PoleVaultPower.com

So im working on getting on bigger poles right now and dont know if its more mental or just lacking technique or speed. In both videos the bungey is on like WAY back, like 36 inches. In video 1 im on my smaller pole and seem to move it in really fast and am pretty much over the 14'3 bungey but dont really seem to have much time to do anything. But then I move to the bigger pole and I seem to just freak out. from the video it looks like I just bail, but to me it just feels like im just not going to make it in.


Video 1:
In this video im on a 14'1 155 holding around 13'6. I am running from 7 lefts at 87'3 feet.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nB0PdF7t ... annel_page

Video 2:
In this video im on a 14'7 150 holding around 13'8. I am running from 7 lefts at 87'5 feet.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsOenyi3 ... annel_page

ps.
im 5'6 140ish and this is really just my third season vaulting... going to be a second year in collage

The fact you are pushing the pole, is that what you normally do or is that for training? What are you PRs from each of those steps?

The fact you are pushing the pole, is that what you normally do or is that for training? What are you PRs from each of those steps?

I started pushing the pole as a drill and ended up doing it full time because I could run so much faster and get on my longer run poles from a lot shorter.
PR is in the 13'6 range (13'6-13'8 depending on what metric the meet was using) from 6,7, and 8 lefts. Pretty much jumped that at every meet this year. Only diffrence was went from barely getting it with a 12'6 hand grip to skying it by two feet with a 13'6 hand grip, but then bar goes up and bar never stays... even skipped to 4.45 once and just wobbled it off on way down.

You need to work on the pole carry and get away from that pushing stuff.... Plus you only jump 13'6" so the basics are most important!

Rick Baggett
WSTC LLC

would you like to explain what is wrong with the push and how it is hindering my vault?

Honestly I would say nothing is wrong with it, I am a big advocator of there is no correct way to vault.

The positives of what you are doing...
Allows for a pumping of the arms this can help increase speed. Would force you to get the pole out in front of you at plant.


Things you are missing with the pushing the pole, But not really important. (so the neutral)
You miss the mechanical advantage of increasing speed with the pole drop, BUT allowing you arms to pump may counter that.
In most cases that I have seen this vaulters take off kinda flat


And Negatives of the pole push.
Inconsistent placement of bottom hand, And the slight resistance of pole tip takes away a tick of energy...

To the negatives id also add that if you find a box with the slightest lip you will be in big trouble. You should invest in some serious plugs. Also when i push-pole i feel like i'm reaching and leaning forward on my run. Also, with the placement of the top hand above the head, i feel like an advantage of being able to pump the other hand would be cancelled.

As long as you can accept those differences and still have fun with it, go for it!

In terms of the vault, in the first film, you get in line with the pole and everything works, however i would suggest that the pole is too small for you, you need more fiber glass and more grip.

However, the second film you think you are not getting into the pit because maybe, the pole is too big... The pole is still to small, but you are not dropping your shoulders and transitioning pressure to the top hand. You are still behind the pole and never get inline with it to start the fly away, you need to keep rolling the pole over, and keep trying to drop the shoulders and crank on that top arm to get in line with the pole. Once you roll the pole over a tick more you are going to feel like you are deeper into the pit and the pole is in a better position to move on. Once you figure this out you are going to need more fiber glass.

BUT that is just technical work that would help, I think your issue is just timing, if that is the first couple times jumping on that pole you bump up 2 inches in grip and the 6 inches in pole. Essentially holding the same place on a longer pole you need to realize that the sail piece is now higher. Jumping the same way as on the shorter pole you are going to think that the pole is getting away from you and its harder to get on. Its just a matter of figuring the timing out to get on the pole.

If I were coaching you, I would pull you off the matt get you on a light 14' 7" --> 15' pole same grip and have you work with those. Until you figured out the timing and then start increasing weight/grip. Until you are coming off the pole rather than blowing through.

As for the vault, i think you need to move your bottom hand toward the standard and take pressure off a little sooner. Your hips are not inverting with the speed that they should, and in fact their motion practically stops for a bit after your powerful swing. Moving that bottom hand to the side and not pushing with it will allow your swing to pass through the chord and to alignment with pole much more quickly and smoothly. Think more "highbar" and less "move the pole".

BUT that is just technical work that would help, I think your issue is just timing, if that is the first couple times jumping on that pole you bump up 2 inches in grip and the 6 inches in pole. Essentially holding the same place on a longer pole you need to realize that the sail piece is now higher.

What exactly does it mean when people say the sail piece is higher? what is the sail piece and how does it affect the jump? Ive always heard that was mostly noticable when switching to 15' poles and it gave people some trouble but never understood why.

The sail piece is one of the many multiple layers of fiber glass used in the making, rolled up into the poll. It is shaped like a sail... In very lay terms it determines where the bend of the pole is, and how stiff the pole is... Generally UCS poles have a higher sail piece than gill poles.

I tend to have a flatter take off so i prefer a lower bend pole however I use what is available to me, this may be a reason why some people like carbons over Spirits or vice versa.

The longer the lever is (the pole) the more noticeable flaws in technique get (hence no one jumps on an 18 foot pole). So when people start to transition to longer poles this tends to be when they start to feel the difference.

VaultPurple wrote:

BUT that is just technical work that would help, I think your issue is just timing, if that is the first couple times jumping on that pole you bump up 2 inches in grip and the 6 inches in pole. Essentially holding the same place on a longer pole you need to realize that the sail piece is now higher.

What exactly does it mean when people say the sail piece is higher? what is the sail piece and how does it affect the jump? Ive always heard that was mostly noticable when switching to 15' poles and it gave people some trouble but never understood why.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong but...

The sail-piece is the place on the pole where the manufacturer designed the pole to bend (Usually at the label, but not always). Since the length of the pole increases, the sail-piece gets higher and higher to accommodate higher higher hand grips (This keeps a nice and even bend in the pole). There are probably tons of reasons why people have trouble transitioning to 15' poles, but the higher sail-piece means that lower handgrips are harder to hold than on lower poles.