Need Help

[andrew]

I need some advice. I have 6 days until our region meet and I'm having some problems with scheduling practice for 2 of my girls. At the beginning of the season we had a good bit of time to get some work in, but our head coach has them running such high mileage, I only get to work with them for about 20-30 on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

One girl in particular has been jumping 10' consistently, with an occasional 10'6. She ways 125 and was jumping on a Spirit 12'1 130. She started blowing through her pole so I moved her to a 12' 140 Pacer (the next pole we had).

Over the past two weeks she has started planting inside, which she has never had a problem with. Plus, on the new pole she is not getting enough penetration because of her inside plant and the fact that she is not loading the pole long enough.

With basically 2 practice days left (Wed. and Fri), what should we work on?

One thought is to do a lot of pole runs and bubkas on Wed. and on Friday work on loading the pole with a few full vaults.

Any suggestions?

Thanks

[izzystikchik]

wow, that sounds like a kinda big jump there, moving onto a pole that is 10 lbs heavier...maybe thats why she has problems penetrating sometimes....

[dj]

hey
i don't think it would have been a big jump from a 1230 spirit to a 1240 spirit.. that is the series i use all the time...

depends if it is an old or new pacer.. it may bend differently than the spirit.. making it harder to "get" on..

and it's possible she feels it's stiffer and is "lunging" into the plant causing her to step under.. of course under, low and stiff pole.. gets old!

you might go back to the old pole... shorten the run if necessary.... and jump 10'6 or 11' with a 11'6 grip..

and the high millage??? are they distance runners.. and is distance there best event??? and what event will they go to "state" in??

dj

[altius]

The answer is there from iggystik. 10lbs is too big a move for a light girl. Try and borrow a Spirit 12/135 or even a 140 for the comp -there are no technical changes you can - or should try to make - at this late stage.

Other wise stay on the 130, grip down three inches and push the standards back al the way. It might get you through this meet.

[higherflyer]

I don't think spirit makes 12' poles in 5 pound increments.

I have girls go from 12-120 to 12-130 and then to 12-140 all the time that is the natural progression as far as i am concerened.

kevin

[rainbowgirl28]

I don't think spirit makes 12' poles in 5 pound increments.

Sadly, no.

[izzystikchik]

The answer is there from izzystik. 10lbs is too big a move for a light girl. Try and borrow a Spirit 12/135 or even a 140 for the comp -there are no technical changes you can - or should try to make - at this late stage.

Other wise stay on the 130, grip down three inches and push the standards back al the way. It might get you through this meet.

Yes that's exactly what i was saying....because i weighed around 130lb last year, and i had all mystics, i moved from a 11ft 130lb to a 12ft 135lb pole and that was a set back for awhile then by the end of last season i needed another pole and all we had was a pacer 13ft 140lb pole and that was terrible!!!!

So this year i moved from the 12 135 to a 12'6'' 135, much more natural transition, and hopefully my coach will be able to purchase me a 12'6'' 140lb for my next move.....

I really think you should look into buying a mystic since spirit doesn't make a 12'6'' just a thought

[master]

Here's my 2 cents worth. Most of the HS kids I work with really get psyched out when they move up poles. They try to compensate by running harder (which usually alters their step) and they lose their concentration on some of the basics like an early and tall plant. So you can encourage the vaulter, in whatever way works with that person, to get control of their mental condition and just make the jump.

One way to do that is to have them jump on their regular pole to prove they have things under control. When they are jumping well (even if they are penetrating more than desirable) have them jump on the new pole. Emphasize to them not to change any aspect of their jump. Their step should be perfect with the new pole (if it was with the regular pole). The plant should be early and tall (if it was with the regular pole). If the penetration is not deep enough with the new pole then try lowering the hand grip about 2-3 inches at a time.

If she still can't penetrate, I go along with dj and altius and recommend you have her use her old pole with a shorter run (enough shorter that her speed is slowed to control penetration), and of course use standards adjustment as appropriate.

[andrew]

Thank you very much for the advice. Several of you mentioned the increase in 10 lbs. was too much, but the problem is that Spirit doesn't go up in 5lb increments as someone stated. I'm hesitent to purchase another brand at this point not knowing how the pole is going to react.

For now we are going to try and shorten her steps from 8 to 7 lefts and drop her hand grip as someone suggested. I don't know why I didn't think of that. Thanks for the advice dj!!!!

dj, to answer your question about high mileage. We are a small school that competes with the public schools. We only have 7 girls on the team so everybody is maxed out. Though small we have been successfull. The girls have won the state for 5 years in a row and we broke 6 state records last year and had a couple of national times.

The junior vaulter (the one I've been asking question about) also runs the 4X100, 4X400, 300 hurdles, 800. She should qualify in both relays. The freshman that jumps 9' runs the 1600 and 3200 and can win state in both events.

Thanks again for the help, anymore thoughts let me know...I'll let you know how things turn out Monday!!!!!

[master]

WOW!! That is quite a load for those girls to carry, but apparently they do it well.

I can sympathize with your frustrations. Last year we had a girl vaulter who was a multi event athlete. As a result, she only practiced the vault once or twice a week and then only for part of the practice. We were frustrated because she could have learned much more in the vault, but we appreciated her performance in the other events. As it was, at the state meet she tied for first in the vault (took second because of one more miss), and won most of the other events she entered. The school placed 4th (you could say SHE placed 4th because all points were hers) and she was selected as female athlete of the meet. When all was said and done, I was just pleased to have been able to work with her.

I look forward to reading how your vaulters do.

[vcpvcoach]

Hey, Andrew. What state are you in?

[StanVaultCoach]

Even though Spirit does not make 5 lb increments in those size poles, you can look at the flex rating to see if it is a stiff or soft 12' 130. At the top of the pole you will see etched into it the length and weight rating. Below that there should be the date of when it was made and the flex rating. Probably in the high 20's for a pole like that. All poles are flexed on a scale. They hang a 50lb weight on the middle of it and measure how far it bends (in cm). This is how the pole gets its flex rating and its weight rating. The weight rating is a range of flex numbers.

CAUTION: This will work with Spirit poles and new Pacer poles. The older pacer poles where flexed on a different scale and I believe are in inches, not cm

Sorry to hear they have to put in so much distance training. A little counter-productive for a vaulter.