bar-lock

[pattyman]

my coach said that vaulting better in practice you jump higher than in meets but i jump like 13 or 13 6 in practice with a bar but in competition i can't seem to duplicate the same jump. my warmups before the competition are always fine and would normally put me over 12 feet easy but once the bar goes up in competition i can only jump 11' and sometimes 11' 6. anyone have any suggestions like vaulting with your eyes closed or something. i really need to get over this problem before we go to sectionals and state. thanks

[PVPirate26]

i have the same problem! in practice, i'm clearing over 10' (i'm a girl!) but when it comes to a competition, i choke. i haven't completely solved the problem but here are a few suggestions: first, it helps to stay relaxed. the adrenaline of a meet can really get to vaulters and it's really important to keep your cool and stay focused on the vault. if you can...maybe listen to music while you are waiting to vault.

one problem i have while i am vaulting is that i look right at the crossbar so i drop my legs too soon, even though i have more room to extend upward and clear higher heights. i don't know if you are having a similar problem but what i do is try to forget that the crossbar is there and focus on something else, such as a beam on the ceiling (if you are indoors) or clouds or trees (if you are outdoor) or even your top hand. i'm not so sure about vaulting with your eyes closed...seems to me you might get disoriented but i guess it's worth a try!! GOOD LUCK!!

[pattyman]

i get what your saying. thanks. i haven't tried some of that. i hope it helps. and congrats on the 10'.

[bvpv07]

Well, if you think that you are jumping lower because of having to get over the bar in competition, don't look at it. It sounds stupid, but last year I would just focus on the bar from the time that I stepped onto the runway to the moment that I was on the pit at the end of the attempt. This seems to really stress you out (esp. when the bar is at a pr height), make you anxious so that you either vault for the bar or don't get back, etc. So, what I do this season is not look at the bar when I am on the runway. When I get on the runway and get my grip on the pole, etc. I look down towards the box if I am looking down the runway. I don't look at the bar. Once you start running and actually vaulting, just don't think of anything at all. It has helped with making meets less stressful..well, that and coming to realize that every attempt is just another try ( it doesn't matter whether it is the first or third) and that the only thing that you should concentrate on is giving your best effort every time that you vault.

[RidinHigh]

I tried not looking at the bar for a while so that I wouldn't get intimidated by it, but that didn't work out so well for me. It actually started getting dangereous because once I got into the air I was used to looking up at the bar so I started throwing my head backwards and looking down towards the ground. I didn't know I was doing it at the time but man was that a bad idea by what I have seen in previous posts on here. Good thing that didn't work out for me. I have since started looking at the area over top of the bar and that has worked out very well for me.

[vaultgirl1028]

i also look a foot or two above the bar and imagine the cross bar is there but you still want to keep in mind of where the bar actually is cause, well, cause you still want to make sure ur over it.

[vcpvcoach]

As a coach, this is the most frustrating problem that I see. I wish they would paint the bar a soft pastel color. Bright red or orange is the colors. It makes the vaulter think stop.
Here's what I tell me vaulter. Don't look or worry about the bar, look at the air above the bar.
Also, get your feet to the top of the pole.