How to teach a truely great HS Vaulter

[Barefoot]

This video has been posted before. It shows a seventh grade Anthony Curran vaulting.

http://www.treemo.com/users/nolimitspor ... item/21126

While as a coach I can't condone the conditions which the vaulting takes place in... are there some lessons about the learning mechanisms needed to teach great vaulters?

1) A strict insistence on hitting the PLZ ( or hit the garden wall)?
2) High knees (over shrubs) and quick feet into the takeoff?
3) Learn to stiff pole?
4) Barefeet (especially on concrete patios) insure proper run mechanics?

I seriously mulled over which forum this belonged in... But since I'm seriously questioning how I teach my beginners and didn't want to give too many neophyte vaulters idea's about where they should learn to vault... it ends up here. I am very curious if other coaches see how the environmental restrictions on Mr. Curran's vaults might have helped his development as a vaulter.

[Barefoot]

Okay... to expand my observations.

Curran is Jumping 9' holding about... well... looks like nine feet.
This Jump takes place in 1973... By 1978 as a senior in HS he would jump 17' 4" (a CA record that stood for 33 years).

Like all great HS vaulters of this era it would seem fairly certain he spent a good amount of time stiff pole vaulting with a log like cut down pole. Smaller poles were not available in abundance. The smallest pole available at my high school in the 70's was a 14-150.

Overly padded, motion control shoes were not available. The fact that Curran is barefoot vaulting on concrete insures that his foot-strike will be forward (on the fore foot, not the heel)... watch his feet in the video.

Looking back through the CA Southern section championship records... the first 16' HS vault was recorded in 1965. That vaulter surely spent a long time stiff pole vaulting, as did every vaulter I knew in the 1970's. From 1970-1979 FIVE different vaulters achieved 16+ vaults in the SS championships. The 1980's produced ONE. The 1990's produced FOUR. From 2000-2009, only THREE different vaulters achieved the 16+ mark at the championship.

So what happened?

During that time, many schools dropped the vault... but the population of the southern section exploded... so number of vaulters is probably not down. Certainly there are not fewer vault coaches, as who ever heard of a vault coach or club back then. Perhaps there were in Socal, but there sure were not in NC. And did ANY high school kid vault year round? Probably some, but surely not in the numbers we see today.

So with all the discussion I see from HS vaulters about pole selection... which in the 1970's was very limited... our advanced poles do not reflect an equal advance in the record books. Better runways, bigger mats, technology laden shoes, periodization of training, the availabilty of fully laden weight rooms, nutritional supplements, advice from the internet... none of these improvements are reflected in the top performers.

The vault has improved in safety, and he addition of girls/women to the sport is genius! But something is amiss. I wonder if the trend to technology from top to bottom has really helped. Maybe our beginners should be running barefoot, toting a heavy cut-down 15-180, and stiff-pole vaulting to learn the mechanics of the sport?

6.40 model, State manifesto's, pull vs pushes, pole progressions not withstanding, are we failing to lay the foundation in our young vaulters?

[KirkB]

... Looking back through the CA Southern section championship records... the first 16' HS vault was recorded in 1965. That vaulter surely spent a long time stiff pole vaulting, as did every vaulter I knew in the 1970's.

So with all the discussion I see from HS vaulters about pole selection... which in the 1970's was very limited... our advanced poles do not reflect an equal advance in the record books. Better runways, bigger mats, technology laden shoes, periodization of training, the availabilty of fully laden weight rooms, nutritional supplements, advice from the internet... none of these improvements are reflected in the top performers.

... Maybe our beginners should be running barefoot, toting a heavy cut-down 15-180, and stiff-pole vaulting to learn the mechanics of the sport?

6.40 model, State manifesto's, pull vs pushes, pole progressions not withstanding, are we failing to lay the foundation in our young vaulters?

Barefoot, you may be onto something here. I jumped 10-6 by capping a ~10-6 tapered steel pole in Grade 10 ... in 1965 ... before I moved on to fiber. With 8" in the box, that was an 8" pushoff. But that was quite average in those days ... there were lots of good steel vaulters. If I recall, I think I was only 3rd place in my district meet. All these years, I always thought I was deprived ... compared to today's fiber-only vaulters.

But straight-poling certainly taught me a lot of good lessons. For one thing, you HAD to ... absolutely HAD to ... have a free takeoff! If you didn't jump into the takeoff, you'd get your top shoulder jerked out of its socket ... there would be no bending of the pole to absorb the shock of a late plant or an inside plant. And of course, if you weren't "out" or "on" on your takeoff, you would have no chance to jump UP before you got jerked.

