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hi, i was reading though the posts on here and i couldnt really find what i was looking for so hopefully nobody minds me asking...

im a first year sophmore
pr 9'2''
ive finally gotten onto our 12' 130 pole this week
thats my weight
my height is 5'8''
and im gripping at about 11'

although im happy i got as high as i did in a year, i am quite aware that there is a lot more i need to work on.
The first major thing is how to use the bend of the pole to your advantage. i always seem to go farther instead of higher when i try and run faster and put more energy into the pole. Any ideas on how to fix that?
The other major inhibitor is that i do not get upside down what so ever. when i go over the bar, i am perfectly parallel to the ground. i def dont wanna say i have the strongest abs ever, but i know they are strong enough to hold me up there, as i am able to do rope drills correctly (on a good day ) i know i could hold myself upside down if i just learned how to get there! should i have a stronger driving knee to circle me up there or something of the sort? i am told it is really all about abs, but my abs are strong enough... perhaps its a thing one has to figure out for themselves? any tips on this would be greatly appreciated.

thanks a lot!

vballswimvault wrote:hi, i was reading though the posts on here and i couldnt really find what i was looking for so hopefully nobody minds me asking...

im a first year sophmore
pr 9'2''
ive finally gotten onto our 12' 130 pole this week
thats my weight
my height is 5'8''
and im gripping at about 11'

although im happy i got as high as i did in a year, i am quite aware that there is a lot more i need to work on.
The first major thing is how to use the bend of the pole to your advantage. i always seem to go farther instead of higher when i try and run faster and put more energy into the pole. Any ideas on how to fix that?
The other major inhibitor is that i do not get upside down what so ever. when i go over the bar, i am perfectly perpendicular to the ground. i def dont wanna say i have the strongest abs ever, but i know they are strong enough to hold me up there, as i am able to do rope drills correctly (on a good day ) i know i could hold myself upside down if i just learned how to get there! should i have a stronger driving knee to circle me up there or something of the sort? i am told it is really all about abs, but my abs are strong enough... perhaps its a thing one has to figure out for themselves? any tips on this would be greatly appreciated.

thanks a lot!

oh man, you are a coaches dream, haha. Ok lets start from the top. You are on a 12' 130 holding at 11'. For every foot you go down on a pole its approximately 20 Ibs stiffer, so its more like jumping on a 150, which is a good spring for someone just in their first year, just getting on that is an accomplishment, good job!! Second, if you are going farther horizontally than vertically it means you are "driving through the pole". Basically, it means you are ready for a bigger/ stiffer pole.
But before you make this transition, id suggest fixing some problems you most likely have as a first yaer vaulter, we all go through it! Line up your take off to get your "step", the final foot you take off the ground with. Just stand with the pole in the box and get your foot slightly farther back than your top hand, with your top arm fully extended, be as tall as possible. You should look almost perpendicular with the ground, with your take off foot slightly farther back than your top hand.
Then make your run backwards on the runway, then go the right way into the box, and be tall just like when you were getting your step. Have someone check it, because if you are "Inside", which is usually the case for first year vaulters, it will almost destroy your chances of getting through a pole and getting a good swing. Make your your step is right on and be tall, dont drop the drive knee, stay long all the way through the vault.
Your take off leg should be behind you at this point, as you have just taken off the ground. From this position, you actually use your hip flexor and core muscles to swing the leg as hard as you can so that your shins hit the pole between your hand grips. If you can get to this point, you are in great shape. From there, ideally you actually swing past vertical so that when you drop your shoulders back to the pole, you keep shooting straight up. As you can already tell, there are a ton of physics involved with bending the pole, getting through on bigger poles, and swinging, and if you go into the "technique" forum, and search anything like "swing" "drive" "free take off", you will find a ton of posts on physics. Ive been basically studying the physics for 2 years and i still have a ton to learn, so heres the main things to think about to help you.

