PoleVaultPower.com

Hello everyone, I am a Jumps coach with a LJ/TJ sprint background and am trying to coach a few vaulters. Here is one who has a PR of 12-0 from last year and has gained weight from last season and is trying a new pole of 160 compared to 150 last year. He seems to still be struggling with getting fully inverted. My guess is his trail leg could be straighter and stronger and that he could have a more straight bottom arm to get more bend??? Any help is appreciated. Thanks in advance!

update: trying to get video on here but my 5 second clip is 4MB ...it says the limit for on here is 2MB...any suggestions??

The easiest will be to put the video on Youtube and post a link. I will definitively not go for a more straight bottom arm, but I guess you will get more feedback on that from the real pros.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_61noWbrYF0

This link should work

Wow! (please don't take this wrong) ......but......if this kid is jumping 12' feet with his technique, once he learns how to pole vault he'll be a monster! Lot of work to do coach. His run and pole carry is not very good. He needs a more upright posture which in turn will help high driving knees. Right hand should be at the hip with the left hand right in front of the sternum. That left hand serves as the fulcrum for the high plant. That right hand (during the plant) should come up the side of the body and straight up. If he were wearing a baseball cap (correctly with bill forward) and he were to stick his thumb out as his right hand passes his ear he would knock the cap off his head by striking the bill with his thumb. Next obvious thing I saw was his grip is too wide. I promote a grip that's about 2 to 4 inches wider than shoulders. His current technique stops his hips from coming through, therefore killing any ability to invert. Finally, get him on a stiff pole. Put the bar (I mean hard bar with standards back to 30 inches) up to 9 feet. Have him grip at 10' 4". With a staring left foot at 35 feet make him jump that bar till he makes it. Then raise the bar 3 inches and have him do the same with the same grip and start point. Then 3 inch bar raise, do it again. Keep doing this till he just can't get close to a bar clearance. As he masters these you can raise both bar height and grip and starting point accordingly to Dave Johnston's mid mark chart. This is a great excercise and it does work. I've got a kid that in two years has gone from 11' to now 14' 3". It all started with his first summer with me doing this and primarily only this. Notice I haven't said anything about bending a pole? This is called pole vaulting, not pole bending. There is only one reason that a bending pole is an advantage in pole vaulting. It allows the shortening of the cord which allows for a higher grip. BUT......and this is a big but, a vaulter has to be able to vault on a stiff pole, effectively and safely with as correct a technique as possible. As a new coach to this event, welcome aboard. This can be very rewarding and fun. This forum is an absolute invaluable source for knowledge about the event. As you can tell, many of us are not afraid to jump in and hopefully help a fellow coach, coach his or her athletes so they can be the best they can be. Good Luck.............we're here for ya!.......................Later................Mike

HE IS JUMPING OFF OF THE WRONG FOOT!!!!!

How was not the first thing people noticed?

But souleman was right on starting low and working way up.

DJs chart works really good with the lower grips and fixing peoples run, because they have to run the right stride length to hit the right marks, which will open up his stride and make him jump off his left foot like he is supposed to. http://www.nacactfca.org/Johnston6stride.pdf

HE IS JUMPING OFF OF THE WRONG FOOT!!!!! But that doesn't matter in the long or triple jumps -there is no wrong foot!

Hey guys, thanks for your help. I'll get to work.

Quick question: For David Johnston's chart. Does that 6 stride mark apply for where to start for a 3 Left approach or only for during a full approach run. (OR CAN YOU APPLY FOR BOTH)

Thanks

That chart looks very useful. If i start a kid at the 35-0 for that drill and he can't get close enough to the box to jump up, do i move him up...or keep trying until he improves his speed/run and stay at 35-0 until he can get up? Thanks alot for all of your help. I appreciate it

You can't use it for a start mark, like you noticed, most kids will be too far away. I'd recommend at least 5 lefts to use it... but you can still get a lot of benefit out of shorter runs.

Oh contrair Becca, Yes you can start at 35. They better be able to make three lefts from there holding at 10' 6" actual. Shoot, I'm 59 and I can make it from there! It's when they get up into the mid to high 40's that a three step becomes a big problem. Keep in mind 3 lefts is actually 4 lefts. How can that be? Lefts according to DJ's chart are "running in stride" lefts and do not include the lengthened penultimate and a shortened take off left. What we do in that event is give them a walking, trotting, heck , even a running start to hit that 6 step mid mark with the left foot. For your vaulter give him a 10' 6" actual grip a 35 foot left foot start, put the standards all the way back and make him do it till he makes it. Then (contrary to the chart) move the bar up and have him make that with same grip and start. This is what gets them to physically invert. You will know when you will have to adjust grip and 6 step mark. Let me warn you though, make sure he continues a good regimen of long run vaults. (12 steps should be plenty for now). Short running per the chart gets very comfortable and of course the goal is in fact, turn on the gas, from say between 65 to 90 feet, and hit the marks, make the visual "happy spot" come in at the right time and get off the ground at the right spot and not under which in most cases American vaulters are the most comfortable with. From a coaching stand point don't let yourself or your vaulter get ahead of where they are wanting to be next. Steve Hooker didn't always jump like he does today. He started out "the process" much the same way as your vaulter is today. The secret is to progress to the "best point" that he can achieve for the time that you have him. Keep in mind, Bruce Jenner was a "goofy footer". Meaning he took off on the wrong foot. I(f your vaulter is a Junior or senior, then you're stuck. You, (as a coach) have to figure out how to make him the best "goofy footer" in the state. Now, If he's a freshman, then you've got the time(and very important, if he has the desire) to fix it. Please ask any questions on the three step drill, we call it "jumping the chart" at our club, Bubba calls it the "facing your demons game" at his club, I'll be happy to do what I can to answer. Later..............Mike

Where would you recommend a girl who has a PR of 8-0 start on the Johnston chart? Thanks alot

DJ's chart doesn't go below 8 feet.

For my beginning girls I extend the chart down using a 32' start gripping 9'8 for a 7'6" bar and a 31' start using a 9'4" grip for a 7' bar.

The seven foot bar is probably a good start for a girl who PRs 8', after that you can work up the chart.

One of the keys to these short run drills is for your vaulters to run tall and have quick feet... stretching steps or slowing on a stiff pole will have them "under" and make life very difficult, the stiff pole is unforgiving. Additionally, if the vaulter is very tall or very short (in stature) I usually make small adjustments for their take-off step and corresponding start mark.