Then once you got off the ground, you pretty much had to swing up with both hands together. There was no question of where your bottom hand should grip the pole ... or what you should do with it. You needed all the strength in BOTH arms to plant and swing effectively.

My technique wasn't all that great ... but it wasn't bad either. I gained a lot of strength over those years ... I HAD to ... but there's pretty much only one technique to swing on a straight pole. Lacking strength, I had to figure out how to leverage my body to SWING upside down ... since I didn't have the gut strength to muscle-up and over the bar. So I swung like a highbar specialist swings on the highbar ... practically the only way possible to swing.

I added 3-9 to my PR in the next couple years ... thanks to fiber ... but I really screwed up my technique by trying to copy John Pennel ... who was a classic "pole bender" ... pushing with his bottom arm. It's becuz of this bad experience that I'm so adamant against pushing with the bottom arm.

To add to Barefoot's point about lack of GOOD pole technology when we first used fiber ... I always had only one pole at a time in HS. When that one broke, I bought another one. I went thru quite a few poles back then, but NEVER had 2 at a time. So you had to modify your technique according to the weight of pole you had. The way I moved up in pole weight was to break a pole and buy a bigger one. Not purposely ... it just worked out that way! The last pole I used in HS was actually run over by my coach's car on the way back from a meet in Seattle ... he slammed on the brakes, and the cap of the pole tube wasn't taped tight. I sawed off the top foot that was crushed, and that's the pole I used to set my HS PR ... by capping it! Nope ... not much pole choice back in those days.

I was fortunate that Ken Shannon completely revised my technique at UW, and I learned to vault PROPERLY with a fiberglass pole. I still had a good free takeoff, but my swing (tuck/shoot/muscle-up) was all screwed up due to my bottom arm push. Thinking back, I may not have been as fortunate if I didn't have the straight-poling experience of my early development years. I still remember struggling to clear 7-6 in Jr. High, and it was a huge accomplishment for me to improve from 7-6 to 10-6 over those couple years. I did it at a pace of about 18" per year ... slow and steady ... no more than a 6" improvement per month ... all with bamboo, aluminium, and steel. That's a lot of jumps taken without any bend at all. I guess it paid off.

Yeh ... I think straight-poling when you're young is an ADVANTAGE!

Kirk

[Barefoot]

I jumped 10-6 by capping a ~10-6 tapered steel pole in Grade 10 ... in 1965 ... before I moved on to fiber. With 8" in the box, that was an 8" pushoff. But that was quite average in those days ... there were lots of good steel vaulters. If I recall, I think I was only 3rd place in my district meet. All these years, I always thought I was deprived ... compared to today's fiber-only vaulters.

But straight-poling certainly taught me a lot of good lessons. For one thing, you HAD to ... absolutely HAD to ... have a free takeoff! If you didn't jump into the takeoff, you'd get your top shoulder jerked out of its socket ... there would be no bending of the pole to absorb the shock of a late plant or an inside plant. And of course, if you weren't "out" or "on" on your takeoff, you would have no chance to jump UP before you got jerked.

Then once you got off the ground, you pretty much had to swing up with both hands together. There was no question of where your bottom hand should grip the pole ... or what you should do with it. You needed all the strength in BOTH arms to plant and swing effectively.


Kirk

I'm unsure what DJ's run chart says, but from memory a 10'6" grip on a fiber pole should be a 9' vault? If steel jumpers were on average jumping 10' 6", why should it be less for fiberglass jumpers? An 8" push with that grip would be stellar by today's standards for a high school kid.

Young Mr. Curran looks to be exceeding the chart.

Ever wonder what the PV official would do if a kid rocked up to a meet with a steel pole not sporting the correct weight label?

Speaking of heavy poles... I don't remember seeing HS vaulters in the 70's sawing the pole back and forth during the run when the pole weighed half a ton. Certainly the pre 1950 vaulting footage I've seen doesn't show that. The free drop of the pole came a bit later, but the 12' twigs that some kids learn on today can be thrown around like a rapier without slowing down the run too much... then when the kids move to bigger poles that have some heft they have to learn how to run with pole all over again. That's pretty much square one if you buy into the continuous chain theory.

[KirkB]

I'm unsure what DJ's run chart says, but from memory a 10'6" grip on a fiber pole should be a 9' vault? If steel jumpers were on average jumping 10' 6", why should it be less for fiberglass jumpers? An 8" push with that grip would be stellar by today's standards for a high school kid. ...

