Pole Selection? Any help appreciated.

[DanielS]

I just started vaulting at the beginning of this year's track season, about three months ago, and am loving every minute of it. However, I have a question.

I am 15 years old, weigh 127 pounds am 5'6" tall, and am gripping at the back of a 13'1" 123.2 pound ESSX pole. My current PR is 11'6" and am frustratingly close to twelve feet. I have been reading and am confused by the idea of using a heavier, shorter pole. Is this the reason I can't vault higher than my grip height? Do i need a heavier pole?

My current pole options are: A 13'7" 123.2 Lb, ESSX pole, A 13'1" 127 Lb. ESSX pole, and the pole I am currently on. Should I switch to the 13'7" and continue holding at 13'1" (making it a 133 pound pole if i'm not horribly misled) Or should I switch to the back of the 127 pound pole?

I guess my question is: why can I not get above my grip height? I am inverted for the most part and try my best to "row" I guess I just don't understand the physics of it all, it's sort of difficult without having a knowledgeable coach.

If it helps to know, I learn fairly quickly and have improved my vault by six inches at every meet of the year.

I greatly appreciate any help and/or suggestions. Thank you for your feedback.

[rainbowgirl28]

When you jump at 11'6 and 12', where are the standards and are you hitting the crossbar on the way up or the way down?

[DanielS]

I have my standards at 55 or 60, and at 12' I hit the crossbar with my chest on the way down.

[txpolevaulter_k25]

move them forward

[SinCity]

Don't move the standards forward, lower your grip a fist or two and move them backward.

As a beginner, it seems you have some natural abilities and you need to concentrate more on technique then height. Moving the standards forward will create many more future problems with your vault and you will have trouble reteaching yourself bad habits.

The reason I say move them back is to promote moving the pole to verticle, which is the purpose of the vault. Learning to move through all the phases, TIMING, and landing in the middle of the mats.

The reason I say lower your grip is because, from my own visualizations of what you describe, is you are not moving the pole to verticle. Which means you are gripping too high. Lowering your grip will only make you a better vaulter. This will not effect the pole at all and will help your vaulting future.

But, remember as you learn to move through the whole vault and not concentrate on the bar. You will probably hit the bar with your back. Then, you should raise your grip a fist at a time. Until you can move all the way through the pole and clear bars at or above your grip with the standards at 30 and or 80cm.

My 2cents

[DanielS]

Will I jump any higher by lowering my grip, or will my height take a huge hit? Wouldn't moving my grip down just give me a stiffer pole? Would I accomplish the same thing by gripping the back of the 13'1" 127, or 6 inches down on the 13'7" 123? In short, will a stiffer pole give me more time and force to get the pole vertical?

On another note, I am considering the pole vault camp at UCLA with Coach Curran, is it worth the money? By how much will I improve?

Thank you for the well thought out, intelligent response.

Thanks,

Daniel

[vault3rb0y]

Lowering your grip will mainly do two things.
1.) It will make the pole stiffer.
2.) It will DECREASE the time you have to finish your jump.

I know you think you want as much time as possible to finish your jump, but in fact the time you have to finish your jump is just a measure of the stiffness of the pole. Its well known that the stiffer the pole, the easier it will be to jump over your grip hieght. SO lowering your grip will "throw you higher" over your handhold than if you have a longer grip. It will throw you enough to compensate for the 3-6 inches you gripped down on the pole. It will also be good practice for when you are ready to go much higher, because no one vaulting 15+ does it while only clearing their grip at 15'8" (8 inches for the box). They generally push off 2+ feet, and olympians sometimes push 4+ feet over their handhold. How do they do it? Its not just hitting the right positions, although thats neccessary. It starts at your level right now, gripping low and clearing over your handhold, and keeping the same grip on stiffer poles, dont grip higher until you jump at least a foot over your handhold. Its what you do right now that will separate you from the rest in a few years . good luck!

[vault3rb0y]

One more thing, that camp in UCLA would probably do you wonders at your stage in development. I would say if you plan to be the best you can be, its definitely worth the price. I went to a camp at Cornell University a few years ago after only vaulting 9 feet, then with some of their help vaulted 12 that next season. And they dont even specialize in the vault like UCLA does.

[DanielS]

At practice today, I moved down on my pole and my vault was totally screwed up, I couldn't penetrate and I would spin out of control. I moved back to my normal grip position and everything was normal again. I have absolutely no idea what is wrong, am I not heavy/strong enough to hold 1-2 fists down on my pole? If I manage to perfect my vault at this modified grip height, what height can you foresee me clearing?

Thank you for the helpful reply.

-Daniel