PoleVaultPower.com

Personally, i feel like one of the greatest ways to make pole vaulting safer in America would be to create a mandatory class and test on pole vault education and coaching practices that all high school and college coaches must take and follow in order to coach the pole vault. I think that unless a school invests in this certification, the school should NOT be allowed to have the pole vault. It seems to me this would not only educate the coaches, but make a big statement about the seriousness with which the USA takes pole vaulting, and that which must accompany the coaching of the pole vault.

Is there something like this already in effect?

What are your thoughts on such a course being mandatory for HS and college vault coaches?

We require coaching certification in Washington state. I think it should be required in all states at the HS level, but it should be up to each state how to administer it. In a small state like Rhode Island, you could probably do one or two clinics a year and be good. A state like Texas or California needs a different solution!

College coaches should have to take an online test like they do for recruiting. Every head coach should be made aware that practices like tapping or using too small pits can lead to DEATH and that these practices should not be tolerated.

I believe Hawaii requires a yearly clinic for improvement. I did the clinic last March and had everyone there.

Rick Baggett
WSTC

hye

today at the safety meeting in Orlando.. a point was made that, coaches and athletes do NOT understand the "physics", application of froce, of getting the pole to vertical.

a second point was the lack of experience and education of coaches...

and Jeff Hartwig made a great point about having an accurate run before you get on the runway... he said that Kochel, Earl's coach, always required them to do pole runs before getting on the runway at meets or practice.

They continued that prctice at Earl's "barn" to leesson the liabilty or chance of injury because the "run to grip" match up is one of the major issues creating injury..

dj

I agree with all of these statements. Testing should be mandatory for coaches simply due to the extreme costs (to the sport in general) of any serious accidents. The challenge will be to come up with a test that everyone can agree on...when we can have 37 pages of discussion on how high to grip on a sand jagodin...
Having a website like this where young vaulters and coaches can obtain good information about vaulting is a huge step and was not around when I was learning to vault...thanks Becca
I also strongly feel that all beginner vaulters need to be able to perform consistent short pole runs OFF the runway with a high, early plant, before ever stepping onto the runway. And vaulters who regress into low or off-center plants, or people who take off way under or out should also be required to step off the runway and do some pole runs or sliding box consistantly before going back into the pit. It seems like this would reduce serious injuries significantly. Anyone agree?

Tom

For those who may be in the mid-west and interested, Michigan will be hosting the annual MITCA Clinic in Feb. with a significant segment on vaulting.

Information may be found here:
http://mitca.org/Clinics/TF/clinic_t&f.htm

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This years’ clinic will include 10 HOURS of Pole Vault instruction. Attendance for these sessions will result in
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Featuring Jan Johnson and Pat Manson!

Rick,
What can we do to get this required in Oregon? I am willing to help with anything you can do.

good morning,

after some recent private discussion, we though that the pole vault should be viewed much like a student/young adult getting a driver licenses…

take a test, (over the net)… pass the written test, then have a video taped test in a sand pit with a coach.. send the video for a pass or fail to receive permission/creditbility/liability to vault for their school. If they fail give drills and suggestions/clinics/education to help them pass...


dj

Nice idea, but before we require VAULTERS to pass their "driver's license" tests, I think we should require their COACHES to pass a similar test. Put the onus on each accredited COACH to ensure that their vaulters have studied and understand vault safety.

dj wrote: ... take a test, (over the net)… pass the written test ...

This part (for coaches only) is already covered on the National PV Coaches Association website here http://www.npvca.com/matriarch/default.asp ... but I think it could be improved.

I think this test is 100% voluntary, but it would be simple enough for each state, county, or school district to require it's PV coaches to pass the test. And obviously, a coach not accredited by the NPVCA should NOT administer the "vaulter's video-taped sand pit" test.

dj wrote: ... then have a video taped test in a sand pit with a coach.. send the video for a pass or fail to receive permission/creditbility/liability to vault for their school.

I think this is a good idea ... but I'm not sure exactly what you have in mind. To keep things simple tho, wouldn't the written test suffice?

dj wrote: If they fail give drills and suggestions/clinics/education to help them pass...

Maybe require that they MUST pass before the first meet? That would give them time to study ... but still practice.

When I took the NVPCA test ... which I passed ... they told me the correct answers for the ones I got wrong.

I had 8 wrong. Five were due to terminology that I wasn't familiar with; one was due to a tie-breaker rule that I didn't know; and two were due to lack of knowledge of HS pit dimensions. Personally, I think the test needs to be more stringent, and needs to emphasize safety issues more than non-Petrov terminology. With only 80% correct, I should NOT have passed!

The VAULTER test should obviously be safety-oriented, but it could also test them for knowledge of rules and terminology ... as long as it's model-agnostic terminology ... things like grip, lefts, run, plant, takeoff, swing, extension, clearance. Who cares about "when the Pull-Turn starts", or what the lower arm should do during the Pull-Turn". My objection to those questions was simply the term "Pull-Turn" ... which isn't universal.

Believe it or not, I got this one wrong:

34. During the Swing-Up the bottom arm should _________ ?

I won't give you the correct answer ... you'll have to take the test yourself. But I got this wrong becuz I was second-guessing the NPVCA. I didn't think they would answer this one the Petrov way!

Kirk

heyh

sorry but we did agree every coach should have the same but MORE.. requirements..

dj

In Arizona we have had a safety accreditation course the past 8 years. In order for a coach to be in the coaches box on the field they must attend a 3 hour safety course which is good for three years. No cost for the coaches. Otherwise at meets the coaches are up in the stands unable to communicate with their athletes.

In New Mexico the 3 hour safety class is required for all Head coaches and pole vault coaches.

The problem when you only have a class on the internet is that they miss the hands on experience such as site facilities. You can have all the diagrams you want but unless you physically show them hard and unyielding surfaces and what the zero line really is, they don't get it. Believe me I have been teaching these classes the past 8 years and you would be amazed how much expert coaches miss or overlook when it comes to facilities and the basics.

good morning

we need to implement all these ideas nationally.. right now..

in the 80's while at SMU in Dallas we (coach Telez at Houston and others) were working with the Texas coaches to certify all coaches in track and field, starting with junior high. We were following what USATF was doing but making it more applicable and doable where you had all junior high football coaches doing track and field.

The idea was to do statewide written testing with one/two day regional hands on ‘testing’ certification like azjuy mentioned..

dj