Tapping in Europe?

[AVC Coach]

If you can't get on a big pole without a tap, you shouldn't be on that pole. Not a hard concept

Amen!

[Tim McMichael]

I try to teach my students that there is no such thing as a big pole. There is only the right pole. The right pole should not feel big, and there is no reason to get pushed in on it.

[andrej]

I don't even know if I want to get involved in that discussion, but I really want to say something.. If you get on a bigger pole on practice using a light tap, you can usually use it easily on the meet. And I can't see a reason why you guys say it's wrong to get to know the pole before you can actually use it. And if Petrov agrees with that, I hope you're not going to oppose a coach like that?

Speaking of the poles that people can be or can't be on... I noticed that in USA, there are too many vaulters that are on totally wrong poles anyway.

[AVC Coach]

I don't care who agrees with it or uses this method. I think it's dangerous and creates mental midgets. If you have a good line of poles and the one you are on is too soft on a given day, the next one should be the perfect pole. Get on it or lose sleep being aggrivated with yourself because you were a coward.

[altius]

That was pretty well what I predicted would happen. "And if Petrov agrees with that????" There you have it folks - you can all start puffing away again because an expert disgrees with the evidence, Just because I suggested that he may occasionally use a support at take off - not a push note - but a support for someone as good as Isinbayeva.

But I will call him this afternoon if he is available and ask him directly what he thinks and then let you know what he says -verbatim if that is possible in the translation through Ukrainian,Russian,Italian, English, and Australian.

[vault3rb0y]

From the perspective simply of an amatuer athlete that USED to get taps to get on bigger poles the wrong way, before i was under the influence of an experienced coach, it really gave a false sense of security. I know you said its good to get used to a certain pole before a meet Andrej, but after getting a tap on a pole too big for me, when it came to the meet i wasnt psychologically ready for the pole. I felt like i had jumped on it plenty of times before, and i got stood up in an unpleasant reminder that i required a tap for that pole. It felt like a different jump than what i had taken in practice. It probably threw me off more by getting the tap than if i had just moved through my line of poles.

And now that i have a perfect line of poles, its stupid to get on a big pole in practice. Maybe you guys practice different, but im usually trying to practice as close to exactly the way i perform in meets, and thats not with a tap.

But thats for amatuer athletes, im not going to begin to speculate on what elites like Isi do, because thats practically a different sport in training compared to what us amatuers are doing. Elites like her are in a completely different level.

[achtungpv]

If you have a proper pole series, there isn't a big pole just the next pole. Sometimes the next pole is right for practice or a meet and sometimes it isn't. You select your pole based on conditions (wind, training, technique, etc.) but not on bar height. If you can't jump high (or even PR) on ANY pole in your series, you really need to reevaluate your technique and approach to the event.

[Barto]

If you have a proper pole series, there isn't a big pole just the next pole.... You select your pole based on conditions....but not on bar height. If you can't jump high (or even PR) on ANY pole in your series, you really need to reevaluate your technique and approach to the event.

Amen. To elaborate further, Erica has jumped on poles as stiff as 17.5; however, she has jumped her highest vaults ever on 19.5 and 20.0.

[Tim McMichael]

If you have a proper pole series, there isn't a big pole just the next pole. Sometimes the next pole is right for practice or a meet and sometimes it isn't. You select your pole based on conditions (wind, training, technique, etc.) but not on bar height. If you can't jump high (or even PR) on ANY pole in your series, you really need to reevaluate your technique and approach to the event.

This is information that younger vaulters definitely need to know. You should indeed be able to jump within a few inches of your best on every pole in the bag.

[cdmilton]

If you have a proper pole series, there isn't a big pole just the next pole. Sometimes the next pole is right for practice or a meet and sometimes it isn't. You select your pole based on conditions (wind, training, technique, etc.) but not on bar height. If you can't jump high (or even PR) on ANY pole in your series, you really need to reevaluate your technique and approach to the event.

This is information that younger vaulters definitely need to know. You should indeed be able to jump within a few inches of your best on every pole in the bag.

Can you elaborate more on this. For example I have the kids I coach warm up on poles in the following progression:
13-0 160
13-6 160
14-0 160
14-6 160

Then in the meet if they are jumping well they might move to:
14-6 165
14-6 170
14-6 175

I assume you mean they should be able to jump a PR on any of the 14-6 line. Correct?

[Tim McMichael]

It depends on how close together the poles are relative to the athlete’s ability. I only know how the numbers work on larger poles. In terms of percentages a 16’5â€Â

[Tim McMichael]

I don't even know if I want to get involved in that discussion, but I really want to say something.. If you get on a bigger pole on practice using a light tap, you can usually use it easily on the meet. And I can't see a reason why you guys say it's wrong to get to know the pole before you can actually use it. And if Petrov agrees with that, I hope you're not going to oppose a coach like that?

Speaking of the poles that people can be or can't be on... I noticed that in USA, there are too many vaulters that are on totally wrong poles anyway.

This is largely a confidence and pole design issue. There are a couple of objections to your method. The first is that some athletes perform worse in meets than they do in practice – at least until they learn to do a better job managing adrenalin and responding to pressure. Also, not all facilities are conducive to jumping on big poles. Expecting that an athlete will jump on their big pole in every meet is not realistic. If the poles are all designed properly, if the load characteristics are the same from one to the next, then the timing will stay much the same from one pole to the next. These factors eliminate the need for a push.

Here is something I dread hearing from an athlete, “Could you just stand close to the runway while I plant?â€Â