Any critiques would be great

[manavetta]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pD6hEnIJDT0

Age: 21
College Senior
Been vaulting for 5 years
Pole: 14' 175
Gripping 13'6"
The bungee is at 15', then the bar is at 13'6" then 14'6"
Run: 6 Rights from 83'
Takeoff: 11'
Height: 5'8"
Weight: 150

Thanks for watching!

[KirkB]

Matt, you doing some things right, and a lot of things wrong.

I like your STRETCH and your WHIP. They're actually quite good, despite other technical mistakes.

The mistakes ...

1. Not SPRINTING - on your toes. You're running too flat-footed.
2. Especially your last couple of steps, you're so flat-footed that you're causing a braking action (slowing down). Instead, you should be speeding up in your last couple of steps (or at least maintaining your speed).
3. You're doing a side-arm plant, causing your left shoulder to be way too far back. The more square you can keep your shoulders, the better off you'll be. You will need to work on the flexibility in your left shoulder to fix this.
4. You're striding out on the last couple steps. This goes hand-in-hand with the observed braking, flat-footed action.
5. You're UNDER. This is easily seen by observing the pole bending before your takeoff foot leaves the ground. You need to take off further back, and JUMP into it.
6. I'm not seeing much of a JUMP off the ground. Instead, you appear to get picked off the ground. This is understandable, considering the you're UNDER. You really can't JUMP up much if you're UNDER.
7. Then there's the good STRETCH, and the good WHIP out of the STRETCH. I like that!
8. But you're actually pausing during your STRETCH/WHIP - they're too slow. This is causing your entire vault to be delayed, meaning that by the time you pass the chord of the pole, the pole is already unbending. This is bad, because you haven't inverted yet. Try STRETCHING a little less, and WHIPPING a little earlier.
9. Because you're not getting fully inverted, and at the same time, because the pole is already unbending, your entire body is being lifted up in a rather upright (as opposed to inverted) position. This of course is very bad.
10. When you fully INVERT, you will feel the sensation of your shoulders dropping. They don't actually drop, but relative to your hips and legs, they shouldn't rise as quickly. Until you do that, you won't be shooting off the top of the pole - which is of course what you want to do.
11. The way you can fix all this is to fix all the previous mistakes, starting with your run. It all adds up.
12. Don't even try to fix your INVERSION first. That's the last thing that you should focus on. In fact, if you fix all previous vault parts, then your INVERSION will just automatically improve, without much conscious effort at all!

Good luck!

Kirk

[vquestpvc]

There is certainly not much anyone could add to what Kirk observed only to confirm and add a couple of small things. I certainly see the same thing at take off as Kirk did: the pole has started to bend, however, your plant foot is still on the ground causing you to lose a tremendous amount of vertical lift; not to mention the energy you have to use to fight through it to invert. Secondly, Kirk noted that you "are pausing during your stretch/whip - you're too slow" which is delaying your vault. One of the best statements I've ever heard came from Greg Hull saying that the whip begins at "0" meaning soon off the ground. It's like jumping to a horizontal bar to swing. One cannot jump to the bar trying to hold the take off leg back and then whip aggressively forward. The momentum of the jump and continuation of the leg whipping makes it easier to swing through. Same effect when vaulting at take off. Lastly Kirk notes that the shoulders "shouldn't rise so quickly". The first thing I saw was that you seemed to be focused on the cross bar which will keep your shoulders up. Of course you should know that your head should not go back. However, if you can focus on the cross bar, I suggest changing the focal point to the top the pole or top hand whereby you will more quickly drop your shoulders in response. Lastly, another great statement I heard was that it is a race to the top. I think to statement says a lot. The point is to load the pole up with a good approach and take off swinging through the top hand as quickly to cover the pole and as Kirk noted "shooting off the top". One has to eliminate as many errant components to make it good race.

[KirkB]

... another great statement I heard was that it is a race to the top.

I like that one too!

I think it was DJ that commented a few years ago (paraphrasing) that every split second from takeoff to inversion, you need to raise your center of gravity a bit - it all adds up.

Or at least be getting upside down so that you CAN raise your CoG as quickly as possible.

If you pause - even just a bit - you won't invert as well or vault as high.

It's actually something that I never did during my career - but should have.

Kirk

[powerplant42]

The plant is late. That contributes to many of the problems noted, and if not contributing, it is a function of them.

The plant is the critical moment... when energy goes from horizontal to vertical.

Try getting on a lighter pole, same grip, focus on planting on time (which will feel EARLY) and taking off "on" or "out" a little. A few hundred reps later, the problem will be severely decreased. A few thousand it may be gone!

[KirkB]

The plant is the critical moment... when energy goes from horizontal to vertical.

No PP, the vault part "when energy goes from horizontal to vertical" is called the "takeoff"!

BTW, welcome back!

Kirk

[powerplant42]

Yes, I thought about putting it that way... But the take-off is the end of the plant, as it were, and when the plant begins, the body's center of gravity begins to shift upward. The pole begins to move upward as well.

It is usually the weakest part of any elite vaulter's jump... I'm going to state a thesis without defending it: this is connected to the process of changing energy from horizontal to vertical.

And thank you! I am rather excited. 3 years is long enough of a break.

[charlie]

If you had the same PRESS support on the ground with the left arm and hand that you have AFTER you leave the ground , you could hold a foot higher and jump a foot and a half higher!!!! Watch Sam Kendricks RECENT plants!!! It's a GROUND LEVEL PRESS!!!! Kirk is right about your hips are way too late inverting!!!!