PoleVaultPower.com

Hey guys,
Here's a couple of videos from me jumping over the summer. This was I believe the last time I jumped before my nagging injury got the best of me, and was also dealing with a period of low confidence, so the pole is clearly too small for me to be jumping on. Aside from that I'm not going to analyze myself at all, just let me know where you think I could get more energy into and out of this vault.

Pole 14'6" 180
5 Left approach
Bungee 14'6" I think


Thanks guys.

Whoops, here's the video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvloYkboW80

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgTLtJUEsm0

each video is only 1 jump

Late plant. A thousand feet under.

They go hand in hand.

Try to get some recent video up, that is always best.

I appreciate your hyperbole, but I don't think its THAT under. I'm not saying I won't fix it, but I would imagine that a takeoff from 12' would not be more than 3-6" inside of where I want to be on that hand grip. And I'm sorry, but I have no recent video, this is the best I can do at the moment.

powerplant, that was pretty rude man... there are friendlier ways to communicate that information without being a jerk


Anyway, it looks like you're overgripping a bit? Maybe go up a pole and lower the handgrip? But then again it was supposed to be a lighter/softer pole... I don't know. However, I think that by going up a pole and lowering your handgrip, you could increase your swing speed and get a better pushoff?

good luck!

sooch90 wrote:powerplant, that was pretty rude man... there are friendlier ways to communicate that information without being a jerk

seconded. that's like the 4th complaint about you, in recent days man haha. might wanna work on that

Anyway, it looks like you're overgripping a bit? Maybe go up a pole and lower the handgrip? But then again it was supposed to be a lighter/softer pole... I don't know. However, I think that by going up a pole and lowering your handgrip, you could increase your swing speed and get a better pushoff?

I'll break this down according to the videos. again, it's kinda hard to tell everything because of the quality, but we'll have to make due. (by the way, i just prescribed to you, on youtube)

Summer Vaulting 1: This jump wasn't that bad, aside from being a little under. maybe...9 inches?? again, really hard to tell because of the quality. But aside from that, you kept your drive-knee up, and swang long, to the cord of the pole. Then you tucked (i'm not a fan of the tuck, but walker cleard 6.04 with it, so who am I to argue?? haha) and i think you started the turn, a little prematurely, but I think that is more of a 'side affect' of being on such a soft pole.

Summer Vaulting 2: Much better take of, you weren't nearly as far under, and kept that drive-knee up and trail-leg back (looks really good, right where i paused the video haha) HOWEVER, and this ties into what sooch90 said, the pole had a "sink" to it. I think it was some guy (hehe) that once told me:

VTechVaulter wrote: the top of the pole should never move down. watch the really good vaulters, it rises all the time.

that's pretty self explanitory. In my case, I was doing it because I was gripping too high, and had a really long, last stride. That lowered my Center of Gravity, forceing me to 'pull' on the top of the pole, bringing it down. You don't really have that step problem (the long stride-problem) so it might just have to do with your 'leaping ability'. You can learn a bit more about 'leaping' in this thread i made, a while ago, here: viewtopic.php?f=37&t=16079
as it appears...you've already read it and posted in it haha. But anyways, that's my take on it; but there could be more too it. Just because you're not 'overstriding', doesn't mean your strides are quick enough, which means that your CoG might not be as high as it can be. Once you take off, you DON'T have that nice swing you had in the previous jump, and you kinda just go right to your back, which really doesn't maximise energy being put into the pole.

Best thing i can say for this jump, is what sooch90 said: go down a grip or so, and up a bit in pole rating. That's what i did, and i got a HIGH bend on the pole, on every jump, thursday. (went from gripping 12'6 on a 13' 155 to gripping 12' on a 13' 170) The pop made my hips go over 14'. You can read more about that on Page 6 of my Blog (POST #8)

15'3 Jump: This one's really hard to tell, so the only thing i can really make out for sure is that you took-off, really under, and got a very LOW bend on the pole. Also, it looks like taking off, under, caused you to drop your drive knee and shoot, right to your back. But again, it's hard to tell in the video.

