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I really want to vault at the U and I've read that their standards for athletes are in the 15'-15'6" range. Right now I can clear 11 foot bungees every now and again while not even holding at the top of my pole (13'6" at the moment). I was wondering what I should aim for by the end of this year to try and reach 15'6" by the end of senior year? I was thinking 12'6" or 13'?

CAhighvaultage wrote:I really want to vault at the U and I've read that their standards for athletes are in the 15'-15'6" range. Right now I can clear 11 foot bungees every now and again while not even holding at the top of my pole (13'6" at the moment). I was wondering what I should aim for by the end of this year to try and reach 15'6" by the end of senior year? I was thinking 12'6" or 13'?

I assume you mean Miami?

This past year they did not have any pole vaulters. But they are in the ACC. So if they have any standard, it is probably that you are able to come in and score in the ACC with very little coaching, because if they do not currently have pole vaulters, they probably do not have a designated pole vault coach.

But Miami is not really known for having the worlds greatest track team, let alone pole vault in the past year. So unless you just really like that school, and get a massive academic scholarship (It is really expensive to go there), the odds of you going there to pole vault is fairly low.

But if the goal is 15'-15'6 as a senior you should probably be able to jump 12 or more with coaching. Most people get big PRs in their Junior or Senior year thanks to puberty, so the improvement curve is different for everyone.

Like most high schoolers, you are looking for the wrong result. It's not important what height but being able to jump over your grip on the shortest pole you have. Simply, work on your technique until you can vault above your grip. Run, plant, take-off, and swing.

I have been working with a freshman boy this last year. He came to me having vaulted two years in middle school with a pr of 9'6". We started him on a 11' pole until he could clear a bar at 10' 4". The box depth is 8" so 10'4" plus 8" is 11". At that point, I move him to a 12' pole which was the next series of poles that we owned. He vault on these poles until he cleared 11'4" then I moved to a 12'6" pole. At the end of the season, he cleared 12'.

All this being said, your on your grades. Pole vaulting scholarships are rare. Academic scholarships more plentiful.

Good luck.

PV2020 wrote:

CAhighvaultage wrote:I really want to vault at the U and I've read that their standards for athletes are in the 15'-15'6" range. Right now I can clear 11 foot bungees every now and again while not even holding at the top of my pole (13'6" at the moment). I was wondering what I should aim for by the end of this year to try and reach 15'6" by the end of senior year? I was thinking 12'6" or 13'?

I assume you mean Miami?

This past year they did not have any pole vaulters. But they are in the ACC. So if they have any standard, it is probably that you are able to come in and score in the ACC with very little coaching, because if they do not currently have pole vaulters, they probably do not have a designated pole vault coach.

But Miami is not really known for having the worlds greatest track team, let alone pole vault in the past year. So unless you just really like that school, and get a massive academic scholarship (It is really expensive to go there), the odds of you going there to pole vault is fairly low.

But if the goal is 15'-15'6 as a senior you should probably be able to jump 12 or more with coaching. Most people get big PRs in their Junior or Senior year thanks to puberty, so the improvement curve is different for everyone.

Yes, that's the next question I had. I've looked at their roster for the past couple of years and haven't been able to find any vaulters...so do they just not want to compete in the vault or have they just not had any vaulters?

Usually no vaulters on the roster means the school is not supporting the event. I would suggest expanding your list of potential schools if you want to pole vault in college.

My PR is 11 feet my sophomore year ( last year ) holding around 11 on a pole thats 20 lbs over my body weight.
Looking to go 14 feet this year ( junior ) and 15-16 ft my senior year.