“FIFTEEN PIECES OF PIE”

[dj]

POLE VAULT COACHES CHECK LIST….

Time to get it done…

“FIFTEEN PIECES OF PIE”

1. Is the grip, pole carry and stance correct before the first step?
2. Are the first two to four steps correct based on posture, acceleration and speed?
3. Is the acceleration and posture continued to the Six Step Check Mark?
4. Is the Six Step Check Mark accurate based on speed and grip?
5. Is there an increase in step frequency over the last four to six steps into takeoff?
6. Is there a “Penultimate”, combined with a high, active plant?
7. Is the takeoff “ON” or slightly out, with the body in a vertical position?
8. Do the arms continue up with the front arm reaching (trying to reach) as high as the top hand?
9. Are the eyes focused “through” the back of the pit?
10. Is the elbow of the bottom arm “out” and did the chest continue through at the takeoff, allowing for the elasticity of the arms?
11. Did the vaulter swing and reach a position with the body parallel to the runway when the pole reached maximum bend?
12. Did the vaulter invert with the top arm straight and cover the pole/top grip with the lead leg?
13. Did the vaulter continue up, around and off of the pole vertically?
14. Did the vaulter clear the bar and land safely into the pit?
15. Is the Vault one continuous action from beginning to end?


The athlete must “conquer” each piece of the pie correctly before they can move to the next level.


By: dj

[Bubba PV]

I remember when Dave Roberts was jumping well he had the vault broken down into, I think, eight phases and he said he spent a week on each phase and used a checklist for each phase. The following week he would add on the new stuff while reinforcing the old stuff. I talked to you guys about this in detail at the Florida Pole Vault Camp in Gainesville in 1975. Like your "mid chart", it's always worked for me. Bubba

PS/FYI - At that camp was Will Freeman, me and Billy Dalton from Louisiana. We went to see the new movie, "Jaws" at the drive in.

[dj]

hey Bubba

This is a slight expansion of the same list! But with the “terminology” of today.

Even if I have to say so myself, those were the best and one of first pole vault camps in the USA. They actually “set the standard” so to speak for vault camps. I think Bill Faulk was the only other PV camp at the time. One summer I had Roberts, Freeman, Cotton, Walter Welch (a legend as a UF vault coach) as staff coaches… Wow..

I think we had every state champion across the south and into Texas, in those camps…

Everyone should feel free to give us you’re own thoughts and “additions” to the list.

dj

[baggettpv]

Now for good teaching take each of the 15 and put 3 activities to each. Each of the 3 should build on the previous. Each shall have a competency (6 of 8 times correct) before moving to the next. Each shall be part of the warmup every day. Go only as far as the competency stays above 50% (or you chose). To finish the technique learning session reverse the activity progression back to the beginning before fatigue causes failure.
So it would look something like this (6 step):
6 @ 1A (5 good 1 bad) Reinforcing
6 @ 1B (4 good 2 bad) Enhancing
6 @ 1C (3 good 3 bad) Learning
6 @ 1B (4 good 2 bad) Reinforcing
6 @ 1A (5 good 1 bad) Reinforcing

During development the skills progression shall move through the entire 15 phase's. Just chose your task analysis and this is just a basic model but the learning process is solid.
The real interesting part is for someone to take all the drills/activities and schedule the learning's throughout a career and then implement them for an athlete. DJ any doc's or thoughts on this? My Coaches Hip Pocket Guid to Pole Vaulting has the basic sequence for beginners but I have not advanced it out to other levels in text. Rick Attig has done more work in this area too but it was forgotten in the '90's. USATF still has copies of his work I think tho.

Rick Baggett
WSTC LLC

[baggettpv]

Oh yeah,
DJ's 15 steps lends itself well to an "If.... Then programing process!
If step 1 is good then
goto step 2
If step 2 is good then
goto step 3

Apply this to my previous post and you will have a solid Teaching Progression.
It's in my book too.


Rick Baggett
WSTC LLC

[dj]

good morning

all great points rick... you are "dead on"

Bubba would have received a "handout" at the camp with the camp rules and a section by each of the five coaches... i wrote the beginning vault section .. the last page of that section was a page titled.. "Preparation for Success" which i borrowed from my brother joe, and expanded on of course (since I can’t seem to leave well enough alone) (He actually had a "Preparation for Success" paper for every Track and Field event..for the Apopka, Florida Blue Darters!)

i have used this at every level... when I’m coaching or watching film these are the "visual" Q's that the camera in my head will see as the athlete goes from the start and through the approach and jump.

Mike Tully and I would go through the “check list” on every vault. I did it "visually" and he did it by “feel”. If he felt what I saw or if I saw what he felt, we were on the right track.

These steps were Trained and emphasized daily. Mike’s precision was from this type of focus and detail.

Just a heads up… when you see a step that doesn’t look correct.. go back a step and make your correction there.. in other words if the chest didn’t go through and the arms didn’t go up and “elastic” correctly.. check and see if the left elbow was “out”… the progression before is the point of correction…. Always…

The reason we as teacher teach progressions is “for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.” If your vaulter is not getting the hips up (rocking back) correct the swing, please don’t keep yelling “get your hips up” or “are you chicken and afraid to get upside down!”

Later

dj

PS.. Bubba i just re-thought those years.. i think it was a year or two later before we did the 'booklet' i owe you one!! so now you have your "Preparation for Success"... good thing you were thinking ahead of your coaches (and us) and made your own... a good lesson for all you athletes.. don't wait for the 'spoon" as Roman says.. find the answers... if you really want to succeed..

[Bubba PV]

I’ve used some variation of that teaching since that camp in 1975. We took that list a step further during my 14 years at UC Irvine. We had the athlete grade the vault on the field and then again after he saw the video. At first the field grades were As and Bs and the video grades were Cs, Ds and Fs. After about two weeks those two grades started matching up so clearly what they were feeling was now what we were seeing.

Ours was called the “Eight Factors of the Vault” and we spent a week on each one. I’m now switching to your 15 pieces. Each of our eight phases had its own checklist of 5-7 items. You had to do each one in order correctly twice before moving on during that practice.

To this day all of my athletes (including me) make a pre-meet “mechanical checklist” of the top 4-6 things they have to do right to succeed in the upcoming meet. I look at their list and go over it with them. Now they have a purpose for each run down the runway. This takes a lot of pressure off of their otherwise nervous and scattered thoughts. Again they start with an item on the approach run and progress their goals through the vault but doing each one correctly twice.

So THANKS for that innovative thinking back in the day. It still works!! I'm sure the 15 pieces will work even better. Bubba

[baggettpv]

I just have 11 steps.... in the little hip pocket guide. Available at a very good price! hehehe with DVD's also.

Rick Baggett
WSTC LLC

[Bubba PV]

For those interested, I bought Baggett's pocket guide (and all of his DVD's) and they are ALL outstanding!! Bubba