What Have You Done to Make Level Changes

[Bubba PV]

I understand that level changes are usually a cumulative result of focused training, but sometimes we discover something either by ourselves or with others that cause a major breakthrough. I would like to hear what’s worked for you and others. To give you an idea, I’ve had about five such major level changes which I’ll briefly describe three.

1)I got my first 15’ vault gripping 13’ 2â€Â

[ryansanta]

Just this year in one meet I went from having a PR of 13'6" to 15", gripping at 14' rather than 14'3". For me it was the timing of my turn. I've always had a great plant and swing but once I rocked back I would extend without turning and flag out because of it. I'm still working on it but that was deffinitly the biggest improvement this year.

[lonestar]

This is a great topic for a thread. I hope others start posting about how they made their level changes. Here's one I made:

In 1995, as a freshman in college, my pr was 12'6 from high school. During practice one day, I misplanted and missed the pit to the right side, landing on the concrete floor from roughly 12'-14' in the air, on my back. Didn't break anything, but had some soft tissue damage in my lower back and hip area. After a 6 week hiatus, I decided I needed to get back fast, so I took my spring break trip to Abilene, Texas, and worked with Coach Hood, Sr. for a few days. My favorite elite vaulter to study at that time was Billy Olson, and being in Abilene at Coach Hood's house, seeing all the memorabilia from that Abilene Christian University pole vault legacy, made me just want to emulate Billy as closely as possible. Every time I'd take a jump at Coach Hood's, I'd visualize Billy's jump, that left arm dragging backwards over his head, that long fast whipping trail leg, and quick turn looking and pushing down the barrel of the pole. After several reps of visualizing and trying to copy that, I started inverting like never before, where before I was always blocked out on my bottom arm and couldn't turn. I came back to school the next week, didn't pr the next weekend, but still felt the changes happening in my jump, and then went to conference the next weekend and pr'ed by a foot and a half, winning the meet in bad weather my freshman year. The 2 things I took away from the experience were using visualization, but trying to see if from a first person perspective instead of the third person, and looking down the barrel of the pole straight into the box as I pushed with my right arm.

[lonestar]

My second biggest level change, although not so much in height, but in how I viewed the vault and my confidence level, came from working with the originator of this thread, Bubba Sparks.

Bubba coached me in the spring of 2002. Having always been a mental vaulter, Bubba had his work cut out for him! The single most important thing he taught me was to stay relaxed. I, like so many others, always felt that if I tried to run harder and try harder, that I could force it to work - that's why it took me 7 years to go from 14'0 to 15'0! Bubba always told me "everything in athletics is about going from completely relaxed to completely contracted in the shortest amount of time." I couldn't do that because I was so tense and contracted my whole run, I had no snap, no explosion on my last few steps, and simply plowed under every jump, usually a foot or more. In every drill, from every run, and every jump I did, he demanded that I run TALL and RELAXED. I wasn't allowed to vault in spikes either. I soon found myself hitting bigger poles with what seemed like 1/2 the effort, because my positions were so much better. My step was constantly on or free, and I could swing faster than ever. I found myself gripping higher on shorter poles from shorter runs, and matching my pr from 4 lefts on a 14' pole, where it used to take 8 lefts on a 15' pole. We made a lot of technical changes, but overall, the most important thing was that I learned how to run tall and relaxed, and jump off the ground, which then enabled me to swing fast, beat the bottom, and catch the pole, something I never did before. I jumped 15'0 consistently that summer on 14'0 poles and have jumped it every year since without training.

[Bubba PV]

You make some excellent points but remember, the best homerun hitters also have a lot of strikeouts. They are willing to fail in order to learn and get better. I've failed a lot and hope to fail often for the rest of my life.

I can tell you that overcoming the mental obsession is a wonderful freedom (which lonestar states) that allows you to further enjoy a frequent flyer status, but at a higher level.

NEW LEVEL? I THINK SO!
My focus now is on increasing my angle throughout the vault. On page 149 in "Beginner to Bubka", it says "even an attempt to prejump will produce a more efficient take off , especially if the jumper continues to drive the arms up through the pole after they have left the ground". The idea originally came direct from Bubka. In jamaica he was asked by an athlete, "If you could give one single piece of advice to a vaulter who you have never seen jump, what would it be?" He immediately replied "You must drive the hands up through the pole even after you have left the ground".

