PoleVaultPower.com

i am a sophomore in H.S. and here in minnesota theres still snow on the ground so we arent outside yet. we only have gym time to vault usually once a week for 1 1/2 hours. on top of that there are 15 vaulters this year, and 10 of them have never vaulted before this season, so they require a lot of help. some have potential but others have no potential at all. This means we each jump only around 7 times each week.. i was getting really frustrated with my vaulting today and it just added to it that i didnt have many chances to make it better because the line was so long.

we have our first meet next week, only 3 boys and 3 girls are going to this meet and im one of them, but i dont feel ready at all. and there are high expectations this year and i feel like it will be hard to reach with so little jumping and so many people.

sorry that was long, i needed to let out some frustrations,

but what should i do?

wow this is the same thing I am going through. I went to camps all through off-season so everyone had such high expectations. Little did I know, I wouldnt be able to show everyone what I had practiced because we have 25 people on the pv team. yeah...25. its ridiculous. THe new kids get all the attention and the older ones never get the chance to vault.
All I can tell you is to practice your drills...all of them...while you arent jumping. practice everything you can.

Good luck. and best to you this season

ah 25 people! thats crazy! i wouldnt be able to handle that.
im in the exact same situation as you! working hard in the off-season, having high expectaions from other people and from myself. and the new people getting all the attention..
im one of the few girls with any vaulting experiance at all ( this is my second year) but my coach is expecting big things for me this year, i dont know how to make that happen with so little time. im also worried and get nervous about the new people because some are pretty good and i dont want to lose my spot on varsity.
its the worst when i have a bad jump and want to improve and feel better about it but there are so few chances to do better that i often leave practice feeling like i should and could have done better but there was no time


and good luck to you too!! i feel your frustration

use your meets as a practice. im sure its hard being in minn. but a meet isn't anything more than a practice with a bar and a uniform. The only expectations that should be acounted for are the ones that will help you reach your goal by the end of the season. Trust me, everyone gets frustration like you are speaking of and things will get better as it hopefully warms up for you up there. Just seriously, use the meets as practice. 3 guys and 3 girls, not much of a reason to use it as anything but a practice really.

Just make a bar or 3 and then focus on what you want to do if its getting on a longer run or w/e. You should always focus on technique whenever and where ever your jumping.

Hope it gives you another way to look at things.

If you are still concerned about it you should talk to your coach and express your feelings that to be expected to preform well you need to be given the access to practice. Is there no way that some of the younger children can do drills while you vault and you drill while they vault? I can understand runway time being hard to find in Minn. but you just have to do your best to utilize your time off the runway as well, whether thats in a gymnastics facility or a gym or weight room. Best of luck, jump high