Sorry if i had a bunch of run-on sentences, it's like 1:30 in the morning here and i'm kinda tired )= Ask any questions to clarify anything and i'll get back to you, tomorrow. -6P

Don't cause trouble where there isn't any. Just because I don't always sugar coat my advice or give a lot of details doesn't mean that I'm being terse, especially if there is no reason for me to be angry. Realize that I should be considerably upset that Sooch just called me a 'jerk' for giving out advice when it was asked, but, I am not. I swallow my pride when I should, even sometimes when I really shouldn't... Go ahead and think what you want, I couldn't care less, but it would be nice if you'd both just chill a little bit... I was only so blunt about things because I knew that Wally probably already knew what I was going to say, and I feel that he's quite comfortable with me; he's been on here for a while. If he were brand new, I probably would have said things quite differently. I tend to post responses like I was talking with whoever face to face... Sooch, if I had said that to you in person, would you have flared up like you did? Of course, you can assign inflection and tone wherever/however you want to, but that is just ridiculous. My comments were nothing more than relatively objective deductions based on observation. That, I believe, does NOT warrant an attack. I'm no bully, I'm here to help.

The video quality also makes it difficult to provide much in depth analysis. And exaggeration is sometimes a good thing when it comes to pointing out errors. (Although it did look at first glance like you were more under than I thought, especially in the second jump... but you are under on your first one by about the length of your foot.)

And they do go hand in hand... if you have a late plant, you will tend to be under. Think about it.

yes, you are right, I was aware that I was under, and wasn't offended by what you said. However, I was hoping for more advice on additional parts of the jump. Inside takeoffs are generally the easiest thing to spot, however they take time to fix.. I'm still working on it. I can see many parts of my jumps that are incorrect, but what I struggle with is the METHOD of correcting them. For example, I can see that my trail leg is bent immediately after takeoff, but I have been unsuccessful in fixing this. I know a more outside takeoff can help this, but I have hit better trail leg takeoff position with hugely inside takeoffs, so I wonder what I am doing in addition to taking off inside after takeoff. Also, the top end is a bit sloppy, I have trouble allowing my shoulders and head to line up with the pole. Why?

Disclaimer: I admit that I cheated, and have quite a few more videos that I can access than everyone else here. With that said, I will try to go through your vault the best I can, and let you know what trends I see.

Nick,

I think your run is pretty good. It could be a little springier, but that has already been mentioned. However, your first real problem begins with your plant. It may have something to do with how wide your grip is, but you drop the pole far too low. By doing this, you set yourself up to run on your heels for the last few strides, and are thus decelerating and losing height for your takeoff angle. It also lengthens your stride, putting you significantly under on many of your jumps. When you do takeoff, you usually get a pretty high bend, but that is attributed more to your upper body strength I think because you really extend your arms well above your head. Your trail leg is definitely better than it looks in the two videos you posted, and I will say that I think a slight flex in the beginning is not a bad thing, since it sets you up for a whip-like soccer swing that I prefer. After you pass the chord of the pole, however, everything falls apart. You seem to throw your head back a bit, and it gives you a false sense of kinaesthetic awareness. Though I don't think you can help tucking a little because it's part of your developed style, you bring your knees way too far in toward your chest. When you do this, you get "caught" underneath the pole, and your hips hardly move at all. From this position, you try to straighten your legs back out, but because you are so far under the pole, you can only get them so far and end up flagging out from the pole when it fully recoils. You do a decent job of dropping the shoulders out of pure strength, but your position prevents you from fully committing to the invert.
Now for the recommendation! DEFINITELY work on the pole drop/plant. Adjusting your grip may help, but I don't think this is your true limiting factor. Try to keep your bottom hand high during your pole drop, only letting it reach mid-chest level. Also, try to keep your top hand next to your hip instead of behind it. This should allow you to shorten your strides much more effectively, and will do wonders for your posture at takeoff. Next, I would spend some time on the rings, a highbar, and a very small pole on a very short run just working on a smooth, LONG swing. Try to swing literally as hard and fast as you can, but continuing the swing PAST the pole. What I mean by that is when you stop swinging, your hips should already be higher than your shoulders and your ankles should be somewhere around your hands and tight to the pole. If you were to drop the shoulders and invert out of this theoretical position, your feet would be pointing away from the crossbar, if only slightly. A possible way to accomplish this is to focus on swinging your shins to your hands...this will hopefully engage your abs and core during your swing so that your hips end up in a higher position. With your hips a little higher and your legs already in a more extended position, you should be able to fully commit to the inversion. keep your legs tight to the pole like you would doing Bubkas on a high bar. Try to keep your head in a neutral, relaxed position, and throw your shoulders down and back. What I like to think about is pinching a dime between your shoulderblades, thus allowing your torso and hips to be in a much more vertical position and getting your hips closer to the the pole (I also think this would benefit Joebro! ). This position is similar to the finishing a deadlift by pushing your chest forward and bringing the shoulders back.
If you can do all of these things, and remain patient on top of the pole, I think you will add feet to your PR. I know from experience that you are a great athlete, and being on the poles you are on, you will get a ton of energy back from the pole by doing things right. Good luck and I hope to see some significant improvement in the future!

