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Hey guys, I got a question for all you seasoned-vetrans. I'm a senior in high school, trying to pop out some big numbers this year. I'm 5'7, 130 - 135 lbs. My current PR is 14', done on a 14' 150, gripping 13' from a 6-left approach. Now I consistently clear 14'6 (cleanly over a practice bungee, no hooking of the feet haha) on a 14' 155, gripping 13'6, from a 7-left approach and have successfully jumped on a 14' 160 18.0-flex, gripping 13'6. My coaches tell me that some of those clearences COULD clear 15', but who knows?

I recently tried making the transition from 14-footers to 15-footers. The smallest one my coach had was a 15' 150 22.0-flex. I gave it a whirl, from my 7-left approach, gripping 13'9, but couldn't get any penitration. I got off the ground but stalled out and landed in the box. The 15' 150 feels extremely thicker and heavier than the 14-footers and it partially freaks me out. Now, I have to purchase my own pole (cheap school = end of story), so before I spend $500 on a pole, I love to hear some opinions.

I've already talked with dj about which brand of pole to buy, and I'm going to purchase a Spirit, however, i'm not 100% sure which one I should buy. I wanted to buy a 15' 150 but I don't think I'm ready for it. Then, it came to me in a dream, I thought about buying a 14'7 (probably a 150). I want to try one out, before buying one, for obvious reasons, but don't really have access to one. I know of one place, where I could, but they don't allow spikes in their facility, and I'm afraid, when trying to max out my ability on a pole, it could slightly affect my jump (speed and take-off).

The whole situation is a mess. Let me know what you guys think. Thank you all. -6P

joebro391 wrote: ... I recently tried making the transition from 14-footers to 15-footers. The smallest one my coach had was a 15' 150 22.0-flex. I gave it a whirl, from my 7-left approach, gripping 13'9, but couldn't get any penitration. I got off the ground but stalled out and landed in the box.

Wait a minute, 6P, you say that you gripped it at 13-9? But you've never gripped that high on any softer pole before?

Aren't you breaking the cardinal rule that you should never increase your grip and your pole at the same time? Shouldn't you first be switching poles, gripping at the same place (13-6?) as you're used to gripping FIRST? And then, after you land well into the coaches box and gain confidence on the heavier pole, THEN raise your grip? (I know that you gripped at 14-0 back in Sep, but not since, right?)

Also, I worry for your safety when you say you "stalled out and landed in the box". You say that so matter-of-factly, like it's no big deal. But it is! Hopefully, you're following the thread on "How to avoid injuries from landing in the box"? Are you following all that advice? I guess not. [sigh]

I wish I could help you with your pole selection dilemma, but dj (and others) have the expertise there - not me. Good luck on that!

But I remember back in Sep-Oct (or so) that you were asking about what size pole to buy. Can you remind us of that link? I just want to see what you thought back then, compared to what you think now about the right-sized pole. I'm guessing that you're doing BETTER than what you thought you'd be doing back then, and you're now needing a HEAVIER pole than you thought back then?

I'll have some further comments about this once I can find your old post about this - if you can point me to that link.

Kirk

If you can jump with your stds at 80 capping a 14-155. Then get yourself a 14-6 150 and 155 to help the transistion to 15 footers. Start with the same hand hold or a hand hold up on the 14-6 150 and ya ought to get in the pit fine. get yourself a 15-145 and 150 for later in the season. Quick answer here that can work. Some folks out there that jump from 14 to 15 foot poles usually drop 10lbs. Either way you need to be cappin the pole your on with stds at 80 before moving up poles.

Nothing new here. Good luck.

Run Fast Hold High & Fly

The problem is $$$.

4 poles of those sizes? That's ~$2000.

6P: Realize that you don't need 15' poles to jump 15'... You could absolutely jump 15' with an effective grip height of 13'. Think about this as a factor in your pole selection...

You need to go out and experiment with all the poles you have (in that size area) with different (but safe) grips. Write everything down and film it all.

And go find that thread.

KirkB wrote:Wait a minute, 6P, you say that you gripped it at 13-9? But you've never gripped that high on any softer pole before?

Aren't you breaking the cardinal rule that you should never increase your grip and your pole at the same time? Shouldn't you first be switching poles, gripping at the same place (13-6?) as you're used to gripping FIRST? And then, after you land well into the coaches box and gain confidene on the heavier pole, THEN raise your grip? (I know that you gripped at 14-0 back in Sep, but not since, right?)

