A fear of 15 footers

[lonestar]

I know a lot of foreign coaches that tap because they don't have a good series of poles with reasonable transitions. They'll have one pole that's way too soft to do anything on, and another that's either way stiffer, or longer, or both. 10-20lb transitions. They'll tap to help ease the transition. Getting poles in a lot of foreign countries is not easy due to the import/export tariffs and freight costs. They can make the cost of poles double and triple what they are here, plus the track budget in 3rd world countries isn't exactly much to brag about.

I don't advocate tapping unless you absolutely must move to this next pole, it's a big transition, and you've exhausted every resource to acquire a pole to fill the gap first. Even then, it should only be used sparingly to ensure pole speed, and if it requires more than a "tap," you need to just jump on your smaller pole. Move your run in a stride or two and make it work until you can get another pole or strong/fast/technically sound enough to move to the big one. I see some people "body checking" people into the pit - that's fantasy, not reality, and can lead to a Kevin Dare situation.

[altius]

NEVER EVER tap! The tap is as addictive and dangerous to the development of a sound take off.

[powerplant42]

I agree with lonestar in that it shouldn't be used unless absolutely necessary, a last resort. I tell people not to move up in pole length until they're vaulting at LEAST at their grip height anyway...

[vault3rb0y]

Something like Kevin Dare, yes, but just to clarify Kevin Dare was not reliant on a tap nor on a pole to big for him, in fact i believe 2 poles lower than he has been on. The cause for what happened is not 100% known, even with the video. I just dont want people thinking thats why this unfortunate event happened, especially when those are the same coaches i know and trust to be coaching me next year. But in any case, a tap could lead to an event similar.

[Sebes]

The tap is a crutch. Why establish a comfort zone for something you can't use when the bar goes up? If you become dependent on the tap...then you're screwed.

[Sean/vaulter/naeS]

Hey dude, I had the same problem and developed serious vaulters block but then one day you just get pissed or pumped up or a little stupid and you go for it. Guess what, there is a reason that the fourteens don't work any more, your ready for a fifteen.

[pistolpete]

To state the obvious, can you purchase or borrow a 14'6" pole?

[VaultPurple]

i personaly dont agree with tapping when you are working on form and stuff like that... but when trying to get on a new pole it does make me feel better to know i have a little help getting into the pit. ..
... at my school we only have one pole (13 155) and we have 2 new vaulters that are about 5'8 155-160 and it is still a pretty big pole for them after just jumping 2 weeks. . . but they were learing fast and were straight poling 10' so we started getting them to try to bend by holding like 11'6 which makes the pole really stiff.
The first few times someone ever tries to bend a pole (expecially on a big pole, with very small mats) it seems a lot more safe to give them a tap so that even if they let go or pull their arms, they will atleast land on a mat. it seemed to work for us so far and they are jumping over 11 with that pole after about 2 weeks.


My biggest point is, alot of schools dont get the propper equipment to do everything the "safe and propper way" , so you have to make due with the equipment given to you. And sometimes that means giving a tap to make sure a new vaulter lands on the mats.

[AeroVault]

I would not advocate tapping to get on a bigger pole, but I did think it was useful in training on pre meet days to work on the top end of vaults without killing your legs with full run after full run. I could do some 4 step (lefts) vaults with a tap and not have to worry about pushing as hard out of the back, only getting to the right form on takeoff. I see it as a training aid, not a crutch.

Back to the main topic - work on improving your speed and takeoff. Plyometrics are great for the explosiveness you'll need for the bigger pole. Why is it that you're not afraid of the 14 footers? Probably because you know you have the speed to carry you onto the pits. If you get faster and get a good impulse off the ground it makes the longer poles seem a lot less scary.

[rainbowgirl28]

I would not advocate tapping to get on a bigger pole, but I did think it was useful in training on pre meet days to work on the top end of vaults without killing your legs with full run after full run. I could do some 4 step (lefts) vaults with a tap and not have to worry about pushing as hard out of the back, only getting to the right form on takeoff. I see it as a training aid, not a crutch.

Or you could just grab a smaller pole and drop your grip...

[spike gibeault]

Or you could just grab a smaller pole and drop your grip...

i see where your coming from, and so does my coach, i do that all the time, but i find when i do that, and i try to move back to my bigger pole, my timing is a little messed up, i will plant and almost immediately swing onto my back, usually getting rejected, it doesn't happen as often now, but i thought that maybe other people have experienced this. it was a big concern before meets, because almost every indoor meet i went to this year i had one, or maybe two warm up jumps before they started the competition so i would have no room for error, i had one run to make sure my steps are on, and then one jump if i was lucky, as i said, it hasn't happened in a long time, because i have come more consistent, but i think this could be a cause for why he said that he taps before meets also

[AeroVault]

Or you could just grab a smaller pole and drop your grip...

i see where your coming from, and so does my coach, i do that all the time, but i find when i do that, and i try to move back to my bigger pole, my timing is a little messed up

That was the main reason for using the same pole in practice as the meet. While the stiffness may be the same on a smaller pole and lower grip, timing is a whole different issue. We've got a motto at work "Test like you fly." I think that applies to vaulting as well.