Y am i a spaz???

[FCCVaulter]

k..heres how it goes... i have got to be the most spastic, mental vaulter on the face of the planet. As my favorite coach wenholz puts it "the best vaulter is a headless one". So yeah, in warm ups i look awesome and when i step on the runway, this is where it gets ugly children you may want to turn away, i cannot i mean cannot turn. Going over ten feet on ur back is pretty painful if u dont make it. All the guys on my team have beat me down a time or two for not taking my warmup jumps to the competition. What the heck can i do to make myself turn, i get inverted and just let my legs drop...its not the bar cuz i can do it in practice, or if its a life or death situation. So my personal consensus is that im a SPAZ, which happens to be what Big Red so affectionately calls me...but if ne one has been in the same situation HELP ME OUT, i gotta get out of this slump!!!!!!

[padow]

Sounds like you need to relax. If i was your coach, I would ask "why do you do that?" why do you make things any different? I think you need to realize that a meet is just a meet. You need to approach meets with a certain goal in mind - better plant, better takeoff, etc... Make this goal happen. It has to be a conscious effort. What I mean by that is being aware of what you are doing and where you are at in a particular moment. Not just running down, planting a pole at some point, and hope everything goes right. It sounds to me like you just go blank and have no concentration or focus. This can be very dangerous. I have no idea what your plant and takeoff is like, but to consciously be aware of it (takeoff foot under hips, chest open, etc..) is the start of good things to come.

[bvpv07]

Sometimes in competitions, all that you think about is getting over the bar (and so you try to do so by whatever means possible, forgetting about the technique that you have learned). I've found that the best thing to do is just to relax. Before you get on the runway, take a few deep breaths and visualize going through your vault. Then, once you're on the runway, try not to think about anything (your body knows what to do...you don't need to confuse it by reminding it to do a million things as you're vaulting) and do not look at the bar. Even when I'm at the end of the runway, I never look up at the crossbar. I've just find that this way you just try to vault your best, not what you have to do to get over the bar.

Just curious, but do you high jump? It seems like all of the high jumpers at my school have the hardest time turning, while it just comes naturally to former gymnasts (like me).

[souleman]

Clear up something for me, in practice you turn when you're going over the bar? Right? It's only when you compete that you forget the turn. Am I getting that part right? If that is the answer, then it's mental and you just have to jump through it so that the motion becomes second nature. Fixing this makes practice more fun too because all you are doing is jumping, WITH A CROSSBAR. But if it's like I thought I may have read and when you said, "the minute I get on the runway it all goes to sh*t" that means to me that any time you put a bar up you forget to turn. Clear this question up for me, I might have an idea that may help. >>>>>>>>>>>Later......Mike

[FCCVaulter]

ok for the first post...i have total concentration, borders on too much...i am thinking where i am and my next step at every point and that is what seems to screw me up...for the second..no i do not high jump ne more i did when i was younger..and yes the whole visualizing the vault does help because my body does know what to do but i guess the whole competition thing is what throws me off..when i dont think a million things i seem to do better...and finally for the third...yes i do turn in practice over a bar..i can turn ive done it a million times but this tid bit of info may help for those responding its not the turn really its the freaking keeping my left arm stiff for long enough because its perfect on takeoff but i cant row cuz i let the freaking thing in, but like i said before the warmup jumps seem to come together...im thinking its all mental pretty much so what the frick i need to just snap out of this but thats the hard part... so yeah the turning i cant do because i have nothing to row against with my left arm at my dang chest...so hmm..yeah continual advice would do some good...specially cuz im out for spring break and have some time to contemplate why am a spaz.....

[CHC04Vault]

Don't think...just do. I never think during jumps because when i do i screw up. Just relax and do it. Easier said then done, but its the best advice i think.

[souleman]

Ok, I think I got it now and CHC04vault is right, don't think just do. I see it a lot on the forum here where a lot of vaulters say "don't concentrate on the bar". I disagree with that. I think that all you should concentrate on IS the bar and getting over it. Simplify your performance in competition and it will come together and BINGO, you'll be turning and clearing heights. Yeah, it's nice when it's pretty but clearing the height is all that's important. Good Luck..................Mike

[Mecham]

just DO it.

[bvpv07]

I think that all you should concentrate on IS the bar and getting over it.

When this happens though, people seem to aim for the bar and knock it down. My coach has this saying that it's all about the process, not the result, because if you just continue through with the process of the vault, the result of clearing the height will come. This sounds kind of weird, but the crossbar is not really the only standard to judge a vault by....everytime you should concentrate on vaulting to your best ability, pretty much regardless of where the bar is at...if someone vaulted 13 feet, would that same vault be any different if the bar had been set at 11'?

FCCVaulter, really try the "don't think, just do it" mentality, especially in comps where you're a bit more stressed than you are in practice. You said that you vault better when you're not thinking about a million things...so practice clearing your mind when you vault in practice, and then apply it in meets. Another thing from a fellow head case, try not to get so upset and frustrated at yourself when things aren't going like you want them to be...often being angry and upset just leads to more frustration and continuation of the problem because you are so frustrated. Just step back, relax, be open to suggestions, and try to think positively, because a negative attitude and opinion of your vaulting will not lead to any improvements.

(omg...anyone that knows me is probably laughing right now because I used to be really, really, really mental...still am I guess, but just not as bad....it's kind of sad when coaches from other schools come over and try to make you smile)

Why is it that all of my posts are so long?!? Sorry guys.

[souleman]

BVPC07, in a nut shell what I meant is what you said. It shoudn't matter where the bar is at whether 11 or 13. At 11 you should clear it by 2'3" or so and at 13 you clear it by about 3"or so. What I was saying, like you were saying, the time to break down every aspect of your jump is at practice. When you compete, just make it simple. You don't have time to think of everthing while jumping,that's why "don't think- just do" and "clear the bar" and "just do it" in competition is all that should be thought about. Later............Mike