Steps are off

[jeanne]

My daughter has been clearing 9'6" on her 12' 120lb pole. "Boom" all at once, out of the blue she has had a major set back. She claims her stride is off or her steps are off. She is starting a 50' on the runway. What can I do to help her? I can't help but think it's a mental thing going on, lack of focus etc. Any input would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Jeanne

[moehill]

what is her problem she may need a longer approach that is not very long.

[izzystikchik]

...well, i had that problem too, when i started hitting the 9-ish foot marks. My "run" down the runway, was inconsistant, i would either start out too fast, and slow down right before take off, or it would be the other way around. It is bad to be inconsistant because that makes it harder to diagnose the problem. Do you know if she is taking off "under"? The term under means, if you're not familiar with it, that when you take off, instead of jumpin off the mark where you are supposed to take off on, you may be way infront of it....

..So to correct this my coach and i did a lot of practice "runs" off the p.v. runway, We worked with something called a sliding box. Basically you plant your pole in it and it is built similar to the real planting box on the runway. YOu don't have to hold back energy cause the box slides once you impact it...Also, she should keep in mind, when concerning the run, to maintain a good posture and to pump her knees high when she comes down the runway. Sometimes a bad plant can mess with your run too, its hard to think about the upperbody and the lowerbody at first, but if you do enough warm ups everysingle day then you can start backing up to further runs....

My advice overall is to start out with fewer steps, and work up to more gradually while keeping in mind the correct form. Be patient with it, it'll come soon i promise
Goodluck
Liz

[*TigerVault*]

well i think that first to find if her run is very inconsistant, she should start from the very back of the runway, then u should stand about 50 ft or more away(or where u or the coach believes that she would get up to her full speed) and mark where her take-off foot hits nearest to u and put a peice of tape down. she should keep doing this without looking down at the tape , and keep markin her step. if shes hitting that mark everytime then shes good but if she is hitting more than half a foot or so either way of the first tape then she definitally needs to work on getting a consistant run. when she gets to where she is hitting the same mark everytime, then measure that distance, and measure it again from the top of the box, this should be a good step for her .And after all this, u still think its a mental thing then she may not be trusting her step.

also 50' isnt necessarily too short for a run if it gets her step to be right, because i am getting up around 9'6 at practice with a 51'4 step, but now that i have that one down, i am workin on a longer run to get more penetration into the pit, and she should do the same, so that this way she will have a long and a short run.

[izzystikchik]

...i agree with that too Tiger Vault

[VaulteRachello]

another little thing that helps me keep my steps consistent, is i count backwards in my head. each time my left foot hits thats one, as i get closer, the numbers should get faster, its kind of weird i guess, but i t keeps me fucused and keeps my steps even.

[dj]

hey
check the mid chart in the pv general section..

dj