13 feet New pb. Please Critique

[bel142]

Morning, Well the punch line is, when ever you are actively changing your vault it will always take some time to get your timing down. So you may end up going backwards for a few training sessions until you understand the new timing. In your vault there are some positives that I can see about adding a more explosive pull through with a tick of a tuck (Haha).

If I can throw you a piece of advice, for this stage in your career... I would recommend learning as much as possible about different styles and methods of technique because later on your career you could get a coach who uses a different method and coaches that style. Many of my friends or vaulters I have known, careers' were ruined because they were tunnel visioned about how they vault, and would not or could not get used to a different/new style with a new coach.

So if you decide to throw in a bit more of a tuck, and years later you have a coach that teaches lots of swing, you can still get better with that coach but you need to be open to learn. Lots of guys jump high with a tuck in their vault, but how it would specifically benefit you, is something that your coach and you should discuss, .

cheers,
bel

[KirkB]

My arm collapsed but i was able to muscle back somewhat before i elevated my hips.

Your bottom arm collapsed just fine ... nothing wrong with that!

My coach has decided he wants me to now tuck during my vault. I'm slightly skeptical because i was thinking A) if i tuck too soon i will reduce my forward penetration as my center of mass will be higher B) I believe that to now change to the tucking idea, it might be hard as mentally, i trail my leg to the inverted seated row or (L) position.

I don't think you should tuck, but not for the reasons you mentioned ... at least not Reason A.

You have a very nice "continuous motion" vault. By that I mean you swing THRU the "flat back" position very, very nicely. You're in the "flat back" for only a single video frame ... just like all the good Petrov Model vaulters!

If there's ONE thing in common that I've noticed about ALL good vaulters ... from HS vaulters on up to WR holders ... it's that they don't get stuck in the flat back position. This is true of ALL vaulters ... even Jack Whitt, who purposely tucks ... passes thru the flat back position in a single frame! Their hips are continuously moving upwards. You do this amazingly well for a 13 foot vaulter.

Your thoughts about your bottom arm collapsing and your coach suggesting that you tuck seems to be misguided. Perhaps he was a tuck-shooter in his vaulting days, or maybe he wants you to copy the technique of all the great US vaulters that tucked. These great vaulters DID tuck, but what made them special is that they figured out how to keep their hips moving CONTINUOUSLY as they tucked (Brad Walker, for example). This is very, very hard to do ... especially for a HS vaulter.

I fear that if you start tucking, you'll start pausing in the flat back position while you wait for the pole to roll to vertical. The mindset of a tuck-shooter seems to be (generally) that they want to get onto as big a pole as they can, so they justify the tuck for that reason. Personally, I think you can be MORE effective ... more efficient ... by staying on a slightly lighter pole, and SWINGING ... CONTINUOUSLY ... thru the flat back position. YOU'RE ALREADY DOING THIS ... so you're already way ahead of your HS competitors!

As a Jr. in HS, you're already doing very well, and you're only going to get better ... much better ... as long as you don't screw around with things like a stiffer bottom arm and a tuck. You probably didn't even know that your technique follows the Petrov Model, eh? If you haven't studied BTB2, then you should. You've already got a good head start on most HS Jrs!

Kirk

[powerplant42]

DON'T TUCK. PERIOD.

[perezn03]

Thanks For all the feed back! I appreciate them time you guys spent on the responses and i will consider them. I'm currently coached by two coaches. My hs coach who doesnt know much about the vault. My other coach is one of the coaches of the Hudson Valley Flying Circus who has more knowledge on the vault. I will discuss with both of them what they think is best and mention a lot of what was mentioned here and hopefully we will be able to work out to better heights. Thanks again!

Perez.