I started practicing this Tuesday and found myself on one pole bigger with a 2-3" higher grip with the same effort. This has put me right on the brink of a level change as I feel like I'm working with more arc and leverage which is putting me much higher in the air. I'm very optimistic for tomorrow's session based on this one improvement. Bubba

[Robert schmitt]

I never had any coaching in HS. In college the head coach would occassionally watch a few jumps, But essentially it was up to us to figure it out. I jumped 13' my first year I vaulted as a HS junior and didn't improve and inch until my Junior year in college. We actually got a coach then. He showed us some (basic) drills pop-ups etc.. Practices were more organized with specific goals. Although there were many things he introduced to us the biggest impact for me was the pop-up. I finally had an idead of how to swing. With in the first year of having a coach I went from 13' to 15'11'3/4"

[izzystikchik]

Yeah, i've had a good deal of those, even though i'm not soaring over anything marvelous yet. I'm starting to understand the true concept of the vault, like said before seeing it in 1st person rather than 3rd. Whenever i clear my mind and stop trying to vault harder, i find myself zippin way over.

I had a few epiphanies in my 3 year career:

1.) I couldn't figure out how to bend the pole...too scared. My coach had us do a planting drill into the box from about 6 lefts at 110% speed, and in turn at take off punch both arms up and out!! I told me self, get over it!! Whatever happens HAPPENS!!! And i did it! Well, a flex was a good start but, i over came it by giving it all i got. And it was then i realized the power of the left arm! And before i knew it the rest of the vault came along with it

2.) I watched the really good girls jump at State, and noticed their speed, tall plant, long flowing trail leg...etc. I studied the elites, worked a lot on 3 step and i can't tell you how much that improved my form! Its so much easier to get inverted, but recently i've hit a new level, but i seem to keep slippin off it now and then, it was when i learned how to pull myself up the bending pole that got me flung way high in the air...my coaches were like "WOAH, do that again" and now its a game of trying to keep balance on top of this wobbly ride

[swtvault]

I had two major breakthroughs during my career. The first one came when I decided I was going to actually run. I used to take little short slow steps out of the back and gradually get faster. Erich Momberger worked on my run for a week and I went from 13'6 to 15. The second one came while I was in college. Somewhere along the way, I got lost and fell into the deep dark mental block that many of us vaulters face. I would only vault on 15' poles. Anything bigger than the 15 14.0 I would simply run through. I found myself gauging my speed on how much I was blowing through the pole........If I went deep, I would slow way down and vice versa. I spent my whole freshman season, and part of my sophmore year running through and being a wussy in general. The big break came when I started working with Shawn Devereaux (achtungpv.) The best thing about working with Shawn was that he himself had been in the same situation before, and he knew what was going on in my head. We spent three to four practices simply facing my demons--as bubba likes to call it. I got the courage to finally begin trying bigger poles, and raising my grip incrementally. My confidence began manifesting itself once again. The motto was "don't even take that first step unless you know." To me knowing meant complete confidence, and the absolute annihilation of ANY doubt. It worked.......I went from 16'8 to 18'2 in a matter of three weeks. Everyone else was mumbling "steroids" under their breath, but I knew better. I never let that bother me. What concerned me more than anything though, was the fact that I took this with me for my entire career, and the mental block never reared its ugly head again. I know I am rambling, and drawing this out but I think this stuff is real important to every pole vaulter. Every day you need to push your comfort zone, even if it is a little. Don't be stupid......there is a big difference between courage and stupidity. Know your limits, but constantly push them! It WILL build your confidence and you will start finding out you can achieve more than you thought was possible.

[Bubba PV]

Some great points of view. THANKS!! I like to describe the vault learning process in getting comfortable safely with the uncomfortable, and then find the next uncomfortable.

Simon Arkell used to say that if you thought you were going to die, you not close, but if you KNOW you're going to die, you're on the right track. His point is what swtvault said, "Every day you need to push your comfort zone, even if it is a little". Safely of course.

Bubba