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I am a freshman in highschool this year and I came off an 11' 120 skypole and now I am on a 12'6 pacer 130. I am having some problems getting on the pole I go up but no depth. My coach said I am not staying tall and swinging as soon as I plant I curl up into a ball. So I'm very confident I'll be able to learn my swing and drive but any tips would be nice. Also how wide should my grip be? I'm a smaller guy. 5'4 125. And I have heard to the armpit and to the elbo. What would you reccomend. And my last question is what are good poles for smaller guys? Because as I get older I doubt I will be able to get on a 155 pacer which seems like a tree. Would I want to get a softer pole if I need something long? Thanks

The 12'6 130 is a LOT bigger than the 11'120. It sounds like you are holding too high on the 12'6 pole. Drop your grip to 11' (so a foot and a half down from the top of the pole) and I bet you'll get in easier. If you still aren't getting in holding 11', hold even lower.

As you get older, you'll probably want a series of 13' poles, like a 13'130, 13'140 and 13'150.

At an indoor meet I did go down on the pole and got ten feet but the pole isn't too big I think I just need to break the habit if goin into a ball and start staying tall and getting a swing

tylerd1994 wrote: ... So I'm very confident I'll be able to learn my swing and drive but any tips would be nice.

You should practice your swing on highbar, rings, and rope ... all 3 of them. You can do two-handed swings or one-handed swings. The one-handed swings work best on a rope (using your bottom arm just for support), and on highbar and rings just do the two-handed swings. Practice swinging both legs back and forth ... and also practice swinging just your trail leg ... keeping your lead knee up.

Try them from both a hanging start ... and from a jogging start.

Once you get the hang of it in the gym ... pun intended ... then you'll find it's much easier to swing on the pole.

If you don't have access to official gym equipment, just use a chinning bar ... or anything else that you can find ... like maybe the supports of a basketball hoop. Search PVP for "highbars are everywhere", and you'll get lots more ideas.

Kirk