PoleVaultPower.com

hello this is me vaulting at Ursinus along with my track team so skip to 2:04 ish which is a 11'6 jump,,(sky pole 13'1 grip around 12'6, 150 lb my weight is 120 ish, i know im extremly underweight for a 5'8 senior in high school, haha trying to gain some weight,, its hard though)

im a little stuck at this point of my vaulting career cause i tend to swing too fast according to coaches,, i wish ican jump over my hand hold as well... but coaches told me to go back to straight pole-ing and get back the basics,,

im just curiuos what people will say about how i vault...


http://youtube.com/watch?v=pEvGRqlXBKw

from what i saw, when you planted, you didn't extend your leg back, you didn't create the 'C' position. when you've reached the 'C' position and you feel yourself starting to get no more forward motion, that's when you snap that leg up, extend both legs, pull towards your body getting your right hand to your crotch, then the last part should come naturally. if you really get that trail leg back then snap it forward, you'll put a greater amount of energy into the vault.

I agree. In other words, you need to "finish your takeoff". Your take off is finished when your take off leg kicks off the ground and behind you in the same motion, and you are in a C position. Its hard to tell from that angle, but you look jammed at the plant. Try to get comfortable with your step 6"-1' farther back than before. I just plain dont agree with coaches saying you "swing too fast". Thats misleading. They mean to say you swing too quickly, before your take off is finished. You want to swing fast and quick, but only after you finish your take off. As soon as you drive as hard as you can, you need to be swinging as hard and fast as you can. I think that if you finish your takeoff, you will swing even faster than you are now. Work on your impulse off the ground, that seems to be a limiting factor for you right now. Tons of plyos and speed/power exercises. Good luck!

hey, I was at this meet, I don't know if you remember me but I no heighted pathetically! It was my last before I broke my ankle whoo

haha anyway, I don't have too much to say, but I agree with the other 2 guys.

good luck with the rest of your season!

The C position is indeed vital but I cant tell you how many times on this website we have discouraged athletes of attempting to put themselves in the C position. As tim mack once told me, if you do everything right in the last three steps coming into the vault, you can't help but end up in the C position. In other words, if you have a good pre-stretch reach, get your steps down under your hips, have a quick takeoff step and be loud with your chest coming into impact, the C position will take care of itself. At that point, the "whip" trail leg action that Altius talks about becomes much easier, and much more effective

Good post Jcoover

i used to have the same problem, and i was told exactly what jcoover said. but i didnt think that was it (but it was), i thought it was because my pole was 50 lbs over my weight (pole 13' 155, and i weighed 105), so dont tell me YOUR a light weight you can get on pretty much any pole you want with the proper takeoff position so listen to these guys!