What goes through your mind..

[nikayy.xo]

Hi, I'm a new vaulter and I'm finding it difficult to execute the things I know and have been told I should be doing. Could anyone please explain what you think as you're vaulting? An example from one of my team mates about driving her knee "I imagine kneeing myself in the eye". I know a lot of it just comes naturally but if someone could explain how it feels to them and how they do each step it would help me realize how to do it immensely. Thanks:)

[Polevaulter2012]

I recommend when doing drills to really pay attention to how the positions and movements feel. The only thing I think about in my vault is quick last steps, early hands, fast swing, and this all happens before I start my run, once I start running I just go for it. I found trying to think during the actual vault just causes more problems then it fixes. That's my opinion. Drills is where my practice to improve my technique is done. Then I go to the vault and try to simulate what I have been doing in my drills.

[ras]

If I can remember correctly, it pretty much went like this (chronological order from start mark).
Why do I always get the headwind? Boy that looks high. Who is that cute girl – I must not look like an idiot on this jump. What’s the deal with the headwind? OK, calm down, deep breath. (Insert misc. prayer here). Be tall at the plant, drive hard, jump off the ground. Crap, my time’s almost up. Be tall at the plant, drive hard, jump off the ground. OK, here goes nothing. (Start run). Where did the girl go? Be tall at the plant, drive hard, jump off the ground. Be tall at the plant, drive hard, jump off the… – was that my checkmark? Oh well, be tall at the plant, drive, jump. No that’s not it – be tall on the hard drive, plant the jump, don’t fall on the ground. Be… damn, that looks high. Must run faster through this headwind. What was I thinking about? Blank, blank, blank, (plant), blank, blank, blank, (land). Got to avoid the falling bar so I don’t look like an idiot. Well, that did not go so well. Oh, there she is.

[nikayy.xo]

Haha thanks:) So I guess just try not to overthink it during the actual vault? PoleVaulter2012 I did notice that the day after we did knee drive drills I had a good knee drive witout even thinking about it. The only problem was that the next week I switched hands because I kept vaulting off my right foot and now I vault off the right foot but I drive with the wrong knee lol. Thanks though I'll make sure to pay extra attention to how the drills feel from now on.. Are there any drills I could do at home? Right now I'm working on my swing the most so I can't think of anything i could do without a bar or anything to swing off of?

[Polevaulter2012]

Hey, you can checkout my blog. I have drills on there that you can do. I am not perfect at them but I am striving for it(Like all of us) This will give you an idea of what to do, but of course you want to do them better then I. here is the link http://scottelliottachievingmydreams.blogspot.com/

P.S- If you are not left handed dont vault left handed. It just takes practice to get everything to happen right. A lot of practice. Keep up the good work though!

[Troberts]

I also have a similar problem. I have watched countless videos of pros, high school, and college vaulters. I know all of the major parts to the technique that there are to know. As i run down the runway, i do think about the drive and extensions and all, but i feel like i focus a lot of my attention on getting my steps right and planting it in, because after all, that's what is needed to even get in the air. After it's planted, its all kind of a blur and i end up having bad technique...
I dont know if im keeping my top arm straight or swinging my trail leg forward because it all goes blank. any advice would be awesome considering im the only "decent" vaulter for my team and im probably only around 8 or 9'.

[Polevaulter2012]

You have to do drills. Without drills it is very hard to learn the positions, movements, and gain the strength needed to vault correctly. The pole carry,run,plant, and take-off should be your main focus right now, but include other drills to work on the rest of the vault. I do a circuit 3 times a week. I am not competing yet. You should be doing a pole vault circuit once a week when you are in season. It should be taken just as seriously as pole vault.

[powerplant42]

Altius asked Bubka what he thought about during a vault once.

"It's run, jump, and then ARRRGHHHH!"

That simple. The time to think about things is drills that isolate parts of the vault, not during vaults themselves. That doesn't mean you can't be determined to work on one thing (or at MOST two things) during a vault, but it does mean that you shouldn't be THINKING.

[VaultPurple]

"It's run, jump, and then ARRRGHHHH!"

Bubka was a pirate? Hell yeah!

[powerplant42]

You didn't know that!???

[DividebyZero]

I'm a psychological mess. I think too much about it, get nervous, mess up, lose confidence, and then I can't even plant anymore. That's what happened today at practice. Now I'll be going into my meet tomorrow unsure, nervous, and with my last practice being a demoralizing flop. So frustrating

[Kris]

I'm a psychological mess. I think too much about it, get nervous, mess up, lose confidence, and then I can't even plant anymore. That's what happened today at practice. Now I'll be going into my meet tomorrow unsure, nervous, and with my last practice being a demoralizing flop. So frustrating

"Hakuna Matata"