How to pole vault?

[kw101]

Hi!

I have never pole vaulted before and I will start to pole vault this spring in track. How do you hold the pole? ( I am right handed) Any other tips about how to prepare for pole vaulting? How long does it usually take to learn how to pole vault? If you could answer any of these questions that would really help me out! Sorry for all the questions!! Thanks so much!!

Katie

[PV1328]

hey...

I am not that great of a pole vaulting.. and I vault off of the very little raw talent i have.. I am not sure if what i am saying is right seeing i dont have a coach but i can give this a shoot

The most important thing for me to think about and the thing the have streesed the most is having confidence and being aggressive, be extremly fast down the runway and put in a lot of power... Also try to not think a lot while jumping little things at a time.

As for holdign on to the pole i have heard and seen it done many ways in my short career but the most common is right hand on top then aline your right arm up against the pole and grab where your armpit is...
Learning to pole vault can take time but try not to rush it and get in the excited phase and learn the basics becasue let me tell you it is difficult to fix some of the bad habits you get into..

I dont think you should have a problem with poel vaulting it is really funn... and i think it is a great way to meet peole soo have funn with it!

[kw101]

I am kinda behind because everyone my age did pole vaulting last year and I didn't. So I have alot of practicing to do!

[VaultMarq26]

I have commenly heard that it takes 7 years to learn to correctly pole vault, and I believe it to be longer in some cases.

I am in my 9th year of vaulting and still improving and learning new things.

[AR01]

As far as holding the pole goes, there are many ways of gauging where you're going to hold. I've seen vaulters grab the length of there forearm, and like PV1328 said, some vaulters do the length of their whole arm.

As for me, I just put the pole over my shoulder, line up my top hand, and reach out to where it feels the most comfortable.

[vaultman18]

kw101
If you really want to learn how to pole vault correctly you should invest in "From Beginner to Bubka and Isinbayeva Too!" I am pretty sure it will be released Monday Jan. 28. Go to http://www.neovault.com for more info. This is the best resource for learning to pole vault from the very first day. The book also has a DVD that shows the drills and explains them. Good Luck!