Can clear 9'6" at practice but only 7'6" or 8'0 at a meet.

[Rosie<3]

Why is it that at practice i can easily no touch an 9' and sometimes 9'6 bungee gripping 10'3" on an 11'6 135lb pole, so far this season i have been able to clear 7'6" and 8' consistently, almost 8'6". Also, i can easily get to an 11 foot bungee.It's annoying because i know people who can hardly clear a 9ft bungee at practice but 9ft is their PR. is it a mental thing, or should i be doing something different at meets? . Any advice on fixing that? My goal for the end of spring is 9'6 and i know i an do it if I can do what i do at practice. Does anyone else have this problem? If so how can i fix it? Thanks! If it helps i am 15, i weight 137lbs, i am 5'5 and i run from a five or seven left approach.

[rainbowgirl28]

That's not chubby. Practice with a crossbar more

[Rosie<3]

Lol thanks but i'm a bit fattier than than other female vaulters. Well that is besides the point. I try practicing on crossbars more but my coach doesn't like to put it up because he has to keep the standards high enough for other vaulters who can wrap higher heights. The lowest bungee is usually at 9, 10, or 11 which i can all wrap. So if he kept lowering the standards to 8 or 8'6 whenever i go up, it would take to long.

[volunteer]

there is an eaiy fix for the "takes too long to move standards problem" during practice. If you do not have extensions on the standards, have him add them. And , the best thing to do is make a custom set of extensions so that the upper peg of the standards can reach 15' while the lower peg on the extensions is at 7 feet. Some coaches will add extensions to top and bottom of standards so all jumpers have an equal shot at a bar height.

Good Luck . Keep working no matter what

[vquestpvc]

Volunteer.........thank you for the excellent suggestion you gave Rosie. As a coach, I do move the standards quite often for a varying group of skilled vaulters, but your solution is great. Also, thanks for such a positive response to Rosie's question. All our youth desire our best examples. Keep vaulting Rosie. Many would want one to believe the pole vault is such a complicated event; perhaps for 16'-18' vaulters. However, in the range of 8'-10' for a high school girl, one can contribute to the team. And ain't it fun trying!

[tsorenson]

Not a huge fan of having long standard extenders; they often cause dings to poles (or vaulters) as they fall into them.

You should suggest to your coach that you and your fellow team members would be willing to help with moving the standards and putting up the crossbar; allowing each jumper to jump at their preferred height, and allowing your coach to do his job (coaching)!

When my kids want to put up bars, I try to set up a rotation of "stations" that they must go through after they complete each jump, before they get back in line at the end of the runway. I got this idea from watching Dan West's practices, where he does something similar, and his athletes take it seriously:

1. vault over bar
2. Right standard adjust/ bar placement
3. Left standard adjust/bar placement
4. Catch takeoff step
5. Catch mid
6. Get back in line to vault

Since we usually have big groups, this works fine and doesn't add much time. The kids would be waiting in line to jump anyways, so this just makes efficient use of their time. It also helps them get better at bar placement, catching steps, teamwork, responsibility, etc. There is no way I would want to put up bars and adjust standards for 20 vaulters! It simply takes a group effort and making it a routine. The benefit is that you can ask for a bar at any height every time you step on the runway, and the coach never has to touch the standards or crossbar; he/she is free to coach you!

Good luck,
Tom

[Rosie<3]

thanks...i made this post a while ago and i was able to convince my coach to put the crossbar up once a week however i have come to realize i don't really like having the crossbar up because if i don't clear my PR i get discouraged for the next meet so i prefer not having it. thanks anyway i have gotten past the fear of a crossbar and competition and i cleared 10' the other day, but it was unfortunately just a small meet my friends and i had at our last practice so it didnt really count for anything