PoleVaultPower.com

This: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CV9p9hVJd-8

Is a video of me. The top video is from the first week of practice. Notice how my takeoff is poor and my hips get sucked under, however the top half of the vault is done extremely well, at least for the level I am at. In the bottom video my takeoff, plant, and swing are all much stronger and my hips don't get sucked under but the top portion of the vault is horrendous compared to the top video. How can I put together both parts. I feel as thought that is the key to the next PR.

First video:

6L approach on a 14' 6" 170 holding at 13' 5".

Second Video:

7L approach on a 14' 6" 175 holding at 14' 3".

I am 6' 1" and was 168 lbs in the first video and 160 lbs in the second (which accounts for the pole not being that much bigger at all when changing to a 7L from a 6L plus adding spikes) and a senior in high school.

The bottom of your vault is not better in the bottom video. In the bottom video you are:

1) Dropping the pole tip too early and initating your plant with the pole below eye level. Notice how your left arm reaches out toward the box. This is throwing you off balance and hindering your takeoff.
2) Blocking with the bottom arm and shoulder when you impact the box, because you are reacting to the impact.

Both of these issues are common side effects of raising your grip. With a higher grip, there is more weight out in front of you when running with a pole, so it's easier to lose control of the pole tip. And, because the pole is at a lower angle when you plant, the impact of the box hits you with a greater force (due to higher cosine of the pole angle).

I'm not sure why you think the bottom of your vault is poor in the first video. You're definitely under on the takeoff, which might be why you think the hips are getting sucked under, but for the most part, you are moving the pole well and correctly swinging quickly off the ground. Your head position is also better in the top video.

So, practice your pole runs and your plant motion. Make sure that the pole tip stays above eye level until you initiate your plant, and practice slow motion plant drills, making sure that the left arm does not go too far out in front of you. You want your left arm to be at 90 degrees when you are on your right foot, halfway through your plant with your left hand overhead.

When you vault, you should stay focused on making your hands go as high as possible before and through your plant motion. Open your shoulders as you impact the box, and try not to tense up and react to it.

Thank you for the feedback! I have been getting frustrated with my inablilty to replicate the positions from the top video. Maybe it is an issue of grip because now that I think about it my legs only tend to get apart at higher grips.

The biggest problem you have is your take off - and this is inevitably going to impact your inversion. You simply take off flat allowing the pole to pick you up - there is no up springing jump at take off. Until you improve that - worrying about the top is irrelevant IMHO.