Beginners

[grandevaulter]

Here a couple of 14 year old beginners that I'm working with. I'm using the BP model and drills from BTB2. This is their second meet and only been outside for a couple weeks after the last snow melted. I'll post more videos this week and see how they progress.
http://youtu.be/8gO3Rjlz7To
http://youtu.be/cylQ4EADiXQ
http://youtu.be/l6G2ADT8OOY

[altius]

Suggest you focus on the turn over the bar for a while - makes a lot of things easier.

[grandevaulter]

Be patient Altius. I'll post new videos soon.

[grandevaulter]

If I fail to bring these kids along, I'll never post here again, sell my BTB2 book and become a Monk.

[vcpvcoach]

Hey Grandevaulter,
You still freezing on the other side of the Lake? This season is 2013 part two.... I have no doubt that you will teach up these vaulters. Good luck and vault high.

[grandevaulter]

Yesterday was the first warm day. Above 60f. We're looking at 70s this week and thunderstorms. I have a large stable of young vaulters. We'll see how many stick around after the season and vault in the summer meets.

[altius]

Never doubted you old son - but if you post video you surely expect advice. My experience tells me that the longer you let kids continue to go over on their backs or without a full turn over the bar it becomes increasingly difficult to change things -but what do I know????

Keep the dil coming to make it a longitudinal study -we need more of these because young coaches need to see that development is a process - sometimes a fraught process - and sometimes unfortunately it stops completely.

[grandevaulter]

http://youtu.be/ClrBLstXiqQ This is the first boy that goes over back first on the initial video. This is from tonight. He got stuck running the 1600 shortly before this vault. It appears he is working on his pivot, but the pulls the sweep leg in shortly after take off. They do the drills well in practice but fall to pieces in the meet.

http://youtu.be/tjerMiR9XzA
This is the girl from the initial video. She does a better job turning over the bar at this height but also pulls the sweep leg in shortly after take off. We work hard on not doing these things correctly, Honest.

Good news is my other freshman girl made it over 7' (I won't post her video, it's not very sharp) tonight so I've qualified four girls for the regional meet. I have one top ten in D-4

[altius]

"They do the drills well in practice but fall to pieces in the meet."

That is exactly what one should expect to happen! And it happens no matter what sport you are coaching. This issue is exactly the point I am trying to make re the coaching process. Athletes and coaches need to understand that persistence and repetition are the keys to development - and it is often a slow process no matter how much you practice. If I can get someone to put it on PVP for me I can show some film of very talented young athlete doing drills and then jumping at a bar in practice. Unfortunately the competition film that was taken in Sydney in March was taken with a phone and is useless - need a microscope to see it.

The point I want to make is that she is the most talented young girl I have ever coached - she has been training on a regular basis - theoretically twice a week but in reality - say three times every two weeks - in a very good environment - alongside some very good technical models - with supportive coaching - does the drills as well as one could expect - but she is still not close to perfect in the full vault -and sometimes forgets to turn - especially when the bar goes up. So one of the challenges for coaches is to help athletes understand that it is a process -there is no magic bullet -and that sometimes even the best training does not produce the results you would like to see. As I often write in the dedication when a youngster buys a book - "Enjoy the journey" - i.e. the whole process of being an athlete -and especially being a special athlete --- a pole vaulter!!!! Rambling now - perhaps because it is around 4am!!!.

[grandevaulter]

As I often write in the dedication when a youngster buys a book - "Enjoy the journey" - i.e. the whole process of being and athlete -and especially being a special athlete --- a pole vaulter!!!!

I appreciate every bit of your wisdom. Thank you for being part of our journey.

[grandevaulter]

This is a younger one 14 year old that has one full year of BTB2 technique and a few months into the second year.. We can see her pole carry and approach is pretty darn good. High plant and does a nice job whipping the left leg until she breaks at the hips. She fails to pivot over the bar, this is her second 8' clearance. She does a nice job pivoting over the bar in practice at lower heights. http://youtu.be/lCYZhLWWMnk

[grandevaulter]

Two girls going to the D-4 State meet.