Ordinarrily, I'd do that (keep the grip), but Hartely kept telling me that gripping 13'6 would be like me, being on a 15' 180 and I didn't really think I could pull that off, so I raised my grip, a hand-hold, to try and 'soften it up', but that didn't work. Also, Bill said I should grip, EVEN HIGHER, but I was like "...that's not safe" haha. And 13'6 is the highest i've ever successfully gripped, not 14'.

But I remember back in Sep-Oct (or so) that you were asking about what size pole to buy. Can you remind us of that link? I just want to see what you thought back then, compared to what you think now about the right-sized pole. I'm guessing that you're doing BETTER than what you thought you'd be doing back then, and you're now needing a HEAVIER pole than you thought back then?

Back in september, I obvioulsy wasn't able to get on these pole, so I have improved my technique and gotten stronger; so back then, I just knew that i wanted to purchase a 15-foot pole. There were no real specifics there, so trying to find the post where i said "i'll eventually buy a 15-foot pole" would be pointless, to me, as there's nothing really to get out of it.

My coaches and myself all feel that I CAN and SHOULD be getting on 15' poles, but when it's in my hand, I feel like i'm trying to cap a 16'5 or something. I'm just wondering if I should perhaps by a 15' 145 or a 14'7 150.

ALSO: the 15' 150 that i tried jumping on, friday, has NEVER been vaulted on before, which also freaks me out

powerplant42 wrote:The problem is $$$.

4 poles of those sizes? That's ~$2000.

6P: Realize that you don't need 15' poles to jump 15'... You could absolutely jump 15' with an effective grip height of 13'. Think about this as a factor in your pole selection...

You need to go out and experiment with all the poles you have (in that size area) with different (but safe) grips. Write everything down and film it all.

Well there lies the problems: pole availability. In order to experiment on a 14'7 or a 15' 145, i'd have to go to some other club, somewhere. My coach, sadly, doesn't believe in the 'mid-range' poles (13'6's, 14'7's). I sure wish he did though

For the meantime, I'll be on the 14' 155 and 160. Those throw me pretty high. I gotta jump tomorrow, but I guess i'll figure something out. I feel so morbid, for some reason. Perhaps i'm dissapointed that I couldn't get on a 15' 150??? {sigh}

No "mid range"? So now we have to go by even feet now?

I'd try to get that sorted out with him...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8BbV6uLU7c

obviously you do not need a 15' pole to jump 15'. You want to impress a college coach, jump 15'+ on a 14' pole. Then when you get to college and they start beefing you up in the weight room you can worry about monster poles.

14' to 15' pole transition is basicaly the hardest you can make because of timing and sail peace and a lot of technical stuff. so you definately do not want to do this from basicaly switching from holding 13'6 160 (six inches down on your 14' 150) to 13'9 175 (9in down on 15' 150... ps. I know its not compleatly linear but its an approximation).

Id recomend waiting till your jumping on a lot stiffer 14' poles (170s or about) then worry about pole length.

I took 6P through Jan's pole progression chart... What a magical journey that was... I remember saying that he needed to get on something like a 14' 165 first, but I still want to see all those poles being jumped on!

What you need to think about is; are you trying to jump on 15's because you need to, or you want to? I've seen 15'3'' cleared on a 14' pole. It was my highschool teammate, and he took 2nd at states with that jump. Now when I started jumping on 15's, it was because I needed to, I had to move up to 15's in order to slow the poles rotation down so I wouldnt blow through. Even then it was still a tough transition. So just remember, big grips don't always equal big heights. Jump safely and you'll jump higher.

Last night, I jumped 14' on a 14' 155, gripping 13' (20 inch push-off). I've shared my queary with some coaches and they all said the same thing. If I'm going to try and get on a 15-foot pole, to keep the same grip, from the 14's. Another GREAT PIECE OF ADVICE, I got from the Wake Forest University coach, was to try and ride the pole into the pit (not invert) the first few times, to build confidence, by knowing that I can penitrate. They also said I might want to take a stab on a 15' 145, first. However, probably next week, I'm gonna take a few attempts on a 14'7 pole, so I'll let you know how that goes. -6P

joebro391 wrote:Another GREAT PIECE OF ADVICE, I got from the Wake Forest University coach, was to try and ride the pole into the pit (not invert) the first few times, to build confidence, by knowing that I can penitrate.

I thought everyone knew this