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Another Practice Meet in Wake Field house at Lynchburg College. Been working on some things...still got a lot to clean up.

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

JUMP 1: decent take-off, could have been driving with the chest more though. Pretty straight swing, aside for a little break at one point. NEVER FINISH THE EXTENSION. My elbow never comes to the inside of the pole and I kinda just "ride the recoil" of the pole, while in this "L" position.

JUMP 2: take-off was at 12'6-ish so I really wasn't ready for it. I'm actually surprised I stuck with the jump at all, but I tried to make it work. I essentially get into the "chair" position and just flop over :X

JUMP 3: step was at 11' and should have been around 11'6, so I was a bit under, and had a rather low take-off. Swing was better, as it was a bit more powerful, and straight through the vault (very little, if any flat-back), but I still never get the elbow to the inside of the pole and I never truly get inversion because of it. Better than the previous jumps though

JUMP 4: moved up the the 15' 155 Pacer. Take-off honestly looks decent in this jump. I swing all the way to the chord of the pole but the pole still begins to recoil before I can get into a position to exploit it. Then I get stuck in the "V" and, in addition to my lack of inversion, just flop over the bar.

JUMP 5: Take-off was at around 10'9, so I was definitely under and definitely leaning back at take-off. But fortunately I was able to beat the recoil of the pole and FINALLY got my elbow to the inside of the pole. This was the closest I've come to actually finishing the vault today. (TAKE-HOME MESSAGE: finishing the vault salvages a crappy take-off).

JUMP 6: raised the grip 3 inches on the 15' 155 to get comfortable on it. Take-off was at 11' so i was about a foot under (ouch), but had decent chest-drive. Had a decent swing, but for whatever reason, I tuck and that's when the pole begins to recoil and then I get stuck in the 'V' (not as badly as last time, but still, I want to totally eliminate the 'V' from my vault, so I'm not happy with it). Elbow never makes it to the inside of the vault and I flag-out, BIG TIME. All my coach sees, however, is that I land beyond the coach's box and tells me to go to the 15' 160. Now, his logic is, well, I flagged out, but had my take-off been "on" (around 11'9), I would crush the pole, flag-out or no flag-out. [I didn't notice how crappy this jump was during the meet, and after watching the video, I don't think I was ready for the 160 (since I've never been on it before). Fortunately, I felt I was ready, so I wasn't too scared picking it up]

JUMP 7: Take-off was still at 11' and my trail-leg broke in the up-swing for some reason. Not a straight swing either, so I bail out, not feeling much penetration.

JUMP 8: take-off was still at 11' and the take-off looks pretty low to me; but I had a decent chest-drive and I think that's the only reason why I even got in on this pole. Pretty nice swing, but my elbow gets stuck on the outside of the pole and I bail out (didn't feel much penetration on this jump either, but after looking at the video, I think I could have made this jump, if I didn't bail out).

So...things are getting better. Take-off is looking better, but I can't be leaning back AT ALL anymore, especially when I'm on the bigger 15's. I really need to fix my inversion problem though. Even on the crappier jumps (crappier bottom-halves), the jump can still be salvaged with a decent top. My top used to be the best part of my vault, and now it's my worst. Any thoughts on how to fix it?? I invert perfectly on my 3-left straight-pole pop-ups, I just can't do it on a bending pole anymore :X -6P

I sent the video to my old coach from back home, Al Berardi, with all my comments, and this is what he had to say:

Al wrote:I looked them over and I think I see a problem at the take off, it looks like to me that your not jumping up into the plant enough. The pole sizes are bigger, but your trying to bend them, not lift and pushing it away enough. I watched the 15-160 pole jumps especially and the pole is bending 90+ degrees, however, your low in the swing, so you are dropping or at least not going up right after takeoff. Check out your step also, it looks in a little. Now, based on these vid's, I'm concerned about the pole size we discussed. I'm not sure a carbon 155/160 is big enough. I now believe that you should consider a 15'6" or 4.90m size pole. The test weight would have to be 160 for 15'6" and a 155 for 16 footer. Its time for you to also raise the grip. I know your feelings on getting upside down and having a good push-off. However, I can't seem to remember when the amount of push-off added to your jump was added into the bar clearance formula.

Look I think your jumping well, mistakes yes a few, but overall it looks solid. Also remember, each person(vaulter) jumps according to his/hers natural abilities. So, if your not 6 foot 5 inches tall and have Bubka speed, then you find other ways to be competitive. I think my friend its time to go to the big.....Really Big Sticks!

