New Pole, New Troubles

[RidinHigh]

My new trouble is that my track coach ordered a new pole for me this year and he ordered one that was 2 poles bigger than what I asked him to get. The pole I had last year is way to small and this one I am having a hard time getting on. I tried really hard to get on it today and I just kept coming up short which I know is really dangereous. I lowered my grip a little between each vault but had the same result. I also had a horrible cross/head wind today that wasn't dueing me a bit of good and I only tried the pole 3 times. If anyone has any advice for me it would be great.

[BrownPV2009]

First of all, make sure your step is on and that you arent overstriding or under on takeoff. More often than not that is the reason for coming up short. If your step is good, then make sure that you're getting a strong drive-swing phase which is key for getting deeper into the pit. Use your left arm to keep your body away from the pole immediately and drive with your chest on takeoff. If all else fails, tell your coach the pole is too big and that he's gotta figure outa way to trade it in for a more usable one.

[RidinHigh]

Ok that helps quite a bit. I acutally have another question though while I am at it. I was wondering if pushing outward with your bottom arm can cause loss of penatration. I don't know if I am doing it or not, but i just wanted to check just incase I am. It was definitly way too windy to be vaulting today so that could have been a major reason that maybe I wasn't driving into the pole hard enough today.

[ladyvolspvcoach]

Also, lowering your grip makes the pole even "bigger". It's harder to bend!

[VaultBrad]

Ok that helps quite a bit. I acutally have another question though while I am at it. I was wondering if pushing outward with your bottom arm can cause loss of penatration. I don't know if I am doing it or not, but i just wanted to check just incase I am. It was definitly way too windy to be vaulting today so that could have been a major reason that maybe I wasn't driving into the pole hard enough today.

it is ok to push UP with your bottom arm as long as you dont lock it out. but make sure that you are pushing up not blocking your chest from moving in. locking out or pushing so that your chest cant move in decreases the amount of energy that you could put into the pole and in turn could cause a loss of penetration.

[jeanne]

I have just increased my pole size, from an 11' to a 12' also 10 lbs more resistance. Anyway try warming up with the smaller pole then after you're feeling good finish the work-out with the newer bigger pole. Be patient it'll work out. Many 120 lb vaulters will use poles for weights upwards to 165.
J.

[RidinHigh]

Thanks for everyone that replied to this topic. I actually ended up getting on this pole tonight and even blew through it a couple of times during the meet, but I also got a new PR out of it so I was pretty excited. I really think it was just a test of confidence and the little bit of a tailwind I had tonight gave me that push over the edge. Thanks again to everyone that helped me out!