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well i've been vaulting for 3 weeks, my school doesn't have a coach, i just participated in my first real meet and cleared 10.5 ft, almost 11. I'm a senior, really frail, i just decided to do vaulting this year for fun, my hope is to go to state this year, but i need to get about 12.5 ft. i weigh 120lbs, pretty short, i'm using a USC 120, 12 ft, i hold about at 11'5" ft, i get plenty of bend and get far into the mats, can i get 12.5 ft with this pole or should i go to the next size we have, a 12.5 ft 140 that is one of those black practice poles, i think???

Never move up onto a pole just because you think that you need to in order to get a height.

Is the pole that you are on giving you any recoil or is it just really soft? The two poles that you are considering are a big jump (another six inches *which adds 10 lbs* plus the additional 20 lb jump from a 120 to a 140). If possible, try to contact some of the schools around you and see if you can borrow some in between poles (12'30, 12'40) before you try getting up on the 12'6"40.

thanks for the comment, well the pole has plenty of recoil but i figured in order to get 12.5 ft i'd need tons of recoil and a longer pole...how hard is it to get 12.5 ft on a 12 ft pole?

it all depends on your technique

however, supposing you are holding at 12' on it, you would need a 15 inch push off of the top of the pole

another question: dealing with getting vertical...ive realized that in order to get higher i need to have a better swing up and get inverted, but the more vertical i get the more shallow i end up. Is that supposed to happen, or does that mean that i need to drive harder or what?

Sometimes, when confronted with inverting, people forget about the plant because they are too anxious to get upside down; they will immediately try to start inverting once they get off of the ground.

No, this is not supposed to happen.

Try to focus on the drive and jump of the plant before you invert. If possible, get someone to film you while you vault so that you can see what you are doing.

thanks for the help

No problem, I just wish that I could explain it better.