Crazy 8 PV Challenge

[AVC Coach]

Last night, I had a special training session with my top 2 girls and top 2 boys. At the end of a 90 minute session, we had a little competition between the girls and boys and it went like this...

Girls:
-Bungee at 12'00" (stretched tight)
-run from 8 steps (4 lefts)
-clear the bar clean 8 times each (any graze of the bar is considered a miss)
-standards on 80cm
-clock starts with first step of first vault and stops when last vaulter lands in the pit on 8th make

Boys:
-Bungee at 13'00"
-same rules

Girls went first and accomplished the feat in 4:05.35. Only one miss in the mix. That's 17 vaults in a little over 4 minutes with 16 makes. The boys tried to match the challenge but were defeated.

I think I'm going to incorporate this drill more often when I have a small group. The bar could be anywhere, depending on skill level. I saw a few positives from this:
1. They were extremely focused on the task at hand and didn't over think any of their jumps.
2. They were rolling in sweat by the end and out of breath but still making bars.
3. By plotting the girls against boys it made them work as a team and come up with a strategy that they thought would work best.

What are your thoughts, positive or negative?

[KirkB]

I like it!

How long did it take the boys to finish (or was the contest was over once the girls won)?

Rushing a vault can cause it to be unsafe, but I know you're a very good coach, and would have cautioned the vaulters accordingly. I don't know the PRs of your kids, but I assume that this would be a foot or more under their PRs (so their technique didn't have to be perfect).

The biggest factor in "wasting time" between vaults is standing at the end of the runway, often over-thinking what you're about to do. Over-thinking is destructive mental preparation, whereas starting your run as soon as you're "ready" is constructive mental preparation.

Personally, back in the day, I was so fired up whenever it was my turn to vault that I took just a couple seconds before I started my run (other than if waiting for the wind to change). This urge to go is (I think) an important aspect of the psychological preparedness before each jump. IMHO, the longer you stand at the end of the runway, the more you lose this urge.

So yeh, to teach the kids how to mentally prepare without standing too long at the end of the runway, I think this is a great drill (and a fun competition)!

Kirk

[AVC Coach]

The boys ran out of time with 8 total makes. In their defense, they only compete in the pole vault at meets and the girls do 6 events each. The boys went 3 for 3 each out of the gate and we're ahead of pace on time but ran out of gas. I think both of them realized that they just thought they were in good shape. The bar was raised last night for the good of all involved.