Where to begin

[altius]

"ANY PV camp will do for him! He's not looking for the BEST camp and the BEST PV book!"

Now that is a pity! Most people should be looking for the best camp - even to begin to learn to vault! Because the evidence is clear that getting it right at the very beginning saves a lot of misery later on as faults have to be dealt with - especially if these faults have been over learned. Since I have worked with hundreds of kids at camps in the US over the past five years I have seen all of this at first hand - it is not just a cosy theoretical perspective.

As you will have seen in discussions on the state of vaulting in the USA, one of the biggest problems is that successive coaches through an athletes career have to spend time eradicating weaknesses instead of being able to build on a sound technical base.

But again you misrepresent the situation - Just take a look at the folk I am ASSISTING at camps across the country! Baggett - perhaps with Jeremy Bailey (lately vault coach at BYU), Starkey, McMichael, Allison, Sparks, Lawrence Johnson and Botcharnikov, Bertolami, Dodds, Willoughby, Isaacs - all experienced coaches. Oh and apart from Botcharnikov they are all US citizens! And even he may be one by now if he got his citizenship papers recently!

KirkB I respect your experience and commitment but dont start a p----g contest with me. That said it is OK to dump on zr76 any time you like because he is a wet behind the ears novice trying to understand the event -and all of those kids need to be put in their place at times! I have got myself into trouble in the past by doing precisely that. Incidentally when is your book coming out?

[KirkB]

... it is OK to dump on zr76 any time you like because he is a wet behind the ears novice trying to understand the event -and all of those kids need to be put in their place at times!

That's actually my ONLY intent.

Altius, I have no intentions of escalating this "discussion" to any sort of contest. I have no beef with you. I LOVE your book, and from what I hear, your camps are superb!

I'm just trying to bring this thread back to REALITY ... and I'm apparently not doing a very good job at it.

AFTER Craig (the father of the 7th grader) stated that they live in Ohio, PP suggested that he attend one of your camps. Near as I can tell, they'd have to travel to either OR, OK, SC, or MA to attend one!

Here's all that Craig asked ...

My son is in the seventh grade and wants to start pole vaulting. Where do I begin? Camps? Pole vault training schools? Any information would be helpful.

I see a thread like this, and I see a father who just wants to know if there's any RECREATIONAL opportunities within a reasonable driving distance in Ohio ... or what's TYPICALLY available in a TYPICAL city in Ohio.

I don't see anywhere in his post where he's asking how he can turn his son into the next Bubka.

In the 7th grade, without ever having vaulted before, it's FAR TOO EARLY to even worry much about technique (ducking the grenades that I see coming on this one ). He just needs to find a place to TRY to vault with a coach ... and other kids his age ... TO HAVE FUN!!!

Once he discovers that it's really FUN, THEN he can start getting serious about technique ... buy the book ... go to a good camp ... and kickstart his PV career.

The REALITY of the situation is that last year, there were about 80,000 HS vaulters - boys and girls in the USA. Of those 80,000, I wonder how many actually attended a PV camp, or bought the BTB2 book?

I don't know about the book, but I'm willing to bet that only a thousand or so have ever attended a camp. And of those thousand, how many were absolute rookies ... never having touched a pole? Very, very few, I would think.

So the advice that PP gave probably has a less than 1% chance of actually occurring ... so why bother on such a longshot?

I'm not saying that they SHOULDN'T attend a camp or buy the book ... like any sport (or event) I'm just saying that there's always a "pyramid of interest". At the "grass roots" level, there's broad participation in HS PV competitions.

The REALITY is that they try it ... they like it ... they start competing ... they discover how much they DON'T know ... they aspire to improve ... and THEN they decide to attend a PV camp. This trend (resulting in a camp) probably applies to LESS THAN 1% (just a guess) of beginning vaulters!

I like Souleman's advice the best on this thread!

But even doing "pole drills" with a PVC pipe can be kinda boring. Why not vault over puddles (like Tim McMichael), or bales of hay (like Jan Johnson)? Now THAT'S FUN!!! I know ... that's a bit like how I got started ... except I went over a high jump bar ... set at about 3-4 feet to start with.

Kirk

[vault3rb0y]

I have got myself into trouble in the past by doing precisely that.

I was definitely one of the ones asking questions in the form of statements that got altius livid back in the day. I stated what i thought to be true, but didnt state it well as my current opinion. Kinda got hammered for that, as i should have. ANY coach or athlete should know and understand the length to which they understand their sport, and stick within the parameters they understand.

Having said that, i tried PV in 8th grade alongside shotput because i thought it looked FUN. Craig i assure you, i was once in your sons shoes (you might get some light trainers for him on that note).


Have him stiff pole at the school if he can, and he will figure a lot of the beginning things out on his own. I wouldnt invest in any books or DVD's until you are sure he is sticking with the sport (i went through about every sport possible before finding vaulting, and it just happened to be the one i stuck with). Steer him away from an obsession with bending the pole that we all go through in the beginning. I stiff vaulted my first 1 1/2 years because i didnt understand how to bend it! It paid off big time once i got with a coach and did learn what to do. Focus on having fun at first- finding a passion for the sport and excitement will lead him in his own way to seek out the best and easiest way to jump high. Once you sense that has happened, see who coaches the best vaulters around your high schools and hook him up. It will probably take a little rebuilding, but as long as the passion is there, it's worth it.

Anyway.... thats just from someone who has gone through it all, and came out doing pretty well. The passion comes first, the technique to feed the passion comes second. If he makes it that far and still wants more, then consider the book, and look for coaches that agree with it.

[powerplant42]

ANY coach or athlete should know and understand the length to which they understand their sport, and stick within the parameters they understand.

Of course, your son should get hooked before there is any real time/money invested... But this is a very individual situation that you need to figure out how to do on your own (by finding any sort of opportunity to TRY vaulting).

If I came across as suggesting that he should memorize Petrov's '85 speech before he first gets the thrill of getting air time, I apologize! That's a bad idea!!!

[altius]

I am beginning to warm to you 3po! By the way folks -Botcharnikov aka agapit got his US citizenship on thursday 24th April. Perhaps it is now allowable to listen to what he has to say about this event - or even for folk to take him seriously.

[vault3rb0y]

Haha well im glad! And i wouldnt mind having a PV chat with you and PP in maryland this summer either! I'm looking forward to it.

P.S. my current coach is finally accepting and excited to learn from Petrov and BTB. He just doesnt want to hear it from me, his athlete! Maybe a coach that has more 18'6" vaulters than he does 16'6" vaulters is what it takes for him to open his mind. Ill keep you updated.