What am I doing wrong?

[MattM]

Hey guys, I would very much appreciate all of your advice on my vault. I have been vaulting at the 13'6-14 foot mark for quite a while now, below I'll include a link to my statistics. I was wondering, what am I doing in my vault that is wrong, and that I need to fix to get higher heights. I'm sure there are a myriad of things that I could do to make my vault better, so the more advice you have the more appreciative I'll be. I was wondering what I need to do to be able to vault above my pole height, I've been vaulting 13'6/14 on a 14 foot pole for a while now, and I'm wondering what I can do that would let me vault 14'6 on a 14, 15' on a 14 (theoretically) etc.

I have been told that I need to "extend without looking at the bar." If you look at the videos I have posted below, then could you please tell me what I need to correct? My interpretation of this is that I need to not allow my back to be parallel to the ground like it has been in a few of my vaults, but rather raise my hips higher and drop my shoulders. I've done this in practice though, at least, I think I have, and when it comes down to it I still don't seem to be able to push myself above the 14' mark, but rather I still come out where I do. Any and all advice is appreciated, thankyou.





http://vimeo.com/8846202
http://vimeo.com/8845676
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yt0CR8B1CL4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYkyHjLE ... re=related
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=Ozy ... BbX0CB9u1w
http://www.athletic.net/TrackAndField/A ... AID=289313 -my vaulting heights

[tsorenson]

Hey amigo! I am glad to see you reaching out for input on your vaulting. As you said, the more feedback the better!

Since I have had the opportunity to coach you in person several times in the past, I will give you my feedback even though you have heard me say these things before. I am interested to hear if other coaches agree with my advice to you, and certainly I may have missed some things which could be of great help to you. Hopefully it will be a good opportunity for us both to learn something!

Let me begin by saying that Matt is one of the smartest and most coachable athletes I have had the privilege to work with! His dedication and unsurpassed family support guarantee that he has a bright future ahead.

Your pole carry/drop/plant needs some work. Your left elbow tends to start too high, usually around 90 degrees to your body. This hurts you as the pole drops because it tends to let your left hand drop too low before you bring it up for the plant. Your right arm also tends to be too straight and your right hand passes well behind your hip as the pole drops. These factors cause your plant to be much slower and wider than it should be, which causes you to lose the rhythm of your run and overstride into the plant, sometimes even run through. Your left elbow should be beneath the level of your left hand, ideally all the way through the run/plant. This will help you quicken your steps and accelerate all the way through your takeoff. This is the most important thing for you to work on!

You also tend to look down at the box at the takeoff, and are a little too "rigid" with your shoulders. These factors hold back your swing from being as dynamic as it could be. Getting more stretch in your shoulders will set you up for a more powerful swing, which will pull your hips above your shoulders and get you more in line with the pole on top. The fact that you get stuck in the flat back postion and sometimes throw your head back can be fixed with a more dynamic swing, which will carry you right through these positions and right into your extension.

I would recommend that you try a slightly narrower grip, and do lots of walking plant drills, carefully focusing on the position of your arms throughout the pole carry/drop/plant, and looking forward & slightly upward at the takeoff. Better pole carry/drop = quicker plant = quicker takeoff = better position to swing = covering the bent pole = higer bars!

Keep up the good work Matt, see you soon! I look forward to hearing feedback from other coaches

Tom

[MattM]

Thanks Tom, hope to see you soon also. I heard you were going to Dan's symposium later this week, hope to see you there.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgF7WmwZGws

This video was taken before you posted your advice. I must say that I was getting pretty tired at that point, The was probably my 15th vault on a 14 foot pole before my mom started to video me. I was running from a seven step on a 14 foot 155, and the bunjee was at 14'6. I'm thinking that I probably cleared 14'3 with that jump, but looking from this angle I can see a few things that I need to improve on. It looks like I'm coming off of the pole where I know that the bunjee is, instead of continuing up through my vault. I need to invert another 10-15 degrees and continue up through my vault (while dropping my shoulders) At least, that's what it looks like based on this video. Any input on this please?

As to what you've said with my pole carry/plant, I've been trying to work on it. My grip is a fist closer now than what it was at the beginning of the year when we were vaulting at COCC in Bend. I've tried carrying my left elbow in the position where it was close to a vertical line with the runway rather than a horizontal one and honestly that doesn't "feel" like it makes much of a difference. When it comes down to my plant, I think that my hand might be doing that just because we were still getting into the rhythm of vaulting, but that's just my opinion which of course could be wrong. I'll definitely let my coach know about that though and if he sees a problem with it later in the season I'll definitely work on it. I know what you mean with my right hand, I've been trying to work on it but it takes time. I'll make sure to try to keep it further up, thanks for the advice.

I'll definitely be working on my plant and swing this year, thanks for the help.

[tsorenson]

Hey Matt!
You are doing a lot of things right, so don't let my feedback mislead you. Maybe that's why nobody else has commented on your technique yet...it's pretty great for your age! We will have a good chance to work on some things in detail this weekend...see you then!
Tom