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Hi!

We have spent the autumn and winter building up strenght, a lot of gymnastic training, jagodins, pop-ups, technique training from a short approach and fokus on drills. This athlete had a PB of 4.61 from August 2012 and reached 4.68 in his first indoor meet. He started pole vaulting September 2010.

This is what I think was the best jump this weekend: 4.55 m, Includes slow motion
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HF6IsYIvXZ4

4.68 m from another angle:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKLw_Tq5heM

He struggled a bit with his approach run, he came under at some jumps, but to far outside at some other, but that is quite common in the early competitions, I guess. How can we build a more precise run up? We use a mid mark point (at the time 15.70 meters)

He jumped with a 4.75 m Nordic Evolution, flex 17.9. The athlete is 184 cm, 79 kgs and his 60 m PB is 7.15 sek.
Any views?

These jumps are from the National championship August 2012

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvQsXQ9O ... ture=share

Hey Rossi, happy new year!
It has been fun to watch this kid develop. Great jumping for so early in the season!

The approach looks pretty good, with a nice pole drop, plant, and takeoff. Keep emphasis on keeping the hands high and bottom hand centered on the chest during the plant; this may tighten up the last strides a bit. He is better than most in this area but it can never be perfect!
Mini-hurdle pole runs are great for developing structure in the approach. It may take some trial/error before you find the right spacing for the hurdles, but approximately 1 meter apart seems to work pretty well. 20/20's also. And measured pole runs with a towel or lightweight sliding box (I don't like heavy sliding boxes because they encourage blocking, but some people like them). If you really want to get crazy you can mark every stride of the run and film the approach to see where his inconsistency originates. Often it is at the beginning of the run.

The biggest area I see for improvement on the pole is the drive knee. His right foot drives out toward the pit during the initiation of the swing, which slows down the swing in relation to the hips/torso. If he can keep that right foot "glued" to his gluteus during the first support phase, there will be less need for folding at the hips and knees as the swing rises, and he will be in better alignment with the pole at the top of the swing. Short run vaults, jagodins, and stiff-pole stay-behind drills are good for focusing on this element of technique, and it requires a lot of concentration and posture to execute it properly, especially when an athlete is used to letting the foot come forward. Some coaches would say that reaching the right foot forward is desirable, but I have tried it both ways and there is no comparison. Even when you are trying to keep the foot glued it will come forward anyway, but the less the better.

Nice work!
Tom

He is technically ready to jump 4.90 -on the right pole. Just needs to drive the hips up/shoulders to the pad a fraction sooner so he he is completely vertical when the pole hits him - that will bring 5.00/5.10 - again on the right pole. Run up - 16or 18steps? Body weight/pole stiffness?

Thanks Tom and Alan! Happy new year to you as well

Thank you very much for constructive and good feedback.

Tom: I will take notice regarding the bottom hand during the plant. I haven't been enough aware of this element, but I understand the importance of it. He is a fast learner, and I can guarantee we will study examples of how this can be done the best way. We have included different drills two to three sessions a week, and really see the importance of this work. 20/20 is done two times a week. Mini hurdles sounds fine and we will try this out.
On tonights session we are going to mark the stride on 12, 10, 8, and 6 steps, then film 6-8 full approach runs. Hopefully we are able to see the origins of the inconsistency.

Totally agree regarding the drive knee. He is better at this with a short approach, so he knows he should glue his right foot right under his buttocks at take off. We have experienced that this is an important element to ensure a solid body. As you can see on the films, his take off leg is collapsing a bit. He also does this a lot better from a short approach.

Altius: He is 79/80 kgs. Pole: Nordic Evolution 4.75m, 185 lbs flex 17.9. Full run up is from 16 steps. I agree that he needs to be faster getting vertical. He is a lot better from a short approach getting his hips alligned with the pole, but it takes time to learn.
A bit better on this, from 5 lefts: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcTxPBmW7bE

This is an interesting vaulter: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=od62mxWWGdg
He made his first jump September 2012 and cleared 4.11 last week. There are of course a lot of issues regarding his technique, which we are working on, but he has something special. He is a former gymnast, 18 years old, quite fast and has a very competitive mind!

Thanks - Suggest that you move to 18 steps asap.