Sophomore Outdoor Season Video Journal

[andy94566]

4.6.14

Got back from a meet at High Point University. Finally broke the 4 meter mark again, and ended up clearing just 1 cm underneath my personal best at 4.17m! There was a good tail wind, and it was my first time on a raised runway. Opened in at 3.77 (cleared 2nd attempt, couldn't get video), cleared 3.97 first attempt, cleared 4.17 second attempt, and moved up poles for good looks at 4.37. Details and videos below (sorry some jumps have a very bad angle, i had a thrower friend record, and he didn't know that you're supposed to record next to the box)

3.77 (First attempt miss): 14' 165 UCS gripping at 13'4", 8L approach from 104', standards at 60
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohO2qoP ... e=youtu.be

3.77 (Second attempt clearance/could not get video): Same as above except Standards at 65

3.97 (First attempt clearance): 14' 165 UCS gripping at 13'4", 8L approach from 104'3", standards at 70
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-ERfO0 ... e=youtu.be

4.17 (First attempt miss): 14' 165 UCS gripping at 13'4", 8L approach from 104'4", standards at 70
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FuB3hy ... e=youtu.be

4.17 (Second attempt clearance): 14' 165 UCS gripping at 13'4", 8L approach from 104'4", standards at 65
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyez-uH ... e=youtu.be

4.37 (First attempt miss): 14'6" 160 Pacer-FX gripping at 13'5", 8L approach from 14'5", standards at 60
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fs5tj0s ... e=youtu.be

4.37 (Second attempt miss): 14'6" 160 Pacer-FX gripping at 13'5", 8L approach from 14'5", standards at 60
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NnrF-Ye ... e=youtu.be

4.37 (Third attempt miss): 14'6" 160 Pacer-FX gripping at 13'5", 8L approach from 14'5", standards at 60
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yj6O34b ... e=youtu.be

Overall, I would say this was an excellent meet. One, that I really needed for confidence. It was the first time this year that I had the chance to attempt PR bars and I got on the biggest pole ever in competition, and there is no where to go now but up. We have a range of 14'6" 165-170 poles, and 15' poles that I hope I will be able to move up to eventually before Conference.

[andy94566]

April 7, 2014 Practice

Felt really great today during practice.

Approach: 8 lefts from 104' (first jump), 104'2" (second jump), 104'5" (last two jumps)- However, I was consistently a foot under?
Grip: First two jumps were gripping at 13'3" the last two jumps were gripping at 13'5" (I think I am going to experiment with putting tape over the sticker and moving my grip higher on this pole next time)
Standards: Consistently 70cm
Bungee: 4.50m
Bar (if in video): 4.20m

I focused on trying to have a strong consistent run throughout practice with a high take off. Also, one thing that seemed to help me was not stalling too much at the top while I'm upside down, but thinking about actively coming off of the pole slightly earlier.

Jump 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wy5xuZo ... e=youtu.be
2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdYFepf ... e=youtu.be
3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZakCsJ ... e=youtu.be
4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVsbH3H ... e=youtu.be

[andy94566]

4.18.14 Sewanee Invite

So lots of good things and bad things today.. I had some of the best jumps that I think I have ever had in my life (especially for my second warmup jump at 15 feet, and my first two attempts at 4.25m). Since this was the last meet before my conference meet in one week, I really needed to set a mark for me to continue with the good motivation, progression, and confidence that I have been building throughout the last month. I was only able to clear 4.10m but I guess thinking back, this is my second meet in a row over 4 meters again, and I was unable to do that all year so I should be happy that I am consistently over that mark. Although I would have liked to clear 4.25m, I should be happy with a few things. On almost all my jumps, I was consistently at 11' or even slightly out, I raised my grip to 13'8" which is the highest I have ever gripped, especially on my first two attempts at 4.25m, I have never been able to get so far back in my inversion, and most importantly I am feeling more and more confident in my jumps.

Marks for the meet: 14' 165 UCS Spirit (flex# 16.8), gripping at 13'6" for warm ups, 3.80m, 3.95m, and 4.10m. Gripping at 13'7" for first attempt at 4.25m, and 13'8" for last two attempts at 4.25m. 8 left approach from 104'3". Standards were at 65 the entire meet except at 4.25, which were at 60 for the first two attempts, and 55 for the last attempt.

