Can't Grip it and Rip it

[fx]

Alright I recently started having this problem where my hands slip off the pole. I think its mostly in my head because it never happened before. I think it all started this one time when I was just vaulting and I randomly let go, did the typical half flip and landed. Didn't hurt, and I wasnt scared of it. A little after that my top hand slipped on one of my jumps but I still held on. Nothing bad happened to me, but now it feels like I cant really grip onto the pole when I'm about to vault. Any suggestions? I'm going from 3 lefts now, and I still have that feeling.

[Tim McMichael]

Here are a couple of suggestions.

Most people grip with their top hand square to the pole. A line drawn across the top of their hand is at a right angle to the pole, and their thumb touches the first knuckle of their index finger. If held this way, the hand will usually shift a tiny bit at the beginning of the plant. Most people don’t feel or notice it, but if you are fixated on your hand, you may be reacting to this feeling.

You can correct this by changing the position of your hand on the pole to reflect the angle of the pole at the plant. Hold the pole up over your head like you are planting it. Then place your right wrist directly underneath the grip and rest it in the palm of your hand. Close your fingers on the pole and look at the grip that results. You will find that your hand now sits at an angle on the pole, and your thumb touches your middle finger. It will take a few jumps to get used to this if you have been using a square grip, but you will find that it is much more secure, and you can plant a fraction of an inch higher too.

The second suggestion is related to the first. Once your hand is in a position where it will not move, it is easy to add some sticky stuff to your arsenal. One of the main reasons people don’t like a tacky grip –besides the fact that it gets everywhere and is impossible to get off – is that their hand usually moves on the pole and the sticky grip won’t let this happen. This makes them feel uncomfortable with it, though they often cannot point out exactly why.

There are all kinds of combinations of sticky stuff that relate to humidity and individual preference. It is an art form all to itself. You need an agent that makes things gooey and an agent that makes things hard and tacky. The more humidity, the less gooey you want your grip. My favorite combination was Permatex gasket sealer as a base (the gooey part) then QDA tape adhesive to keep things dry and tacky. Another good combination is lighter fluid to dissolve the tape and make it gooey and then Tuff Skin to harden it up.

Hope this helps.

One final point to forestall the “sticky stuff is for wimpsâ€Â

[fx]

Thanks for the advice, I'm going to try to change my handhold a little first, to see if that helps. If it's not enough, I'll go to the sticky stuff.

[Darth Vaulter]

I'm a high school PV coach and I've had very good results with my kids with similar problems using Gamma Grip gauze tennis racket grip tape. Each roll covers about 3-1/2 feet of pole. The tape looks like colored, threadbare athletic tape that is coated with a slightly tacky substance. When wrapped on a pole vault pole it provides excellent friction resistance to slipping along with a little bit of stickiness. Needless to say it should be wrapped from the bottom up to avoid rolling and questions from officials. Back in the day (late 1960's) I used Tuff Skin on bare Brownings and Cata Poles and it worked great, but it was a bear to get off your hands and the poles. If you overdid it, it could also be hard to release the pole.

[VTechVaulter]

drop your grip for a few jumps

a lot of it just comes and goes with confidence. if you think your hands will slip, it becomes a self-fullfilling profecy.