focusing makes sense...I've tried to sing in my head while doing it...see if that works.

[dj]

hey

i still feel "run throughs' are because if steps... check your Six Step Mark by my chart and based on your grip.. if you are close +- 6 inches it's not your run...
if you don't "match up" from the chart... it is your run....

please check it out at least and let us know... it's your 3rd left from takeoff.. last 6 steps..

ok?

dj

[birdi_gurlie]

I do a 5 step...and it must be right because I did well today. So I KNOW my steps are fine.

[powerplant42]

But you said you did well all the time at practice.

Your body behaves differently during stressful situations. Get your run analyzed at a meet/practice competition.

[birdi_gurlie]

Well, I usually do well at practice...but this past Monday was a stressful/weird/surprising/shocking day so I had tons on my mind...wasn't much hope for an awesome vault practice then.

I did really well today though...I went beyond horizontal and did really well...I mean, I probably got my best vaults this season. I think it has something to do with the fact that the vaulters from our "cross town rivals" [psh...no...only in competition WHILE competing...even then, not always.] came and practiced with us. It was awesome. [Before they had a vault coach, they practiced with us. My coach once said "we're so inclusive, we allow OTHER teams to practice with us." haha.]

[Andy_C]

I have this problem sometimes. I'll have an off-day and I will show up to training not as eager as usual. Like what happened with you and your cross-town rivals, I think the best thing you can do is to find something else to focus on. For me the hardest part is getting training started (especially if you're feeling a bit down). On these days I will usually just start off my jumping very lightly, lower grip than usual and only from a couple of steps. I just keep going and soon I find myself thinking about pole vaulting and nothing else. That's when I start raising my grip and getting back to my normal stuff. If you're an "avid thinker" like me lol, it's hard to shut stuff out. I find it's best to start thinking about something else (like pole vault!) Sometimes it pays not to be so serious and to just enjoy what you're doing. Some of my very best training sessions happen like this. I go in feeling like I really can't accomplish much and step by step I end up jumping higher than I usually do.

Sometimes your mind is like a car with no brake pedal. It just keeps going and you can't stop thinking about things. But if you can learn how to steer the thing, you can get to where you want to go really really fast

[powerplant42]

Sometimes your mind is like a car with no brake pedal. It just keeps going and you can't stop thinking about things. But if you can learn how to steer the thing, you can get to where you want to go really really fast

I like this!

I also like these two zen stories...

A zen master asked his student, "Where is your mind?"
The student said, "When I think it is as if someone is speaking inside my head, so my mind must be in my head."
The master stood up and stomped on the student's foot and said, "Where is your mind now?"
(If you can imagine the farthest star in the Universe, how big is your mind? How insignificant are your thoughts now?)

A zen student approached his master and said, "Sometimes I can't control my thoughts... When I have good thoughts, they go when I want them to stay, and when I have bad thoughts, they stay when I want them to go. What should I do?"
The master replied, "The mind is like a high-spirited wild horse. If you try to control it by locking it up, it will be agitated and restless. If you try to force it to be still, it will kick and fight even more."

BUY "ZEN GOLF"...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKXMGswkfY4

More from me later.

[birdi_gurlie]

haha.

That is a good thought. It makes a lot of sense.

And yeah, I think it is that I need to learn to re-direct my thoughts. Unfortunately...its not easy in the slightest bit. :S But I shall work on it.

On the bright side...this past Monday, I got a season best....6 feet! I got to vault in my second meet this season! Its usually only top 6 girls; we have about 10. However, my coach said he wasn't going to have someone get a season best and NOT vault in the meet because that would be stupid. However, at the meet, I kept messing up and scratching. UGH.