Muscle Memory or Concentration?

[lostbvrunner]

Okay, here's the deal. Last week was league, and I got my PR by 1'3" and 5th place... it was cool lol.
But anyhow. That entire meet I made a big deal about not thinking about anything and just letting muscle memory take over. The thing is, when I do that, I do not get inverted all the way, because this is my first year vaulting and my muscle memory doesn't remember to row, lol.
So on my attempts at 7'9" (I'm a girl) I knew I had to row in order to clear, so I started thinking about that. The attempts weren't very good, I don't think they would've cleared the 7'3" i had just gotten. I'm not sure if that was because I was psyching myself out when I was concentrating on rowing, or just because I was tired.

So here's my question... if you were me, what would you do tomorrow? Try to let muscle memory take over again, or really concentrate on rowing and planting well.

I was hoping to work enough on rowing this week in practice that I could allow muscle memory to take over and still row a lot... but I have not vaulted well in practice this week at all. I haven't had a good plant or gotten good penetration.

Also, I think that I vaulted so well last week because I cleared everything on my first attempt... so I was really confident the entire time. What do you guys do after a failed attempt to stay confident?

Sorry for all the questions I am just nervous for regionals, I really wanna PR again.

[science geek]

practice rowing by jumping in the sand. it will help you jump at take off, you will have to row just like normal to rotate your pole, and it is something that can be done from as short as a 15' run. Get on the long jump runway and plant your pole close to the runway just like you would in the vault box. practice rowing to rotate your pole (move your body rapidly horizontally) and gradually work your grip up. practice rowing a bunch in practice and then see how it works in the meet. I think that the difference depends on what you are used to (muscle memory vs. concentration). I always give my vaulters at least one thing to think about, but never more than three for each vault. They are used to this and they jump fine, but if this is not what you are used to then it might be better to just compete, taking a phrase from the old school train of thought.

[bvpv07]

Well, to keep positive after missing a vault, I've really worked hard on realizing that every time is just an attempt. It doesn't matter whether it's your first or your last, every time you go is an opportunity to do the best vault that you possibly can at that time. There is nothing more than you can do to give your best effort every time you vault.