Fear in take-off

[Aznvaulter42]

my body is so used to jumping off at the 6 ft mark that i cant seem to jump above 6 feet at my takeoff.
If i were to grip 13' on a 13'6 pole, i would reach in my last 2 steps and jump at 6 feet again, causing me to be inside when really at around 13' my take off mark is around 7'.
it just feels like jumping past 6 feet is way too awkward. my body is far away from the pit and i just feel like if i jumped off at that mark, the pole wouldnt get past vertical and i would fall back down or something.

[coachjvinson]

What is your run distance?

[dallasvaultclub]

6 foot takeoff.... 7 foot takeoff...
Think of it this way... If you were a long jumper what would you expect to jump...how far? certainly farther than 6 or 7 feet...

Go to the vault runway and put a ruler or something down on the runway at 6 feet... go from 4 or 5 lefts and vault into pit (run back from takeoff for your steps).. move the ruler out a couple of inches with every jump and takeoff outside of the ruler. Make sure you shorten your last three steps and not go past the ruler... move your starting mark back as you move the stick back. Don't rock back just drive into pit.

We put a stick down for almost all our beginners

Should fix your fear...

[Aznvaulter42]

What is your run distance?

for 6 steps, its around 68 ft

[coachjvinson]

What is your run distance?

for 6 steps, its around 68 ft

6steps = 3Lefts/Strides

or is 68

6Lefts/Strides

[pv161]

If i were to grip 13' on a 13'6 pole, i would reach in my last 2 steps and jump at 6 feet again, causing me to be inside when really at around 13' my take off mark is around 7'.

unless your sliding down the pole or your 8' tall it's impossible to grip 13' and take off at 6' without falling flat on your back on the runway.
you should be taking off between 10 and 11'
I would recommend lots of pole runs on the track. measure your run and put a mark down for the back of the box. have someone catch your takeoff and a mid mark so you can tell where your over striding
I'm sure DJ has a chart here somewhere

[Aznvaulter42]

If i were to grip 13' on a 13'6 pole, i would reach in my last 2 steps and jump at 6 feet again, causing me to be inside when really at around 13' my take off mark is around 7'.

unless your sliding down the pole or your 8' tall it's impossible to grip 13' and take off at 6' without falling flat on your back on the runway.
you should be taking off between 10 and 11'
I would recommend lots of pole runs on the track. measure your run and put a mark down for the back of the box. have someone catch your takeoff and a mid mark so you can tell where your over striding
I'm sure DJ has a chart here somewhere

our marks are differnet im pretty sure im jumping around the 10-11' mark.
lately my plant has been bad, i lower my pole too late and i take off when my pole isnt even all the way up.

[coachjvinson]

Both PV61 and DallasVaultClub have given some pretty sound recommendations...

I would add the following...
Move your run all the way up- Zero Lefts- Go to the long jump sand box and start at the beginning - plant - swing: find your max grip that you can move past vertical.
Then go to 1 left, add a fist to your max grip at Zero Lefts and repeat: find your max grip- etc... etc... from 0,1,2,3,4,5,6 Lefts etc...
Let the above be your warmup all the time, every time: keep a journal and mix it up so that its not too boring - can be done on the pit too. Just do not let a lack of access to a pit deter you: most every HS will let you on the track, if yours wont find one that will.
Now, I expect that your issues are related to timing in the pole plant and technique in the carry, as well: read and research all you can to refine this aspect. Practice your longer run pole carries and pole plants on the track: use the lane numbers as a target and get a measuring tape: precision, accuracy and repeatability are your three best friends.
Think of the vault from the ground up, beginning with your first step; precision is your goal. Your goal in your run, plant, takeoff etc...
If you will commit to the aforementioned, I am confident that you will be working on newer and greater challenges and the accompanying higher bars.
V

[Barto]

4 Words - FULL RUN SLIDE BOX

Buy one. Build one. Steal one. 10-12 reps 3 times per week and all of your issues will pretty much correct themselves.

[vquestpvc]

Having some perspective of a take off mark is good, but not completely essential. As with a mid point mark, the take off mark is more for a coach than the vaulter. And from this coaches perspective, if a vaulter is aware of the take off mark at take off, then the focus is off. If a vaulter is "under" he is asked how the vault feels. Usually, he will say the felt under. So, what needs to be worked on is why he was under: not jumping at TO, were the hands high a TO, did he over stride on last step, etc. Everything at take off should be up and high including the head so, how can one see the take off at 6'? As has been so well put already, get away from the pv runway and work on the full approach and plant using a slide box. Plot were your TO foot was on the sliding box drill relative to the pole tip which should carry over to the pv runway. Once there is a level of confidence, then move to the pv runway and vault. Of course there should be a progression of approach steps. Start with 5 TO feet and work through to 6 or 7. But like with the slide box, one must be aggressive (not wild) at take off. One must ask him or her self: am I fearful of the take off mark or taking off? If one is holding at 13'-13-6 then there had to be some progression to get to that point. Vaulting should always be taught and done with complete safety, but don't complicate it with too much thinking; physicist have already worked through a lot of the elements of vaulting for you.

[powerplant42]

You could also try gripping down (and/or using a much softer pole) and slowly building toward where you want to be with your take-off (and back up to the appropriate grip)... This can be a powerful psychological tool.