Trouble leaving the ground

[Cballz33]

I am a college sophomore starting up my second season. In high school i vaulted 13'9'' as a senior on a a 13'6'' 160 pole at a body weight of 130 lbs, and was very consistent. Last year, my first year vaulting in college I hit a snag having trouble leaving the ground. Every time I started my approach i was determine to go but as i neared the pit it never felt right, as if my steps were off, so i couldn't pull myself to plant and vault resulting in dropping the pole and running through. this caused me to no height 3/4 of my meets all season. the only time I managed to get off the ground and vault in practice was my last one of the year after my coach got another teammate to punch me in the chest every time I ran threw. due to this lack of practice me season best was only 13'1''. yesterday was my first practice and a had my same problem of not leaving the ground. Does anyone have advice to help me start leaving the ground so i don't ruin another season and my college career?

[VaultPurple]

It is pretty much all mental. And I used to go weeks without leaving the ground when I didn't have a good pole selection. But I found the best thing to do is to have a 'go to' pole that you know no matter how bad you jump or no matter how bad your off, you will still at least make it to the mats. And it never hurts to just move that step in.

For instance, if I was at a meet or practice and wanted to run 8 lefts with a 14'6 165, but no matter what I kept running through. I would go grab my trusty 13' 155 out of the pole bag and go from like 4 or 5 lefts (I can use this pole from 3 but i know without a doubt in my mind, as long as i hit the box with the pole and don't let go, I am going to find some mats). You should start blowing through with your trusty pole, and then move up poles, and move back your step. Never move up poles and back steps at the same time. For example I would get up to like a 13'6 160 from 5 lefts, then move back to 6 lefts with the same pole and same grip just to make sure I got in, because if i could do it from 5 lefts then I should definitely be able to do it from 6 even if my steps were off a little bit.

Biggest thing is to just trust yourself and know you can do it. If your scared your not going to take off, then your probably not going to. But if you go into the plant with the confidence knowing that you are going to have a good jump, then odds are you are!

[Lax PV]

I had this BAD my Junior and Senior years of college... I eventually found out one thing that did work pretty well. I focussed on hitting my hands up high and early. Found from video that a lot of times that I would run through, my plant was way late, and would have murdered me if I tried to go with it. Not that I promise it will work for you, but it did help me out. (Also, pole runs where I didn't actually simulate a take off could have been a factor to promote the lack of take off. I had some flat feet etc. so landing at full speed wasn't fun, but I would have tried it out once or twice had I known that the take off problems were going to come of it)

[superpipe]

Another big factor, assuming it's not a pole size issue, is the approach run. Running through happens alot when you get lazy with the approach run and you run with your hips low or bent over. When you run low, you will never be in the right position for an explosive, jumping take-off and you'll feel it, subsequently bailing out. Run tall, feeling like someone is pulling a string to the sky from on top of your head like a puppet. Continue this good high posture down the runway and you'll be in the right position for a confident take-off. You'll feel the difference and confidence hit you 6 steps out.

[EIUvltr]

Welcome to a very common college problem. I had the same problem, the reason was because I always felt like I reached top speed too fast which made it hard to quicken my steps at the end. Try driving out of the back for longer (focus on amplitude of movement) then quick feet the last 6 steps. Also think "the worst that can happen is I die a horrific death" before you go, that always helped me too.

[IAmTheWalrus]

A lot of times this happens from trying to get on bigger and bigger poles very rapidly. Remember that using big poles is more of a function of technique than balls. I went through this EVERY year of my college career. I had several tricks to get me through it (such as putting a towel at my takeoff mark or getting a tap), but after college I focused on the technical aspects of the run, plant, and takeoff and have totally nixed the run through problem. I feel super confident, particuarly because I know longer overstride coming into the plant (it feels so much better when you can really accelerate into the takeoff and be tall). In short, focus on the technical aspects of the run plant and takeoff, be optimistic, and don't rush yourself. Better to be 100% by conferences than to be 75% all year.

