PoleVaultPower.com

This is my first year ever vaulting and so far ive cleared 10' and knock 10'6" off with just my finger tip, but it seems to me that every time i go up i blow straight through the vault and land at the end of the pit. i use a 145lb. 13' pole, and im holding about a foot and a half to the end of the pole and so far haven't quit bent the pole but more have flexed it. my question is what do i need to do to direct my motion and power up instead of forward through my vault

When you're stiff poling, everything is about a high plant and take-off, and a good powerful swing. I would bet that your swing is very weak and is need of a lot of work. Get yourself on a highbar every few days.

raise your grip

Try just taking-off and holding that position into the pit. If there's absolutely no kind of a stall, then you need to raise your grip. If you can't just take-off and hold yourself behind the pole, ride into the pit, and land nice and deep from lots of rotational energy, then that means the pole is just rotating too quickly for you to actually have a good swing where you're not just trying to catch up to a pole that's already vertical while your still in C-position.

powerplant42 wrote:When you're pole vaulting, everything is about a high plant and take-off, and a good powerful swing.

fixed that for ya.

Thanks! I guess I should have emphasized that as a major relationship instead of sounding like something more unique to stiff vaulting...

Although my point is still quite valid. If you don't have a high plant and take-off on a stiff pole, you'll feel it...especially at a reasonable grip height...and I mean you'll really feel it... Stiff poling REQUIRES this, but when you're on a pole that bends, especially a pole with a high flex and is right at your weight, you can hide these problems for a long time. Me, I've just begun to all drills with a stiff pole, even vaulted in a meet with one. It's sort of like a detox for the ineffecient vaulter.

My advice is to get on the biggest pole you have access to and use it in practice for a week or two, running with it, sand drills, actual jumps, plant drills, etc. This will give you a feel for the need to do everything as perfect as you can as often as you can, especially when vaulting into the sand. Also, I would believe that taking a couple trotting plants into the box with a 15 footer and just popping off the ground a little will help give you a psychological edge on moving your grip up. Hope that helps!