pv camps

[mcminkz05]

Hey, how many of you have gone to summer pole vault camps?? how useful do you think they aRE, and how much did they help your pr??

[njvaulter]

I went to bill faulks camp at rhode island college. I also went last year and i think it helped me alot more last year then it did this year. I went from 11 to 12 but i also jumped on a larger pole so didnt realy boost my pr because of form. At school i jumped on a 13' 135 and at the camp i jumped on a 14' 140

[lonestar]

Camps are generally good for learning the basics, getting a new/different perspective, and meeting new people in the sport. I recommend Skyjumpers and Bell Athletics as the best ones out there. There are some other good ones too.

If you have one available, a better option is a club. Many clubs run year-round and you'll have most all the equipment and facilities you'll ever need. Plus, you won't forget everything you learn at a 3 or 6 day camp during the months between camp and track season. More practice and reps spent with a good coach will improve you a lot more in the long run than a few days of group insight.

As for my own improvement at camps, I went to one camp with a meet pr of 12' and came out with a 13'6 pr. Only problem: the 13'6 camp pr was over a bungee that was sagging, and I was getting tapped on a pole that I had no chance of making the pit on by myself, so the pr wasn't really legit. Did the camp help me? Yes, I learned a lot of drills and training that I applied that year.

When I joined a club, my meet pr steadily improved from year to year because of the consistency developed from good coaching and repetition - no big valleys or plateaus in my training.

If you can do both, do both. If not, I recommend joining a club.

[wacky274]

I absolutely agree....camps are probably most helpful in giving you a new perspective on things, and giving you things to carry into your season. They will give you lots of drills especially, and if you dont have a true pole vault coach, they will most definetely help you...honestly, write down the drills somewhere if you have to so that you remember them, but in my experience, i have gone to camps for the last 4 years, and my coach that i normally work with is an amazing coach. It really just gives me new drills, and a different perspective of what diff peopel will think will improve my vaulting the most.

[mcminkz05]

thats cool, and yes, i am joining a club and going to a 5 day camp with the same coach, leavin tomorrow.. neways, i do have a pv coach, but hes not a very good coach at all, so this sgould help my technique allot.

[bjvando]

I am currently coaching in a camp in Southern California with my coach and a friend of mine that is a local high school coach. Most of the kids are just learning the basic fundamentals. IE..* pole run, pole drop, plant, swing..... pretty much just the whole timing of the vault. We go 3 days a week for 4 weeks. So we are getting pretty darn good results. We better get SOME good results, considering we have 50 kids in the camp.

We are a PV club called the " Higher Flyers " not sure if anyone has heard of us, but soon the whole world will!!! bwahahahah

[nipger]

i just came back from ucla camp. i thought the camp was great. the camp has the best coaching staff, anthony curran, sean brown, yoo kim, and shane hackett. im a beginner vaulter so didnt know much about the sport, but after camp, i know more about pole vaulting. i went in there with a pr of 11ft with the ugliest technique, and ended jumping over a 12ft bungee from my 6 step with some decent technique. i think i improved alot.

[Lord of the Poles]

I went to the Central Mass Pole Vault Academy this year, and spend a lot of time all summer at the Patriot Pole Vault Club...so yea...it is a great experience with either of those, and they do help you considerably...it also helps to be able to maintain pole vault practice over the summer... it will help you be prepared for the coming seasons...

[Vaulterchick88]

didn't help my pr at all, but it was cool meeting other vaulters

[mcminkz05]

Lol, wow, at the camp i went too, i pr'd by 3'+. but i think most of that is from finding the right coach and training with him for 4 days at the camp..

[Skyin' Brian]

here is a quick caution about camps:
i have been to a few different camps and found them to be very benneficial.
the problem that can arrise if you have a coach that does things a certain way is that it is possible for the teachings of a camp and your coach can sometimes conflict.
when i was at don hood's camp a few years ago(an excellent camp by the way) he told us that there are many ways to vault(of course the big things will be the similar) but you have to pick one way.
when i went to college i finally had a specific pole vault coach that was very knowledgeable. i had had some success in high school but his vault program had some differences from what i was used to. what i had to do was commit to his program. it was almost like learning the vault all over again, but it has paid off in the long run. not that anything was forced on me. a good coach will always be somewhat flexible in his methods in order to accomadate different athletes, but my point is what don hood told me that you have to pick a way to vault and stick with it. dont let conflicting teachings of different camps confuse you. do what works best for you.

[vaultguru6]

i think camps are a very good thing BECAUSE they give you more exposure to different perspectives of the vault. Your coaches philosophy may not work for you. The more exposure to different coaches you have the better of a vaulter you will become. My complete vault is composed of different bits and pieces taken from a lot of different coaches. However, as Skyin' Bryan was saying, don't try and do something that doesn't work for you just b/c a coach, even if he is a very good coach, told you to at a camp. Take the things that will make you a better vaulter to heart, but not the things that don't work with you jumping style.