My 10-6 was above AVERAGE, but certainly not tops in the district ... or province. Today's AVERAGE jumper on fiber gripping 10-6 would not be someone with 3-4 years of experience. Rather, they're likely in their first or 2nd year (if male).

I like all your other points ... including the point about a kid showing up with a steel pole and no "label"!

Kirk

[Barefoot]

Barefoot, you may be onto something here. I jumped 10-6 by capping a ~10-6 tapered steel pole in Grade 10 ... in 1965 ... before I moved on to fiber. With 8" in the box, that was an 8" pushoff. But that was quite average in those days ... there were lots of good steel vaulters.
Kirk

Kirk, I just misunderstood the above quote, I would never accuse you of being average. And since the steel pole era was before my day, I'm sure there are many things I will yet misunderstand. My uncle, who vaulted 11' 6" on steel in HS, has assured me that I'll never understand that real men don't need fiber-glass.

Back to topic... What kind of footwear did you guys use when not in spikes?

In the seventies we wore Chuck Taylors or running flats that had virtually no build up or support. Since our runway was asphalt, anyone who heel-struck when they ran got a rude awakening to heel bruise land. Plus, as kids we ran barefoot most of the summer. Kids these days don't seem to leave the house without motion control super shoes complete with custom orthotics.

Here's where I'm going with this... And please understand I DON'T have an answer to the general question, nor am I advocating turning back the clock.... Does our technology interfere with some self learning?

Heavy poles give more feedback about pole carry and position.
Stiff poles give feedback about take-off mechanics and enforce a long swing.
Hard runways and light shoes give feedback on sprint mechanics.
Smaller mats make the vaulter sensitive to depth/landing issues.
The lack of front buns meant your visual cue for take-off was always the box, not the buns which are frequently of different lengths.

So, as a coach I can design drills to teach these things, but is it more effective for a vaulter to learn some of these things directly? All of my kids enjoy bending a pole... but will they progress faster/better with more stiff poling. All of my kids arrive day one with over engineered running shoes... but should they spend more time in minimal footwear. We have huge front buns and I know my kids will visually clue on them for their take-off mark... how do I adjust their visual clues. My goal is to build a better base for them as vaulters and to simplify the teaching process... I'm still trying to figure out, within the limitations of a four month season, how best to do this.

[rainbowgirl28]

Here's Mondo straight poling and barefoot: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6S400Q0CR8 (also posted in the HS forum)

[Barefoot]

Thanks Becca.

Wow! Look at that run and take-off. Is it genetics? Running drills? Or just a natural adaptation to the bare feet and stiff pole?

How many college coaches or elite coaches would like to get their hands on a vaulter out of high school that displayed those mechanics?

I've read up on ways to teach this stuff. But I'm wondering if Mondo and Young Mr. Curren learned their technique through simple natural feedback? Or did their parents and siblings drill the technique like private coaches who get hundreds of dollars an hour coaching up young quarterback prospects?

I'm a high school coach with limited time and resources... and limited knowledge... Anything the kids can learn that brings them closer to solid foundation for the vault without me drilling it, or wasting precious practice time is gold!

Still thinking and wondering...

[CowtownPV]

What it shows to me is that athletes who want to be great will find a way. Vaulting or any other sport is more about drive and determination than anything else. So many kids think they have to have a great facilty, 50 poles and a private coach who is with them every second. Looks like AC just found a way to make the best of what he had and got after it. Winners will find a way.

[Barefoot]

Well if we are honest... Curran had some older brothers who were damn fine vaulters, and Mondo has pretty fine pedigree as well. Most kids who take up the vault don't know which end of the pole to grab and no one to tell them.

I totally agree that 50 poles and first class facilities are not needed. Safe facilities and a decent pole or two is a good start. And without drive and some talent ( or a little drive, but a LOT of talent), no HS kid is going to go big.

Maybe I'm seeing something in these video's that isn't really there...

In the "video" forum, HS vaulters with marginal coaching situations display a dazzling array of problems through the middle of the vault... most are looking for the answer to inversion... but that doesn't seem to me to usually be the problem. What leaps out at me when I watch the beginners is problems in the run, the carry, the plant and take-off. What I think I see in the Curren and Mondo vids, is really good run and take-off and swing mechanics. Is that nature or nurture? Did they get better teaching/training, or are the good base mechanics a result of bare foot stiff poling in a playground like atmosphere?

Guess I'm gonna have to confiscate the $100 nikes from my vaulters and pull out the steel belted old catapoles to find out. I'll leave the front buns on for the time being.

If nothing else these video's make this high school coach smile.