I agree with most of this. I certainly wasn't jumping up at take-off on most of these. I do still feel (and I'm sure most will agree), that I need fix the problems i'm having now, BEFORE going to a bigger stick, because these problems will only be amplified and lead to some garbage-jumps. But yea, just some more food for thought. -6P

I agree with his critique of your jump. But the pole you jump on is a reflection of the vectors of energy you put into it!.... meaning more energy= more pole. Just because you grab more pole does NOT mean you will automatically put more energy into it! This form of auto-correction only works in certain situations, and this ain't one of them!

You are very, very mechanical off the ground. It almost looks like you are trying to hit the positions so badly that you back off on your intensity. You should do some short runs and instead of trying to hit everything "free" and "smooth", just get your steps down QUICK and POP off the runway. Be aggressive. This is going to put you in a better position off the ground automatically.

Your swing axis is on your hip right now, when it should ideally be around your top hand. So when you do hit your strong take off, swing to the chord and use your core strength a lot more to keep your HIPS moving, not just your trail leg.

Overall, your improvements are going to come from being aggressive and quick your last few steps, especially during your plant. Pretend you are a long jumper, how hard would you hit your take off if you didn't have a pole? Pretty freaking hard I assume. Bring that onto the runway and get your steps down.

As for poles..... don't raise your grip until you are pushing a foot over your grip and STILL landing in the back of the white landing pad. Play it by ear.... but as for what your coach says tell him that push off plays into clearance hieght as follows:

two vaulters of equal physical abilities jump on the same pole- a 16' 160. they both weigh 155 Ibs. Only holds at 15'9" and due to physics can only push 11 inches over his top handhold, so jumps 16'1". The other one holds down at 15' allowing for a much more free take off and a continual swing, and pushes 30", reasonable for 25 Ibs over his weight. He jumps 16'10". They each get better, maxing out their grips at 16'5", and the one that learned how to push off now pushes 40" and the other only about 18". You can learn something from every coach, but I'm sorry to tell you, he has clearly never coached anyone who has jumped as high as you hope to. If he had, he would know the importance of certain fundamentals like push-off. He would also recognize that you are NOT ready to raise your grip.... yet.

vault8rb0y: Actually, my old coach, Al, coached Rory Quiller to 5.65, BUT...I agree with you and I am NOT ready to up the grip. Perhaps you could say that Al's never coached anyone with MY DIMENSIONS to the heights that I desire to vault (Rory's 6'4 and can grip nearly anything). I also agree with you that I almost always sacrifice aggression and power in order to get into the position that I want to be in.

towards your long jumper analogy: I totally agree with you and think, using this same analogy often. During warm-up's, I do a drill called "fast-leg's", (i'm sure you've seen or heard of them before), and what I like to do with my take-off leg, is really try and explode of the ground after I stomp it down. The problem I've been encountering, is when I try to do it on the runway, it either causes me to slow down or have no forwards lean at all. What do you recommend to make up the differences/do it properly?? -6P

PS: you should know my by now to know that I would never intentionally sacrifice my push-off for grip

THOUGHT: does anyone think that my inversion problem is simply as "don't look at the bar!"?? It's not like on conciensioulsy look at the bar. I think my eyes are closed at that part of the vault, but I don't even really remember/know {shrugs}. I know I don't want to throw my head back, but I'm currently doing the opposite and tucking my chin. I don't know, i'm babbling

Your "inversion problem" is caused by leaning back at the takeoff and waiting for the pole to hit you instead of you actively jumping up and hitting the pole. Move your step back and consciously try to jump up and in at the takeoff. 91' is WAY too close for a guy trying to grip 14'.

2 things.

1) I think looking at the bar is causing you problems, because you never rotate around your shoulders at all.

2) Mike Thompson coached Rory Quiller from 4.60 to 5.65

IAmTheWalrus wrote:2) Mike Thompson coached Rory Quiller from 4.60 to 5.65

Agreed

GiVaulter09 wrote:

IAmTheWalrus wrote:2) Mike Thompson coached Rory Quiller from 4.60 to 5.65

Agreed

double agreed

Does Thompson still coach at Binghamton??

Yes, he's the head coach.

Barto: you don't think that moving my step back might cause me to over-stride?? My 7-left approach used to be at 94', and that was last year when I was a lot slower than I am now. {shrugs} perhaps I'm just running too tight??

Try to push harder out the back to keep your chest moving forward through the entire run. If you can get to an appropriate mid (~35/36 for a 14' grip) then overstriding at the box will not be a problem.