PoleVaultPower.com

Ladies and Gentlemen………….

we need to drop the 4 step "coaches mark" completely!!!

coaches and athletes that are using that mark (4 steps from the takeoff) as an indicator are fooling themselves.. and creating unnecessary problems that they "justify" by saying "your steps were on you must have done ????......"

there has only been two problems keeping every vaulter i have seen in the last 30 years from improving

1. the approach run coaches mark/ "MID" is too far out..EVERY TIME the vaulter has a bad jump... E<<V<<E<<R<<Y time.........
if the "coaches mark" "MID" is not "ON" or closer than the mid / per grip i have on my chart you need not go any further as a vaulter... correct the run and them move on to the plant..

2. using a pole that is too big... every time a coach sends me a video or calls and starts the conversation with... "my vaulter had a great meet and "almost"... "and he was on the biggest pole he has ever used."

i know there is absolutely nothing i can say or do to help that vaulter and get he or the coach past the "almost"

if we want to help our vaulters improve we should make them use a pole one size smaller than they/we think they need to be on until mid way of the competitive season, and then we would create pole vaulters and not "mental" cases and dreamers.

dj

Holy Cow! Maybe the best post I have ever read on this board!

the chart........

http://www.polevaultpower.com/docs/djmidchart.doc

dj wrote:Ladies and Gentlemen………….

we need to drop the 4 step "coaches mark" completely!!!

coaches and athletes that are using that mark (4 steps from the takeoff) as an indicator are fooling themselves.. and creating unnecessary problems that they "justify" by saying "your steps were on you must have done ????......"
dj

EB uses it. How does he "justify" it?

Here is why I have found “4â€Â

I think we are putting too many elements into the run. Learn to run right the first time and just keep doing it. Besides, who wants a runway filled with neon colored tape/cones? <in a Kip Dynamite voice> They dont match the runway at all! It totally clashes!

Mecham wrote:I think we are putting too many elements into the run. Learn to run right the first time and just keep doing it.

because if the run is off, it only creates more problems later in the vault.

then get it right the first time

Mecham wrote:then get it right the first time

Easier said than done.

lol, i know. But if we learn to run right by doing drills, we will have mastered the run. (hurdles, high knees, pole carries etc.) I'm just saying you guy(s) are putting too much time into the run, and not the actual vault

Doubt it. Without the run, there is no actual vault. Spend 95% of your time on getting the right run and the vault will almost take care of itself.

...and drills alone will not build a perfect run. I know lots of people who can do every running drill with textbook form but can't ever hit a decent step. For that matter, I know vaulters who can hit the same step to the inch every time while doing doing pole runs, but can't take off less than a foot under on their vault. There's a lot more to it than that.

Mecham wrote:lol, i know. But if we learn to run right by doing drills, we will have mastered the run. (hurdles, high knees, pole carries etc.) I'm just saying you guy(s) are putting too much time into the run, and not the actual vault

Doubt it. Without the run, there is no actual vault. Spend 95% of your time on getting the right run and the vault will almost take care of itself.

...and drills alone will not build a perfect run. I know lots of people who can do every running drill with textbook form but can't ever hit a decent step. For that matter, I know vaulters who can hit the same step to the inch every time while doing doing pole runs, but can't take off less than a foot under on their vault. There's a lot more to it than that.

Don't know how that got posted under Mecham, but that was my reply.

That is like the coolest thing ever. But i know what you mean. I think the idea of DJ's chart as being perfect and the only one to use and nothing else works approach or feel kinda gets to me