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Hello all.

I have a (soon to be) senior jumping 13'6" on a 14' 165, holding 13'4"-7" and he is loading it a tad too much and not getting the spring he needs. He weighs 155 and am looking to get on the next poles to get him into the 14's. Does a 14' 170- seem to be the next logical step, or a 14'6" 160...I would like his grip to increase but without being faster and having a better plant, length is not vital. He should be at 14'ish on a 14' pole then move him to longer poles right? I just never jumped on anything longer than 14's so I am new to this. Any help would rule.

Patrick

Hi Patrick:
You are on the right track with your logic. Better to hold low and jump high than hold high and jump low. The latter is not conducive to longevity and good health.
A couple of questions -
1. You mentioned his current pole is going soft on him. Where is he currently hitting his apex (50, 80, deeper) with his current pole?
2. Do you think he will increase in size, speed or strength next year?

It may be tough to pick a single pole because he could start going through poles fairly quickly. Is your budget such that you could afford a couple of poles for his senior year or can you only buy one pole?
Clay (LPVG)

Thanks for the reply. He has the standards fairly deep 70, when all is right in the world. However when he is slower he has them in towards 45-50.

For the summer, we jump on at a h.s. and I lengthened his step from 6 lefts to 7 lefts and I got him jumping on a 14' 170 (holding 13'6") and he was falling on top of the bar at 13'-14' with the standards at 65ish. I know his top needs a lot of work as his apex is probably at 50-60. He does not finish getting his feet to his hands and then his hand to his hips.

He will stay the same size wise and speed wise (hopefully gets faster and stronger)

As for the question of poles, I am going to see how the summer plays out. The goal for the summer is to experiement between 14's (170 and 175) and 14'6"'s (160 and 165). Depending on how the summer goes I will see what he would need. It is my hope he is holding at 14' on a 14'6" pole by then...we'll see.

Thanks.