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Here are Jack Whitts last three of his four meets in a row over 17'6+ and one attempt at the National Record

18'3 1/2 miss
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSh0LdBAiTc
17'6 Ardmore OK
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gxg2V8W-UU
17'6 Oklahoma Un
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saoVvWk0P8k
17'6 norman high school
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pM-JnHIGcX0

Thanks for the videos
I would hate to compete against a kid that makes 17'6 look that easy every meet.

We compete with Jack almost every week. Yeah, we dont expect to win but Jack is a great kid. He tries to help every other kid there do their best by giving advise to anyone who asks him or in our case loning us a pole when Jonathan blows out his biggest pole. Jack knows more about vaulting than most coaches here and all the kids here look up to him. When I was in high school, I always jumped higher when Joe Dial showed up. I think Jack has helped Jonathan in the same way. He's broken the school record 3 times so far this year.

hey

On this jump...

17'6 Ardmore OK
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gxg2V8W-UU

looks good... really good...

but a couple of very "little" adjustments could easily give him the record..

first, same condition.. stay on this pole.. "fudge' the grip 2 maybe even 3 inches...

second.. move the bottom hand in about 3 maybe 4 inches...

what these adjustments will do.. 1. give him a touch more bend, but more than this it will let the pole bend a little easier and give him more “penetration” speed.. faster to maximum bend.

And you might think the 2 inches of grip could/would make him “blow” through.. that’s possible.. but I think if he “swings” faster the “blowing through” would not happen and to swing faster it would be necessary to move the bottom grip slightly…

And the reason I explained is if I had of said move the grip up and the bottom hand up.. you might consider one and not the other and the physics would not work correctly.

thoughts??

dj

one thing that would make him jump the record!
swing to vertical not to a tuck he would jump 18'6"

Personally, i think his take off angle is so dang high that the pole literally lifts him off the ground. Just freeze the video of the 18'3.5 attempt right after take off- I notice two distinct differences between him and some other elites. 1. he is already much farther off the ground than most during this phase and 2. his hips are moving under his shoulders before he even finishes his downswing.

1. I dont know what to make of the first point, he is clearly a very "tall" jumper, and i mean that in terms of both his natural hieght and his angle off the ground. However i do feel it has some connection to the second point...

2. IMHO if he attacks the take off with a little more forward chest penetration, his trail leg will come farther back, his hips will stay over his shoulders, and he will have an easier time not only getting out of a little "tuck and shoot" but will add more energy to the poles he is already on. He could easily jump 18'4"+ on the poles he is on right now, i dont think thats even a question.

I'm not coaching him tho, and im sure his experienced coaches have him well on his way to the record. This is something to keep in mind for the future.

vault3rb0y wrote: ... im sure his experienced coaches have him well on his way to the record.

Tim McMichael is coaching him!

Kirk

I'd consider a couple of higher bars before the record attempt so he can dial in his technique. Jumps 4-6 are usually the best for high schoolers...if you can still consider an 18-footer a high schooler.

Maybe 16'6", 17'3, 17'9, 18' 1/2, 18'3 1/2.

First off he is not a perfect jumper, alot of people aren't but judging by the videos (texas relays especially) he doesn't have to change anything to jump the record. In the Ardmore video he takes off pretty far under as compared to his other jumps, I am sure when the bar goes up to that magical number the adrenaline kicks in and if he can learn to control that, he will jump 18'4. His timing is getting better. He will get it as soon as he gets some good conditions and hits a good takeoff.

achtungpv wrote: I'd consider a couple of higher bars before the record attempt so he can dial in his technique. Jumps 4-6 are usually the best for high schoolers...if you can still consider an 18-footer a high schooler.

Maybe 16'6", 17'3, 17'9, 18' 1/2, 18'3 1/2.

I think that Jack's in very good hands with Tim, so this is strictly arm-chair quarterbacking ...

I do like Achtung's suggested sequence better than the 16-0 16-6 17-0 17-6 18-3.5 that I think Jack's been doing.

1. He's clearing 17-6 so easily (except for the one shaky bar) that I can't imagine that he needs the 16-0 at all anymore ... even if it's just to cinch the win.

2. Jumping 17-6 in 3 meets in a row is not quite the same as if he'd jumped 17-6, then 17-7, then 17-8. True, all of these are well below his PR, but at least he would be creeping up to 18-3.5 "incrementally", instead of "all or nothing".

So maybe 16-6 17-1 17-7 18-1 18-4 (I'm not worried about fractions of inches), then maybe 16-6 17-2 17-8 18-1 18-4 then maybe 16-6 17-3 17-9 18-1 18-4? It's just more psychologically inspiring to feel steady progress than to "stagnate" at 17-6, IMHO. So mix it up a bit?

Question: How many meets does he have left to break the record?

I think it gives you a mental boost to feel this steady progress ... even if it is only one inch at a time, and even if the progression is well below his PR and his 2nd highest.

Just my 2 cents. Whatever Tim recommends is what Jack should do. He only needs one coach!

Kirk

Another idea ...

Jack is just below Joe Dial on the all-time HS list ...

Boys Outdoor Records

All-time
18-3 Tommy Skipper, Sandy, OR 6/15/03
18-2.25 Eric Eshbach, Orangefield, TX 1999
18-2 Brandon Richards, Santa Barbara, CA 1985
18-1.25 Joe Dial, Marlow, OK 1981

So why not go 18-1.5 to try to beat Joe Dial's record first, then go 18-3.5 to beat Skipper's?

Rationale: Even after 18-1.5, he can still double-PR on a good day. When you're hot, it doesn't matter where the bar is.

If you want to save jumps, you could do the 18-1.5 instead of the 17-0. That is, go 16-7 17-7 18-1.5 18-3.5 (or something like that).

I'm still amazed at the time Tommy Skipper STARTED at 19-0, cleared it on his first try, then called it a day.

Kirk

RG, when will you be adding Jack's name to this list?

http://polevaultpower.com/records/hsrecords.php

Kirk