1.) you want to be as tall at the take off as you can, never pull in your top arm, that ruins all force you are putting into the pole.
2.) Make sure your step is on, have someone catch it every time you take a jump.
3.) when you jump, think about throwing the runway behind you, this will give you more force and set you up for a nice swing.
4.) when you swing, swing from the toe and keep the swing leg straight if you can. Practice this on a short pole just keeping the pole straight. Im sure you have done these, called pop-ups. They help a ton with trying to get inverted. Just hold low, throw the runway back, and swing and long as you can. If you search this in the technique forum you will find a lot there too. Any questions, im sure you might have a few, haha, feel free to ask.

It might seem overwhelming but every step is fun to work on, and before you know it you are up at 12 feet having a blast!

okay, i really hope you dont mind me asking... i just want help two more thing for now (vaultings done for me till july)

turning... any good drills for that? i just cant understand how to do it. i do the drill where you lay on the ground and pull your knee up and throw your right knee over you left side, simulating a vault--but i dont do it when i vault at all. i guess its cause im afraid ill do it too early and mess it up, or i just dont know how hmm

and then any really important drills to do with minimal space and no pole that will keep my technique up till july?

hey and thanks a lot for the help! :]]

vballswimvault wrote:okay, i really hope you dont mind me asking... i just want help two more thing for now (vaultings done for me till july)

turning... any good drills for that? i just cant understand how to do it. i do the drill where you lay on the ground and pull your knee up and throw your right knee over you left side, simulating a vault--but i dont do it when i vault at all. i guess its cause im afraid ill do it too early and mess it up, or i just dont know how hmm

and then any really important drills to do with minimal space and no pole that will keep my technique up till july?

hey and thanks a lot for the help! :]]

Well its no problem, i love helping people you learn a lot that way. Ok well with the turn, to be honest i never learned the turn until just this past week, and it came naturally when i did everything else right. Just work on the swing and going all the way to vertical. when you start pushing the pole into the box (while you are vertical) your body naturally wants to turn when you get to a point. If its really important for you to learn the turn, however, think about crossing your outside leg over your inside one, and let your body follow.
Ok next, I know quite a few drills to keep form up, but most require at least something RESEMBLING a pole. Find a light wieght 9 foot stick or something, lol. Just do your pole run and pretend you have the pole in your hand, staying tall as you can and hitting the take off really quickly. Do this, and if you are going to start vaulting again in july, a GREAT thing to start doing would be bubkas, pull ups, leg lifts, and dips. You can search in the training section on Bubkas, and you should find some great links to help teach you how to do a bubka. Basically, if you have gymnastics backround, its a kip-up without swinging back around, you lock out upsidedown just like on a pole. Good luck!!

turning drill--
1. Squat on the bak of the mat, facing back (you will rockback towards the runway)
2. sit back and swing your legs up. you should be in a sort of L shape with your back beginning to leave the ground.
3. come back onto your shoulders as your legs get vertical. Reach back with your hands and push- try to get off the mat. (this phase simulates inversion as if you are on a pole)
4. as you get onto your shoulders and your hands come back focus on a light roll to your left- you should continue to move in the same direction but rotate.

if you do this correctly you will roll back, kick up, and as you push up into the air you will turn and land on your feet.

hope this helps!

also, as you get more inverted on your pole, the turn will come naturally.

best luck for PV success.

AKell wrote:turning drill--
1. Squat on the bak of the mat, facing back (you will rockback towards the runway)
2. sit back and swing your legs up. you should be in a sort of L shape with your back beginning to leave the ground.
3. come back onto your shoulders as your legs get vertical. Reach back with your hands and push- try to get off the mat. (this phase simulates inversion as if you are on a pole)
4. as you get onto your shoulders and your hands come back focus on a light roll to your left- you should continue to move in the same direction but rotate.

if you do this correctly you will roll back, kick up, and as you push up into the air you will turn and land on your feet.

hope this helps!

also, as you get more inverted on your pole, the turn will come naturally.

best luck for PV success.

hmm okay so i was trying to do this drill... but i couldnt quite figure it out. is it like rolling back and pushing up into a handstand and then turning somehow? wow im probably being stupid right now, but do you happened to have a pic/vid of someone doing it... i really appreciate it!

sorry, it's just a drill my coach had us do... so no vid. but i'll try to explain it better. you do turn as you push off, but it might be easier to try this.

start by just doing a backwards somersault. roll completely back over your head.