Andrew

Thanks a lot man, I really appreciate your thought out and in depth analysis. You are 100% right. I have been battling with this pole drop for years now, and continually compromise it, because it doesn't feel natural. I've been trying to make a conscious effort in my pole runs and drills to drop the pole more effectively, and try to put my mind in a "position to vault" at the same time, so hopefully that pays off. Also, I haven't been doing many short runs in the past couple years, so I'm gonna get back on that immediately.


I hope your training is going well. Just talked to Matt today, he's doing well, and I might be up there early late December/ early January, I don't know if u'll be around, but if you are let me know. Take care, thank you, and good luck!!

powerplant42 wrote:Don't cause trouble where there isn't any. Just because I don't always sugar coat my advice or give a lot of details doesn't mean that I'm being terse, especially if there is no reason for me to be angry. Realize that I should be considerably upset that Sooch just called me a 'jerk' for giving out advice when it was asked, but, I am not. I swallow my pride when I should, even sometimes when I really shouldn't... Go ahead and think what you want, I couldn't care less, but it would be nice if you'd both just chill a little bit... I was only so blunt about things because I knew that Wally probably already knew what I was going to say, and I feel that he's quite comfortable with me; he's been on here for a while. If he were brand new, I probably would have said things quite differently. I tend to post responses like I was talking with whoever face to face... Sooch, if I had said that to you in person, would you have flared up like you did? Of course, you can assign inflection and tone wherever/however you want to, but that is just ridiculous. My comments were nothing more than relatively objective deductions based on observation. That, I believe, does NOT warrant an attack. I'm no bully, I'm here to help.

The video quality also makes it difficult to provide much in depth analysis. And exaggeration is sometimes a good thing when it comes to pointing out errors. (Although it did look at first glance like you were more under than I thought, especially in the second jump... but you are under on your first one by about the length of your foot.)

And they do go hand in hand... if you have a late plant, you will tend to be under. Think about it.

I didn't flare up; I made a short recommendation. I apologize if it offended you, and I meant to say "without sounding like a jerk", but of course that was my mistake.

From my observation, your critique had very little depth to it. It appeared very curt and condescending, like some grumpy old coach who's sick and tired trying to coach some kid (please don't take offense to that image). If you're going to give advice, just be nice about it. Would you have said that in person to someone you're trying to coach? I hope not

Explain a little more than just he's just under and his plant is late maybe?

Remember, as much as you might know about the vault, you're still just a kid in high school (and I'm basically the same). You're not some world class coach who's time is limited or expensive. You're just a kid trying to give advice to a fellow vaulter

Anyway, that's all I was trying to get across. Take it or leave it; it's up to you

hope you're not too angry; I didn't mean to offend you

Good then.

Enough chaff for now.

Wally, what have you been doing to fix your take-off problem? More importantly, the cause of it: your late plant? (I do believe it's late.)