Warm up 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxhoG0t6 ... e=youtu.be
Warm up 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwWkeRVi ... e=youtu.be
3.80 O: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rqgm3nCB ... e=youtu.be
3.95 X: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnW8cHz2 ... e=youtu.be
3.95 XX: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZ_cLCMq ... e=youtu.be
3.95 XXO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDA5r0cB ... e=youtu.be
4.10 X: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVCQESOs ... e=youtu.be
4.10 XO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Avw0EEqK ... e=youtu.be
4.25 X: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r90u-n_c ... e=youtu.be
4.25 XX: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10PH1MhV ... e=youtu.be
4.25 XXX: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdNlX8Mo ... e=youtu.be

Excited to work on small cues this week and prepare for the conference meet on Saturday!

[andy94566]

4/23/14 Last Vault Practice

So today was my last vaulting practice of the year. I had good jumps on the 14' 165 (16.8) UCS Spirit gripping at 13'7" so I decided to move up to a 13'7" 180 (16.2) UCS Spirit capping it. Here's a link to the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FyQEiY ... e=youtu.be​

I am still running from 8 lefts from 104'9", capping the 13'7" 180 pole, and the standards were at 75..

Looks to me that maybe even this pole will be too small? I mean it looks like I blew through it during practice.

Ideas or suggestions? I have access to 14' 170 and 14'7" 170 UCS Spirit poles during my conference meet as well this weekend but it won't be my own poles and I'd have to share. I prefer competing with my own pole but if it comes down to that it shouldn't be a problem.

[KirkB]

You're landing at the back of the coach's box, so you are blowing thru a bit. You can move the standards back another 5 (the max), but that's not going to be enough. Once you get into the meet, with adrenalin pumping, you'll be blowing thru even more.

If you really prefer not to borrow poles, then you have 2 choices: (1) lower your grip; and/or (2) shorten your run by 2 steps.

It really depends on what you're going to be most comfortable with, since making major adjustments mid-meet (or in warm-ups) isn't usually a good idea.

Personally, I'd try to borrow a stiffer pole. But there's 2 other choices to consider. Running from 6 would probably be a better option than lowering your grip.

Hmm... here's one more idea to think about ...

Your swing is really "lackadaisical". I mean, you're really just hanging on the pole, letting it propel you vertically (and towards the bar). Instead, maybe you could try to speed up your swing, by getting that trail leg going the INSTANT you leave the ground.

I'm NOT saying this is a GOOD idea - I'm just saying it's something to think about. If you're lucky, your quicker swing will result in less pole bend, and more vertical. If you're UN-lucky, you'll produce more bend and blow thru even more.

I can't predict how your body will react in this situation (and you probably can't either), so that's why I'm not saying this is a GOOD idea - it's just something to be aware of.

If you had 2 more months of practice and meets ahead of you, then I would certainly advise that you try to speed up your swing. And in THAT case, producing more bend (and having the time to get onto a bigger pole) would actually be LUCKY/GOOD! But this may be another case of avoiding last-minute changes before the big meet.

Kirk

[andy94566]

The end of a long year...

Just finished my outdoor conference meet. Resulted in a 13'6" first attempt, and great looks at 14'. Pretty bummed to finish a season this way especially with how confident I was feeling during practices. I'm a big fan of Shawn Francis, and if there's anything I can learn from his pole vault YouTube vlogs, the biggest thing would be to always try to look at the positive side of things. Today I was able to successfully jump on the biggest pole of my life gripping at 13'8" on a 14' UCS Spirit 170 (16.2) pole, I was able to consistently jump from 10'10"-11' at the take off, and strangely I'm more motivated and already thinking about what I can do to do well next season rather than ponder about what could have been this season.

Stats + Videos from today (14' 170 UCS Spirit (16.2 flex) gripping 13'8", 8 lefts from 105'1", standards 55.
13' X: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thnET90 ... e=youtu.be
13' XO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EgdIxC ... e=youtu.be
13'6" O: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qrYNYw ... e=youtu.be
14' X: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3vHnNl ... e=youtu.be
14' XX: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xb8D-NI ... e=youtu.be
14' XXX: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nj-r0FX ... e=youtu.be

Excited to figure out my goals and training over the summer from mid May to mid August and look forward to hopefully a more successful and exciting indoor season.

-AK