That darn Huffman Roll....

[Ajw118]

Hey everyone,
So with all your help, I've managed to get basically everything right from the run up to the plant and leg swing up. Unfortunately, I mess up in the air everytime. Sometimes, I turn to the side. Other times, I do the huffman roll or I don't ride the pole all the way. Usually, I try and kick over the bar. I'm not really sure what to do past the leg swing up. Can someone help me out?

Thanks,
A.J.

[powerplant42]

I've managed to get basically everything right from the run up to the plant and leg swing up.

WOW! That was quick!!! You must be pretty talented!

I'll stop my sarcasm now... Ajw, phases build on previous phases... Most of the success of any given phase is directly dpendent on the preceding phase...

In other words, WORK ON YOUR RUN/PLANT/TAKE-OFF/SWING!

[vault3rb0y]

Show some video of this run up, take off, and swing. If thats perfect, its just a tweak to fix your top. So get some video and we'll help, otherwise theres not much we can say.

[Ajw118]

Look at my post under video review. I have a link to my videos there. Here it is again:

http://www.youtube.com/user/awallach18

My coach has told me everything else is good, so i assume it is too.

[powerplant42]

OK, sorry man, it's time for an ego/reality check...

You're nowhere close to having 'everything good'. It takes 10,000 hours of highly focussed practice to master a complex task like pole vaulting. I'm betting you have less than 50.

Have you been following Jack Whitt's progress? Tim's saying that he has A LOT TO IMPROVE ON! AND HE'S ABOUT TO SET THE HS RECORD!!!

If you only want advice on what to do after your swing, then count me (and probably most others) out.

Your swing is what makes your inversion/extension/pull-turn/flyaway/whatever good. The swing can only be good if the take-off is good, and the take-off can only be good if the plant is good, and the plant can only be good if the run and carry are good.

You're doing some things right, but I could come up with at least a dozen BASIC things you're doing incorrectly/poorly/not at all.

[sooch90]

OK, sorry man, it's time for an ego/reality check...

You're nowhere close to having 'everything good'. It takes 10,000 hours of highly focussed practice to master a complex task like pole vaulting. I'm betting you have less than 50.

Have you been following Jack Whitt's progress? Tim's saying that he has A LOT TO IMPROVE ON! AND HE'S ABOUT TO SET THE HS RECORD!!!

If you only want advice on what to do after your swing, then count me (and probably most others) out.

Your swing is what makes your inversion/extension/pull-turn/flyaway/whatever good. The swing can only be good if the take-off is good, and the take-off can only be good if the plant is good, and the plant can only be good if the run and carry are good.

You're doing some things right, but I could come up with at least a dozen BASIC things you're doing incorrectly/poorly/not at all.

I really didn't like this post. Maybe you should get an ego check...

[powerplant42]

My ego is in check... I really just want Ajw to admit that he needs help with more than one thing in his vault!

I'd love to give you help Ajw if you want it, but it seems like you don't want any more on your ground phases and swing... That's a shame, you could be a decent vaulter if you clear those up!

[KirkB]

Let's start over. Here's AJ's original post ...

Hey everyone,
So with all your help, I've managed to get basically everything right from the run up to the plant and leg swing up. Unfortunately, I mess up in the air everytime. Sometimes, I turn to the side. Other times, I do the huffman roll or I don't ride the pole all the way. Usually, I try and kick over the bar. I'm not really sure what to do past the leg swing up. Can someone help me out?

Thanks,
A.J.

And Here's his follow up reply ...

My coach has told me everything else is good, so i assume it is too.

And here's the stats on YouTube, where he's posted several vids ...

Height: 5 7. Weight: 150, Pole: 130, 13 ft 6 in. Grip: 1: 10-11 feet

On YouTube, he also says he's 23 years old. I'm a little confused about that, because he looks like a HS vaulter. But let's leave that small point aside for the moment, and look at this situation as being a bonafide request for help from a bonafide FELLOW POLE VAULTER. We're all here to help each other, aren't we? AREN'T WE???

So let's put our egos aside, and just try to POLITELY assist our fellow vaulter ... OK?

The first thing I noticed from AJ's initial post was that he was FRIENDLY and POLITE. So that should set the tone for our replies. Let's be FRIENDLY and POLITE in helping him. And if anyone decides not to help him this way, then it should be a very easy matter to simply REFRAIN from replying. Is that so hard?

So with all your help, I've managed to get basically everything right from the run up to the plant and leg swing up.

What does this mean? Well ... to me it means that (a) he's appreciative of "all our help"; and (b) he THINKS he's BASICALLY doing "everything right".

Then, he says he "messes up in the air" ... and he's "not really sure what to do past the leg swing up".

These are very simple statements explaining in rookie language that he needs guidance. He's NOT on an ego trip saying he's PERFECT in his execution of the run/plant/takeoff/swing phases of his vault. He does SUGGEST that he's getting "everything right", but don't criticize him for not having the vocabulary of a PVP veteran. He's just learning the sport, and just learning the lingo, so give the guy a break, eh!

Don't criticize his THINKING or his VAULTING just because he doesn't yet have a good grasp of the PV VOCABULARY ... or even a very realistic self-assessment of his PV abilities. For gosh sakes, he's only gripping 10-11 feet, and hasn't quite caught on yet to the basic swinging technique. THAT'S WHY HE'S ASKING FOR HELP! DON'T CRITICIZE HIM FOR THAT!

I'm also surprised that he says he sometimes does the Huffman Roll. I don't know where he got that impression from. Someone must have misled him by telling him that.

AJ: You're NOT doing the Huffman Roll! Huffman was a world-class vaulter, and his technique was extremely advanced. Search YouTube for Scott Huffman, and you'll see what this technique looks like. He clears the bar (set at more than 19 feet!) one leg at a time!

There ... you see that I gave AJ some matter-of-fact information, without being snotty about it? It wasn't really that hard. I just kept my own ego in check.

Kirk

[Ajw118]

Hey,
So when I posted this subject here some time ago, people seemed to get offended by me calling what I do on top the Huffman Roll. Yesterday at my first meet, I heard a better name that perhaps some people will be able to visualize better: scissor kicking

It is probably caused by some stupid mental block when I think I can't reach a bar so I try to look like I can make it over, or possibly by a poor plant since I do plant off to the side a little bit, or could it just be me not holding form on top? What do I do to fix it?

Thanks,
AJ

[KirkB]

AJ, I see that your vid from last April is no longer on youtube. I'm disappointed that no one answered to your questions back then, so I wanted to have a look at your vid today and see if I could give you some CONSTRUCTIVE advice about your technique.

The 3 guesses that you've made on why you "scissor kick" are plausible, but they're only guesses. We really need to see your technique to say for sure what's causing it, or what part of your vault you should focus on FIRST. Perhaps your technique has changed somewhat since April, so could you possibly repost something on youtube?

If you do that, I PROMISE I'll give you an analysis of your technique!

Meanwhile, work on getting a high plant, and a smooth one-legged swing. Keep swinging your trail leg all the way up past your top hand.

Kirk

[Ajw118]

Kirk,
I'd love to repost the videos and some others with better technique from August, but my youtube doesn't seem to be working well right now. Is there any other website I could load them too in the meantime? I remember I signed up for one way back when but can't remember the name or even the confirmation e-mail in my inbox.

Thanks,
AJ

[KirkB]

You could try http://polevaultvideos.fliggo.com/ or http://www.treemo.com . I'd try fliggo first, since that one is especially for pole vaulters.

Kirk