PoleVaultPower.com

Hey all!

Last time I posted video, I got some really good feedback, so I am hoping you guys can help me out again! I have been really focusing on the vault from the ground up (my run, plant, and swing) so far this year, which is starting to clean up a bit. However, I don't seem to turn all that well ... I get like a quarter turn and my bottom hand is still on the pole when I am trying to go over the bungee. (I am guessing that's why I am only quarter turning until I take my hand off) Any advice on this would be very helpful .. whether you see something in the vault that is causing this to happen or if you have any advice on what to think about to get a sooner/quicker turn. And any advice on the rest of the vault in general is always appreciated - thanks!

First video - bungee @ 4.05 (13'3.5"), 13'7-130, 12'7 grip, 6 lefts from 68'
Second video - bungee @ 4.10, (13'5.5") 13'7-130, 12'8 grip, 6 lefts from 68'3
Thrid video - same as second

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-29-yDMuu4c
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9XRVzd2Goc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkikhEyL_G0

marry me? no, i'm totally playing. You are honestly one of the best female technicians i've ever seen on a sub-elite level. I don't really see your turning as much of a problem. Biggest thing i notice is that you lean back a bit at take-off. I used to do the same thing, and have been able to get on much bigger poles and obtain much more depth after fixing this problem. It's hard to figure out the optimal angle, seeing has how, you don't want to lean forward to the point of causing a "hunch" but you don't want to lean back. Think about being as tall as possible, but instead of letting the pole push you back, drive forward with your chest. This will allow you to better put energy into the pole, put you in a better position to swing (which you already do remarkably), and in turn, be able to get on bigger poles and jump higher. -6P

(sorry if that's not 100% clear, i'm sort of on the way out right now. let me know if you need any clarifications)

Almost everything looks great. I would say the biggest thing is I can hear the pole strike the back of the box just before your take off foot hits the ground. I would say just work on getting your step out, and getting your hands up as high as possible, and jumping up at take off. This will not only fix any problems you have with the body position at take off but give you more push off the top.

Other then that you are a very good tecknical jumper. Also very impressive jumping from 6 lefts.

---Kasey

Carrie, my advice is the same as 6P's and KC's. The top half of your vault is fine ... stop worrying about it. Instead, focus more on the bottom half of your vault. You can gain FEET by bottom half improvements, but only INCHES by top half improvements.

You're leaning back far too much immediately after takeoff. Besides not fully stretching/jumping UP on the plant/takeoff, this is becuz your takeoff is under, and you're not driving your chest thru to the "elastic stretch" C position. You need to pass thru the C before you let your hips swing forwards.

The best way to learn this is to visualize and FEEL it on the rings and/or highbar. If you can imagine how "Amy" does it here http://www.polevaultpower.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=18729 ... but not quite so exagerated ... then you'll have a better feel for what a good forwards lean feels like as you pass thru the C. Feel the POWER of the whip ... and how this power is generated ... in the gym, then duplicate this feel on the pole.

If your body isn't leaning forwards (or at least straight up and down ... rather than leaning back), then you're not going to be able to whip your trail leg thru your downswing.

If there was just one thing that you should focus on, I think it's driving your chest forwards and upwards on takeoff ... into the elastic stretch. You should devote several weeks/months to just this one technical flaw. Also take note of how Isi and Fefanova drive INTO the C after takeoff.

p.s. to 6P: Nice to see that you're taking my technical advice and applying it!

Kirk

Well.... you said you are already working on the front parts of your jump, so unlike everyone else ill tell you what i see once you are off the ground and let your coaches worry about what happens before that. You cant jump as high as you do without first learning that the run and take off are more important than a turn, but if you want advice for that, here goes....

The turn comes naturally, GRANTED that you keep pressure on the pole throughout the entire swing/push phase of the vault. Once you take pressure of the pole and the vaulter/pole system is broken, your body is going to continue to move in whatever manner you left it in.

You swing very well and pull powerfully once you are inverted. I sense you probably practice an agressive "jerk" action once you get inverted similar to a power clean. This is great, but you pull so well that you take some of the pressure off of the pole as you begin to fly away. Since that pressure is reduced and you are essentially not in support of the pole anymore, your body is going to continue to move upward without as definite a turn unless you have begun the turn while still in support of the pole.

The solution? I'd suggest trying to keep pressure on the pole throughout the entire pull, not just through the "clean" action. Keep pressure with your top hand on the pole as long as you can, until your top hand passes your head at least. You cant keep pressure on the pole WITHOUT turning, and as long as the pressure is there, and your top hand is pulling, your turn should come a lot easier. It will also keep you moving up more quickly and for a longer time, aka higher bar clearances! So think about pushing the pole down through the box the entire vault and i think it will fix any turn issues you are feeling right now. Good luck!

You'll find that as you clear bigger bars, your perceived concern about turning will dissipate.

I'm not convinced that you're REALLY having trouble turning, but if you are, the higher you go the less you'll be concerned. That's becuz (a) it's harder to turn at lower heights compared to higher heights becuz there's less time before you're over the bar ... and (b) your entire swing will become smoother, and this minor wrinkle will iron itself out just by normal practice ... without even thinking about it ... much.

Do what 3P0 suggests ... but not at the expense of distracting yourself from anything in the run, plant, takeoff, and bottom half of the swing.