[Polevaulter2012]

So i was going through this same problem last year. I mean it could be anything, but for me i was so determined to leave the ground and jump high that i was always worried about being perfect on everything i did this lead to being negative. I always thought i was doing something wrong, so i wasn't leaving the ground. Anyways for me I just need to relax and have fun. You started pole vaulting because it was fun. Right?? I mean there was a few technical things that might have influenced me into thinking this way but mainly just the lack in self-confidence and just not having fun with it was the cause. You are vaulting to have fun and to get better. Just think of a nice relaxed run with early hands and just have FUN!(be positive) I haven't seen you vault so there could be some small technical things but look at it this way you left the ground in high school and i am sure you are a lot faster, stronger and have better technique now, so have fun. Thats how i had to look at it. You also might want to just start over. get a smaller pole and work your way back up. Just like VaultPurple said. There is nothing wrong with doing that. All vaulters go through some type of block. Anyways have fun and vault high.

[crayford]

I also had this problem last year; I found I was trying to over coach myself before and through my approach. The result was a failure to continue acceleration and me bailing out at every full attempt. I finally came 'round to reminding myself that by the time I was on the runway in competition, it was too late to change my vault. I reminded myself that I could only relax and let things click naturally, because forcing it would only mess up my muscle memory. I relaxed on my last meet of the last season and finally cleared 13'

[tsorenson]

Good advice given so far. You may also want to search for the thread "failure to launch" or "run through" since this has been discussed before on PVP. Having someone catch your 6-step "mid" can tell you whether the problem lies in the first or last part of the run, or if you are just very inconsistent on the runway.

Many times running through can be attributed to the pole drop timing not working right. If the pole is carried high for too long it is very hard to drop it into the box in time while accelerating and taking off. Make sure your tip is coming down in time (ideally tip is at eye level 3 steps out and dropping naturally). Measured pole runs on the track are especially good for working on your run/pole drop.

I make a rule for myself: 3 strikes and you're out...no more than 3 run-throughs in a row, then I have to change poles or move in a step or two. This makes sure that I never get the feeling of running through "stuck" in my head.

Good luck!

Tom

[Barefoot]

Cballz...

Just so you don't feel alone... this is from an article about Steve Hooker:

He (Hooker) told Friday's edition of The Australian daily that he was close to quitting in 2001 after throwing tantrums in training and not fully coping with the mental aspect of the tough discipline.

"I would run through a lot and not take off and it got to the point, by the end of it I thought about giving it in. It was so mentally draining going to training not knowing if I would be able to jump or not.

"I was throwing poles, cracking tantrums, I was in a miserable bad mood. Your whole life, it really brings it down when it's really what you want to do and you can't do it just because it's not clicking in your brain," Hooker said.

Hypnotism and visualization techniques from his sports psychologist brought the now 26-year-old Hooker back on track.

"I would talk to her at the start of the session and say, 'I want to talk about lowering the pole vault in my last couple of steps and jumping off the ground.' I would tell her the cues I wanted to work on, so she'd work it into the things that she was saying while I was under hypnosis," he told The Australian.

The results came gradually and Hooker joined the elite 6.00m club earlier this year before he peaked in Beijing.

[Barefoot]

Additionally... I think vault purple is pretty close to spot on...

The most consistent cure for this problem that I have found is to go to short run vaulting and only move back steps and move up poles when you are consistently completing vaults. There are some very good coaches I have seen who always bring their vaulters back to 4 lefts at the beginning of the year, rebuilding the basic structure of the run and the plant, making sure the fundamentals are in place, gradually rebuilding one left at a time. This takes months, not days. Learning the vault takes years, not months.

Since we always want to pick up where we left off last year, vaulters have to be a little careful. From high school to college, your whole life is different... your training is different, the food is different, your body may be different, your mind is growing and changing... sometimes you have to slow down and realize how much has changed about you, and rebuild from the ground up. In the end you will be much better, more knowledgeable, much more confident, and vault higher.

[Polevaulter2012]

Since we always want to pick up where we left off last year, vaulters have to be a little careful. From high school to college, your whole life is different... your training is different, the food is different, your body may be different, your mind is growing and changing... sometimes you have to slow down and realize how much has changed about you, and rebuild from the ground up. In the end you will be much better, more knowledgeable, much more confident, and vault higher.