PoleVaultPower.com

Well the miracle of modern medicine has blessed me again and it looks as though i will be able to come to the west coast of the US to undertake a series of clinics with some great coaches. Because of the uncertainty involved in my situation so far i have only two clinics confirmed - with Rick Baggett in Oregon City dtba- and one with Phil Ericson and Chris Milton in Minneapolis July 19/20/21.

Perhaps now we can put together the rest of a short tour. Hope to repeat the clinics of last year with Kevin Magula at Golden West and with Bubba Sparks at Dana Point high School - but I am open to offers anywhere along the west coast in the period between June 26 and July 17.

An Australian Approach to developing pole vaulters.
In June and early July 2013, Alan Launder (author of “From Beginner to Bubka, and Isinbayeva too!”) will cooperate with some of America’s leading coaches in a limited series of clinics to present a unique approach to teaching and coaching the pole vault. Alan brings immense experience as an educator who has been involved in teaching and coaching a range of sports in Great Britain, The United States and Australia. His detailed professional vitae is available on request but in essence he has been involved in teaching and coaching the pole vault for over fifty years. He has drawn on this experience to develop a unique approach to the development of pole vaulters.

This approach combines two elements. The first is an emphasis on the importance of the athlete understanding the advantages of the Petrov technical model, while the second is the use of the smallest number of drills and practices necessary to achieve mastery of the model. This combination of understanding with minimalism simplifies the task for both the athlete and the coach, especially intelligent novices in either role! It is for this reason that we would like to make a special appeal to young or inexperienced coaches to attend any of these clinics.

The understanding element stresses that
1. “Perfection does not come from doing extraordinary things, it comes from doing simple things extraordinarily well.”
2. The Petrov technical model is totally integrated from the first step to bar clearance.
3. That any determined athlete can completely control their technique from the first step to the instant of take off and can begin to master successive elements of this technical model, simply by committing to intelligent repetitive practice.

The minimalist element stresses that
1. “Sok kicsi socra megy”.
2. Training for the pole vault should be highly specific in nature.
3. All training and drills must contribute directly to the development of key elements of the model.

http://youtu.be/sc3GZS-D6P4 This clip is of the latest athlete to be introduced to the Petrov/Bubka model -or my interpretation of it.

altius wrote: The minimalist element stresses that
1. “Sok kicsi socra megy”.
2. Training for the pole vault should be highly specific in nature.
3. All training and drills must contribute directly to the development of key elements of the model.

I had to resort to a Hungarian to English translator to get the first one, and this is the best I could find:

kicsi: dinky, junior, little, minor, petit
megy: to be on, to drive, to go, to head, to make way
sok: a great many, a lot of, a number of, lots of, many

as a phrase “sok kicsi socra megy”: 'it's the numbers that pay'

As in: continually train hard and it will pay off ???

This is just a guess, based on poor (free) translations. What does it REALLY mean?

Kirk

As I understand it it means - "Many little things add up to a big one." Certainly that is the sense in which I use it.

Heres another one I give my athletes, "Reculer pour mieux sautez."

This summer Concordia University in St. Paul Minnesota will be hosting a clinic July 18, 19 and 20 with Alan Launder, the former Australian National Pole Vault Coach and author of the popular book "From Beginner to Bubka". It will be open to all athletes and coaches.

I have traveled to Australia and studied coaching with Alan and I can say first hand that Alan is one of the best coaches and is THE greatest teacher of pole vault coaches in the world. Any coach who is serious about what they do NEEDS to both read his book and come learn from him. There is no other resource available that is as practical, knowledgeable or applicable to every coaching context. I cannot stress enough that this opportunity is NOT TO BE MISSED by both coaches and athletes.

Feel free to contact me with questions at concordiapolevault@gmail.com. Information and registration is available on our website: http://concordiapolevault.blogspot.com/