next, add your arms. get them up over your shoulders (like a military press position open handed) as you roll back onto your shoulders; still just somersault.

next, when you roll back over your shoulders, push with your arms, shoving yourself into the air. (it's like the 2nd half of a back handspring) you should get up enough and be rotating fast enough to pike in the air and land on your feet facing forward.

finally, work in the twist. essentially, this just rotates you 180 degrees in the handstand- as you roll on your shoulders and push off, you kind of throw your right leg over your left so as you go up you are facing dwon instead of at the sky. this will allow you to see the mat as you push off the mat from the handstand, and pike.

basically, this is like the push off the top of the pole, turn, and pike. the great part of this drill is that once you are good at it and can control yourself well in the pike, you can have two people hold a bungee and practice piking over. this is really cool b/c your push off will get better and you can practice realistically on the ground instead of 15' up in the air.

i hope this works better- good luck!

wow, i really did a crappy job explaining that the 1st time!

It helps to really understand where the turn comes from. I've seen a lot of coaches try to get their athletes to turn by "turning the right foot in", the idea being that the rest of the body should follow. However, to me, the turn comes from the motion of your hands/arms as you continue the row. After all, the only thing in contact with anything solid is your hands, so the engine that drives the turn must be the movement of your hands, right? If you watch elite vaulters, look at their right hands after they've finished the swing and are beginning to drop their shoulders and get inverted. You'll see that their hands go from the lower-left leg (shin), to the right thigh/hip, then up the right sides of their ribs and into the push-off. The turn is really a by-product of the vaulter moving their hands to keep pressure on the pole as long as possible and to maximize the push-off by doing a bigger motion with their hands.

How do you apply this to your jump? I suggest starting off small. Use a straight pole, hold maybe a foot higher than you can reach when the pole is vertical, and without any run or anything do a "mini-vault" on the grass. I suggest using a narrow grip, doing a small swing to horizontal (you don't want to get vertical on the grass), then practice moving your hands to your right side as you row. It is okay to bend your arms since you are practicing for the time after the swing and row. Try to land on your feet facing opposite the direction that you started. Don't worry about height, just get a feel for how to continue moving your hands after the swing and row. As you get more comfortable, you can start doing the drill with a left, right, left approach, grip higher, then move into a long jump pit, and try swinging a little more, then to a vault pit, etc. until you are touching your left shin, then moving across your body to your right hip then try to get up to your ribs, landing still on your feet or your back. After you can do that with a straight pole/narrow grip, try doing it with a wide grip and moving your right hand in the same pattern, so you can see what it feels like with a bent pole. Anyway, hope this helps... if you try it, be patient cause none of this is easy.

akell-- i think im pretty clear with this now, thanks! jw if the turnings supposed to be really hard to do... i didnt have a prob at all until step 4, maybe im trying to turn at the wrong time?

tak--sounds like a good drill just wanted to know when/if your supposed to get inverted... im thinking prolly when you get to the "pit" stage but i just wanted to make sure.

i really appreciate the help

If you're comfortable getting inverted on grass or sand, then by all means try it, but personally I would not have the guts to swing my leg over my head on grass. So yes, I'd do a mini-swing until you're at the pit, resulting in something short of total inversion.

Just keep in mind that the goal isn't trying to get inverted... just think about dragging your hands (or right hand when bending the pole) from your shin to your ribs, keeping them in contact with your body until push-off. When you can do that, you'll not only turn but you'll be totally upside-down in line with the pole, too.

I too am a first year sophmore (i should be a freshman age wise though)(i skipped a grade)

124lbs 5'5
Holding 6" under the label on a 125 12' pacer mystic, so 11'2
pr 9'6 in a meet, standards 24, since my last meet of this season i got 10 on a real bar in practice, because i still get to practice until we put the mats away after sectionals/state for varsity
i get parallel, but seem to get stuck, and cannot turn

I seem to blow through this pole, since it seems slow to unbend, and when i try to run harder, i go deeper, but not higher
but the next pole up that my coach tried to move me to (13' 135 altius) i always stall on.

ill try to put this advcie to use as soon as i can. camp this summer probably, or if we get some days without rain here this next week

thanks