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i'm a sophmore and my pr is 11 feet as of right now. im about 5'9 (maybe 5'10) and i weigh a somewhat bulky 160. last year i didnt realize that pole weight is that important and i was jumping 10 with like a 12 foot 130, so this year i've had to get through some poles to kind of get in my weight range.


i cleared 11 on a 13'6/140 holding fairly low. right now im on a 13'6/150 with my top hand about 2 grips lower than the sticker. i havent used it in a meet yet because my plant is too crappy to load the pole on the bend. the bend on the 140 is about a 90 degree angle and on the 150 im getting about a 80 degree bend on the pole.


when i plant my bottom arm collapses almost immedietly to the point where the pole is right in front of my forehead. thankfully i get into the pit.


how do i fix this and what are drills to practice this? i know its an area thats stressed a lot by coaches so that you can get a real bend and have the time to swing up.

so that you can get a real bend and have the time to swing up.

Unfortunately, it's the wrong focus... The plant's only function is to move the pole into the box. When done correctly, a good take-off can be achieved. A lot of kids get hurt by trying to bend the pole. One must remember the sport is called pole VAULTING, NOT pole BENDING. And my advice to you is to find a pole over your weight. Knowing that you're going to a meet without a pole over your weight with the intent of vaulting is just absurd, and at bigger competitions, you'll find yourself in need of a pole, since you'll be weighed in. Then you'll have to borrow a pole that you've probably never even seen before and have to clear bars on it within an hour or so. The extra stiffness might possibly put you in danger of not rotating the pole into the pit.

i know that you shouldn't focus on bending the pole but that is the area which is lacking on the early part of my vaults and i know it would not be a problem with a proper plant.



well anyways i went to a lesson with anthony curran in UCLA today. he started me off on a 13'6/150 and i ended up on a 14 foot/155. on friday or monday im going to get on a 14 foot/160 spirit.

it really wasnt hard at all to move through to a decent pole and i cleared my PR of 11 by like a foot and change. good day overall.

See what good coaching does for you? My PR went up 3 ft at SRU last summer... that's almost a foot a day! Good job!

"i went to a lesson with anthony curran in UCLA today"

Very good decision.

Was Slipper Rock not a good decision then Alan

yeah he's an amazing coach. got me through a few poles and had great practices with him but i ended up kind of screwing up yesterday by not PRing. i cleared 11' by a foot and change but my step was off the whole day so i was almost straight poling heights with a minimal bend.

find a pole that is OVER your weight. it doesn't sound like it's your plant that is tearing you down; it's your pole. also, bending the pole isn't everything. if you can still get over the bar without bending the pole, it doesn't mean everything. everyone's bodyweight and style is different.

if you can, you should post a video of your approach and vault.

a good plant is vital, as is a good approach and takeoff. But trying to stiffen your bottom arm out can be detrimental in the long run, it can lead to posting it out and that will cause your shoulders never being able to drop in the latter stages of the vault.

IMO a tall plant and free takeoff is the more important thing to concentrate on.

this is a vid of me clearing 11 feet on a 13'6/155, holding at 12'7. my run was really off for some reason and if you watch carefully you'll see a sort of stutter in the middle of my run. almost looks like i straight poled it.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=zfsS1zr5RyM

this is me 2 weeks ago clearing 11 feet on a 13'6/140 (yea i know hahah) holding at around 12'5.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=EbZSQn3x0zA

i think the difference between the 2 is clear. first one is after i went to 2 lessons with curran at ucla and i'd say my vault as a whole was much better. i actually have a trail leg for a second on that vault, and i come out of the rockback. the second one looks awful to me now... only thing i liked about the second one was that my step was right on and i had some speed, while on the first one i had a little stutter in the middle which killed my speed.


i also notice that my run looks lazy compared to those of great vaulters. it got much better this year though. in the beginning of the year i was running completely on my heals. what are some things to keep in mind to improve my run?

don't worry about bending the pole man i've seen kids go 13' without bending the pole. you actually want to focus on pushing/ moving through the pole not bending it. also i watched your videos and you have a serious problem with "pumping" your arms in your run. the second you fix that your run wont be off as often and this will probably make you eveb faster. maybe fast enough to get on some heavier poles.

Stop focusing on your bottom arm and start focusing on not taking off 2 feet under! Your plant is late, and you do pump the pole when you run. Fix these things before you try to work on anything else.