2+ ft. improvement over a summer?

[austin_tman]

I am a high school senior. I have a PR of 12'6 and am hoping to clear 13+ in my last couple of meets. I really love pole vaulting and want to continue to the college level, but the school I am attending has a walk-on standard of 15'. I am willing to put the time and effort to train this summer, but is it possible to improve that much in a summer? I want to be realistic but if it is possible I would like to give it a shot. Please give opinions on the likelihood of me improving this much and also any tips.

[KirkB]

It's possible, but you'd need to have a lot of things going for you, so the likelihood is fairly low for most mere mortals.

To answer your question, we need more information. Being willing to put in the effort is but one factor.

Give us a vid of your 12-6 vault, or take vids of your last couple meets. This will show us how fast, strong, and athletic you are, and how close to your potential you might already be.

Now give us your metrics, as suggested in this sticky post: http://www.polevaultpower.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=39&t=11345. This is from the Video Review forum. In fact, if you post any vids, that would be a better forum to post them in, and to re-ask your question in.

Now give us some history of when you started vaulting (age and school year), and what your PR was each year of your PV history. And your meet-by-meet clearances for this season.

Any speed indicators (sprint times) or strength indicators (weights of Olympic lifts) might also help.

And what other sports did you participate in (and of those, which ones did you excel in)?

All these things combined will give us a much better idea of how close you are to your potential.

Lastly, do you have a good coach and a good training facility for the summer?

Good luck in your last few meets of the year, and in your summer training!

Even if you can't clear 15-0 this summer, you should train just for the joy of pole vaulting! The fun is in the journey!

Kirk