New pole-getting it to bend?

[DCinOK]

I coach a high school kid who has vaulted a best of 12'6". He gained weight from last year so had to get him a new pole...a 165 lb., 14'6" Pacer FX. He's had two practices with it and he's hardly getting any bend in the pole and is barely getting into the mats when he vaults. Pole vaulting is one of my weak areas, I admit, and I don't know what to do to help. On his old pole, which he is too heavy for, he was getting good bend in the pole. I was under the assumption that he just needs to "break in" this new pole...so it will not be as stiff. However, I see that in several threads on this site people are saying that poles don't get "broken in."

Our school can't afford buying several poles just for him to find one that works. What can I do? What can he do? Right now using that pole, he wouldn't be able to get over a ten foot bar as he's getting hardly any bend on the pole and is landing on his feet right around the front of the pads. Would appreciate any help you could provide! Thanks.

[GasPasser]

Correct - there is no "breaking in" of poles, they don't soften up after use. However, a vaulter can "break in", "warm-up" or "improve" their technique.

HS weight rules stink - forcing schools to have a large number of expensive poles, or force vaulters to use inappropriate poles for their ability. The weight rating is just one factor of the pole, the other is the length. The weight rating is applied for holding at the maximum hand-grip (top - just below the weight label). Holding lower makes the pole feel stiffer. The rule of thumb is that for every 6 inches the grip is below the weight label, the pole "stiffness" goes up by 10 lbs. So if your vaulter is holding 1-foot below that weight label on the new pole, it would be like him using a 13-6 185 pole. If he's holding even lower, like say 2-feet down, that's like jumping with a 12-6 205! Poles are designed to be held with the top hand within the top 18 inches. Ideally, the vaulter should use poles where he/she is gripping with the top hand within 12 inches of the top.

I suspect that your vaulter is holding too low now to use that new 14'6"-165. If he's not used to holding and successfully vaulting with a 13 foot plus grip, then this pole will not work for him until he's improved his technique enough to hold at 13'6".

What pole was he using last year? How high was he holding last year?

BTW, he's not going to be able to go from holding at 12'6" last year, to suddenly going to a 13'6" handgrip now. A vaulter needs a series of poles to work their grip up.

[DCinOK]

Thanks for your help....he was holding his 13'6" pole all the way at the top..at 13'6" he says. The pole he used last year was a 155 lb. 13'6" pole. He has been trying to hold this 14'6" 165 pole all the way at the top. But again, he's not getting it vertical and is getting rejected back towards the runway. I'm looking around to try to borrow a pole from someone else...and we're going to see if he can safely cut weight to get under the 155 and just continue to use that.

[Skyfly]

He's likely just taken way too much of an increase between poles. If your athlete holds the 14'6 165 pole at the same 13'6 location that he held on his pole last year, it would roughly have the same relative stiff as using a 13'6 185. Not surprising that he is getting very little bend since the stiffness has been increased by about 30 pounds. You also said he is now attempting to grip the 14'6 pole at the top. That is an incredibly aggressive move to change the grip by a foot and likely very unsafe.

Tough to say without knowing more about your vaulter, but I would suggest looking for a pole that is 13'6 165-170lbs and if that over time proves to be too soft, then a 14' 165.