Kirk

I do agree with everybody that says you need to improve your take off and plant. From what I can see, when the pole hits support (makes contact with the back of the box), your top arm is not fully extended upwards as it should be and you are also still on the ground - so you don't have a free take off and you're taking off a bit under. You are also taking off a bit flat in my opinion (or at least not as well as you could).




Here you can see that when the pole hits support, your top arm is quite bent and you still have not left the ground. Unfortunately youtube won't let me stop and take screenshots at any time so this is the closest I can get to showing what you look like the nanosecond before the pole will noticeably bend.




Similar situation here just a split second later in the jump compared to the first one. Note that this video was taken from a different angle. Personally, I prefer videos closer to the first one - a full side on shot of the take off is best. Though from what I can see this jump is better than the first.




This is what I like to refer to as the "Under Position". When you see a vaulter like this, there's a VERY good chance it was not a free take off and it was under. One of the big things to look out for is the displacement of the hips. Running under and not having a free takeoff will "rip" your upper body off the ground. Your hips will then rush forward in front of your shoulders putting you into this position in the air. This position will make your swing quite inefficient. If you fix it, you'll have a much better swing and more time in the air to finish all the aerial components of your vault. Also, you will not be able to apply all the energy you can into the take off because of the way you leave the ground - notice how your left leg tends to bend a lot just after take off. Ideally you would want the left leg to be relatively straight and driving back.

What I recommend you do is actually adjust your take off position and fix your planting action. Your plant is late causing you to not be completely extended at take off.


Practice the 6 step plant:

With each step keep in your mind - drop, two, three, plant, two three

"drop, two, three" - the first three steps you're moving the pole from the carry position (roughly 65 degrees) to the transition point (just above horizontal). You're moving your right arm only, left arm acts as a fulcrum.

"plant, two, three" - on "plant" the pole should be at the transition point and both arms should begin moving upward. When you hit "three" your top arm should be fully extended. If you were a guy using a big enough pole both arms should be extended (you don't have to worry about this )

Keep everything simple, practice it slowly walking first, moving on to a trot and then a six step (3 left) run. Learn the movement first before you put it to full speed.


You need to hit your take off point with the top arm as extended as possible. Believe it or not, this will actually help with the free take off!

You can do 2 step jumps from a stiff pole in the sand pit. Start by carrying the pole over your shoulder so you don't have to worry about the drop. Make yourself a little "plant box" in the sand, nothing drastic just something to make sure you're not planting way off course - planting too far forward can be a concern. Focus on taking off just before the pole hits the sand - at the same time have your top arm fully extended just BEFORE you leave the ground. From two steps (1 left), just push the pole up. When you hit the first step (right foot), your top hand should be roughly near eye level. After that just keep pushing upwards and you will be fully extended at take off. Very simple but extremely effective! Always keep it simple. This will be a different "sensation" or "feel" to what you're going to be used to at take off. It should feel like you're just floating in the air for a split second before the pole hits support - this is the feeling you need to get used to. Everything else will come much easier (including turning) if you accomplish this.

Whether you choose to take this advice or not, best of luck to you in your vaulting! And thank you for giving me an opportunity to test out this new little screen capture feature I just discovered!!! Seriously, you can take a picture of anything on your computer screen, it only uses microsoft paint and it takes like 10 seconds to get a picture done!!!

-Andrew

Thanks, everyone! I was travelling home for the last couple of days, so I was excited to see some posts on this when I logged on. I figured the plant had something to do with it (well, with everything!), so I knew that would come up .. and mine is not 'there' yet. Better .. but definitely not to that free take-off yet .. so I appreciate your advice on that, esp. Andy and the drills. I will try them out over the wkend.

Also, Kirk/6P .. I never noticed my body lean at take-off, so thanks for pointing that out. I am guessing it was partly because I was a little under and partly because my plant is not up tall enough, fast enough by that point in time ... so I will keep an eye out for that when I jump today. I guess I can kill these two birds with one stone by working on the drop/plant/take-off, so that will be my focus. Isn't it funny how you can focus on something for a month and there is still so much to work on in that same aspect? I love the pole vault - always room for improvement.

Vaulterboy - that actually helps .. I never thought about keeping pressure until my top hand passes my head .. I'll keep that in the back of my mind while working on my plant. I have heard the turn is supposed to occur naturally, but for me it seems to only occur naturally halfway (1/4 turn), so hopefully thinking about pressure is the key And I'm guessing this will automatically force my left hand off the pole earlier .. or I'm hoping at least.

Thanks all for the advice and compliments (6P your opening remark cracked me up) .. and if you think of anything else, feel free to comment.

Yea, if you are moving more quickly off the pole your left hand should come off more quickly. BUT while it IS on the pole, use it! keep the pressure with that bottom hand too. How quickly you get off the pole is gonna be determined by the stiffness of the pole most importantly, and how well you keep pressure on the pole secondly. So i wouldnt worry about your hands getting off the pole quickly, but rather keeping pressure on WHATEVER pole you are on, as long as you can!

Do you jump for tennessee? I feel like i recognize your jump from some meets last year lol.

That makes sense ... thanks! No .. but I was at some of the same meets as Tennessee last year, so you may have seen me there.

couldn't resist, i have a thing for pole vaulters -6P

Who doesn't?? We're the best.