i need help with finishing my vault getting out of the chair

[katiesuisse]

I am a female vaulter, I am a junior. I have a 120 12ft UCS pole, I am holding at the very end, and I am getting a good amount of bend. I have a pretty good run, I load the pole pretty well.. once I drive, separate, and swing, I get stuck into this chair, where I haven't let my shoulders and head relax back. I feel as if I have to reach for the bar/bungee, therefore I let my legs kick out and just ending the jumping. My coach, says I will without a doubt be a 12 foot jumper, and lead my state. I want nothing more, but I've been stuck in this dilemma for awhile. I need some tips, or ideas to help me get my hips vertical with the pole, and than shoot. I have the power, and strength I just need HELP any tips would be very helpful, i have a meet sunday!

** my coach as says, finish the vault, and not to kick my feet out i just need advice!

[AVC Coach]

Without seeing any video of your jump, I'm guessing you jam your bottom hand out and down during the swing. Practice swinging through your top hand with a much lower grip and shorter run.

[katiesuisse]

Here is a video, I wasn't attempting to finish the vault.. keep in mind .. and this was about 5 months ago! SO there has been a little improvement

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvWP4Eb47Oc

[tsorenson]

Thanks for posting the video, much easier to help you that way. You are doing a lot of things well, but it is hard to learn the feeling of driving your hips up on such a high grip and stiff pole, and from such a long run. Your takeoff position and swing are actually quite good, but you are stretching and decelerating into an "under" takeoff.

8 lefts is a lot for a young vaulter, especially if they haven't figured out how to swing up above their grip yet. Your run/carry/drop look pretty decent, but your feet and hands don't accelerate as much as they could on the last three steps. In fact, your last step is quite long, because your plant is a little late. You would probably be able to jump better on the same pole from 6 lefts, or maybe a softer pole of the same length. Really, with your speed you should have a higher grip from 8 lefts, but you won't be able to figure it out until you do it properly on a shorter run and softer pole. Taking off under is something that takes time to cure.

If you change nothing else, just try to keep your hands high all the way through the pole drop (don't let your hands drop as the pole drops). This will help you achieve a good, fast, jumping takeoff from a little farther out, and with quicker feet and hands. Think quick feet at the takeoff, and don't let your takeoff foot come way out in front of you (this slows you down and makes you "under").

I have been working with several sophomore girls who cleared 9'-9'6" from 7 lefts last year, but they all had trouble inverting and all took off under. This winter I have convinced them to work on stiff pole drills from 3 lefts and full vaults from 5 lefts, and every one of them has already PR'd from 5 lefts. They are getting into a way better position at the top of the vault, and jumping from 5 lefts on the same poles/grips they used last season from 7 lefts. Just some food for thought! Your speed and confidence with a longer run will be valuable once you fix a few small things...keep doing pole runs from 8 and do them with 13' poles.

Keep up the good work, you do indeed have a lot of potential! Notice that I am not giving you much advice for the top end of the vault...this will probably fix itself as soon as you fix the takeoff. However, if you really want to learn the hip drive/inversion, some time on the rings is very valuable. Try to drive your hips up so hard that the rings go slack for a second at the top of your extension. This is what you should be striving for on the pole! Good luck,

Tom

[Barefoot]

Some nice stuff there...

Two possible things... Are you pulling with your top arm? And are you blocking a bit with your bottom arm like AVC mentioned? Either of those things can put you in the bucket. My bet would be you are pulling down with the top arm, which stops your hips' rotation... notice the bent top arm as your feet approach your hands. The arm needs to be long all the way through connecting your hips to your hands.

just 2 cents worth...

[AVC Coach]

Yep! After watching your video, I was right about your bottom hand. It's much easier to offer resistance with your bottom arm when you lean back away from the pole like you're doing. Unfortunately, as soon as you lean back to try and keep the bottom arm extended, you take all of the pressure off of the pole and it stops, just like in your video.

Short run, low grip, stiff pole full vaults will fix the problem but you need to focus on keeping both hands above eye level until you're finishing on top. I'm not sure if you can fix it by your meet this Sunday, but keep pluggin away at it and it will come. Good luck!