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Is there such thing as an early plant. I'm not sure that's what I'm doing but here's the problem. I've been getting better and better, and new PRs almost every meet, but I watched videos of me vaulting and I put my arms/hands above my head for about the last two steps of the vault, putting the pole about a foot off of the ground. Then I push it in and the rest of my vault is fine. I tryed to fix it but now if I don't do it like that I miss the box or plant so late I'm already in the pit when I try and push down. Any suggestions or help....

yes, there is such thing as an early plant. it can take away from your vault, as an early plant can cause you to lose speed in the last steps of your run.

pole plants and sliding box would help. also, counting your steps (lefts) outloud as you come down the runway will give you a better idea of the timing of the plant. or sometimes our coach puts a "marker" on the runway so we have a reference point for when to start the plant.

GOOD LUCK!

I would say the best thing would be 3 step plant drills (lefts). Start with doing one in super slow motion, one walking, one skipping/a-skips, one jogging, one running, and one running with your eyes closed. End that with one in reverse (starting on your takeoff foot with knee up and in plant position, then work backwards only 3 total steps), and one in super slow motion again. The plant as well as being part of your muscle memory is largely mental, thats where the closed eyed and reverse plant comes in, it makes you think about it even more. I hope that was clear enough and I hope that helps. During the off season I would do at least 3 sets of these 3 times a week.

snlpver wrote:Is there such thing as an early plant.

Yup, when you plant on the track, not in the box