PoleVaultPower.com

Hi im new here. I pole vault right handed i hold the pole and everything else right...i just go off the wrong foot, i push off with my right. Does anyone else do this? or have any advice, i feel kinda alone. My right foot is my power leg i long jump and do hurdles with that leg too so its kinda hard to switch.

Nicole

jumping off the wrong foot is common for beginners, and i can see why it would especially be a problem if you are used to using your right leg for other events. if you should be taking off with your left, but end up taking off with your right, sounds like you are probably stutter-stepping (correct me if i'm wrong!!). repetition would help to correct your problem, walking pole plants to emphasize taking off on the left foot, and working with the sliding box will all help. hopefully doing these things enough times will eventually make you comfortable with taking off of your left leg.

another possiblity...if you are really having trouble fixing the problem, any chance you could vault lefty??

I don't think i can vault left, i dont think i have enough muscle in my left arm to do it...i guess i could try...there is no way i can switch foots im so use to comprimising for my knee problem on my left leg. I'm clearing 7'6" now and school record is 8'.


Nicole

you don't think there is any way you will be able to jump off of your left foot?

I think you should teach yourself how to vault left handed. It will feel WEIRD at first, but in the long run you will jump higher because you have so much more power off your right foot.

I dont think anyone has covered it yet - but you CANNOT continue to vault taking off like a lefty but holding the pole like a righty. It just wont work and could even be dangerous. It will also be impossible to vault high the way that you currently are doing it.

Basically you have to decide if you want to vault left handed and keep taking off the way you prefer - or to practice hard and continually until it becomes natural for you to take off on the correct foot. I have to caution though, if you fix your vault to take off with the left leg, it could cause problems with your hurdling.

For your situation, you're probably best off doing exactly what Becca suggested.

Agree with everything said previously. You MUST learn to take of with left foot -IF you want to be a vaulter and are right hand dominant. You must learn to long jump off your left leg and reorganise your hurdles.

if you are happy to jump 8 feet then you dont need to change much - you should be able to do that backwards/sideways/ anyway you like if you are reasonably athletic - but note that 12 year old athletes can vault 8' after a few weeks of practice and 13 year old girls can manage 3.50m plus in a couple of years .

Thought for next week "What is technically desriable must be physically possible".

I'm not recommending it, but I'm almost positive that Bruce Jenner vaulted off his wrong foot and cleared 15' 9" (decathlon). Otherwise, changing take-off feet in the vault shouldn't have anything to do with long jump or hurdles. I jumped off my left for vertical jumps (HJ & PV) and my right for horizontal jumps (LJ & Hurdles).

I would strongly suggest vaulting lefty. For instance, April Steiner is left handed, but has had a lot of success jumping right handed, because her left leg is her power leg. I spoke with her about this only a couple days ago, and she said it was much more natural to switch holding the pole then to try to switch the leg she jumped off of.

I have worked with a high school kid who had the same problem. He was a 11' to 11'6" jumper and taking off right footed and vaulting right handed. He had tremendous upper body strength and I think that's why he was able to get away with it as well as he did. Even though it looked goofy, for him was pretty smooth.We all agreed however that he could have gone much higher if his technique was "correct". The folks above are right, if you really are serious about being a good vaulter then you'll have to figure out a way to do it right. Either take off on the left foot and do it righty or stay with the right foot and vault lefty. On the plus side, if you are new to this sport you really haven't developed any "body memory" things that (other than going against the dominate side of your body) can't be learned and made natural as you teach yourself to vault lefty. Later........Mike