freshman vaulting

[tylerd1994]

Hi i posted before with my horrible quality video from practice. Well i had my first meet tonight and have some footage. It was pretty bad I only ended up with 9 "6 i was blowing threw with the pole big time, had my standards all the way back to 28 and still was getting it on the way up. Its a 12'6 130 pacer. I am going to try to move up on a 145 12'6 ucs spirit. Should be good. I have a couple poles to choose from i thought the ucs was the best choice. My other choices were a 150 12ft skypole and a 12'6 140 skypole.

First jump is 9'6, the next are misses at 10 ft.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLeBM5OA7no
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfyGPE3a7Rg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PTiX3Tn1q8

[kcvault]

Looking really good for a freshmen, just need to do some work on a high bar and get the strength to drop your shoulders before you turn.

[tylerd1994]

thank you it just disapoints me because im used to going higher. I went 10'6 last year as an 8th grader with an 11ft. pole.

[kcvault]

I would try the 12'6 140 sky pole. It is going to give you the most time to get inverted and that 12'6 145 ucs pole is to big of a gap.

[tylerd1994]

Oh well guys it doesnt matter i may just have to use the 140. Went up on tuesday on the 145 and it was perfect and i was doing well. Then today i went and well this is what happened.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kKTMqi3KZQ



I'm afraid to go on the 140 now. I might break it. And the only stiffer poles we have are a 155 14ft. pacer and a 155 14ft. 6 pacer.

Oh did i mention we have a meet saturday

[rainbowgirl28]

The pole broke into two pieces, right? It looks to be like it broke in the place where the pole sometimes whacks the standards, so it probably had some damage in that spot.

Just go from a shorter run on that 140, like 1 left (2 steps) less.

[tylerd1994]

yeah it broke right under my lower arm im suprised im not hurt too bad i landed on my shoulder in the pan! Yeah thats about my only option so far. I just hope our school will let my coach buy another pole. but i doubt it.

[tylerd1994]

well my coach is going to buy me a new pole. So what do you guys think i should get. I want to stay with the spirits because i really like them. I'm thinking a 13'1 150. Because the one i broke was a 13'1 145.

[KirkB]

The pole broke into two pieces, right? It looks to be like it broke in the place where the pole sometimes whacks the standards, so it probably had some damage in that spot.

That's my guess too.

So what's the lesson learned here?

1. Whenever your pole gets whacked by a standard, CHECK it for damage!
2. If your pole has been damaged, DON'T USE IT!
3. Before every practice and meet, run your hand down the pole, FEELING for damage! Also, LOOK for damage.
4. If you find any damage, DON'T USE IT!

Report any damage to your coach right aways, so that he doesn't put OTHER kids in danger. Even if you were goofing off when the coach wasn't watching ... and you damaged a pole ... you still have a responsibility to report the damage. It's better to admit your carelessness than to put yourself or a team-mate in danger.

You might think that this is the coaches job - to check the poles and destroy them if they're damaged. It is ... but it's your job too. Why? Becuz you're the one that puts your OWN life in danger if you fall head first into the box!

Tyler, you had a close call. I hope you LEARNED from it. Doesn't sound like you did, since your entire focus seems to be on getting a new pole. Not that you shouldn't figure that out ... but take a moment to reflect on how to SAVE YOUR LIFE by VAULTING SAFELY!

Kirk

[tylerd1994]

That makes alot of sense there. Yeah I was very afraid when it happened because i nearly hit my head in the pan. I just dont want to overthink it and get myself afraid. But thank you for the tips. My teamate, who is 10 pounds heavier than me, had been using the pole for a year. So I just thought there was no damage. I have never seen the pole hammer against a standard or do anything that could damage it but somehow something did happen to it. I know it was my fault for not checking it over but I thought, well if he is not breaking it, why would I? First day vaulting on it , it was good. But i guess something happened to it and it broke. I do have a lesson learned. My entire focus now was the fact of getting a new pole because i dont want this to stop my season. Before i even posted this I already thought about it and new about my close call. Im not going to ponder on it forever. If you are a pole vaulter you have to be a little crazy

Thanks for the insight though, I will take note of it and be very careful when trying new poles!!!

[KirkB]

Kirk

[tylerd1994]

hey guys i got some video im doing a little bit better now here is a video of some of my jumps at practice....im still sitting really bad and working on getting extended at the top

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0L2nUAN0mSE