Breaking down the vault (MO)

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Breaking down the vault
Finding the "bend" in the pole, having a routine among intricacies of being a successful pole vaulter.
ALLEN VAUGHAN • NEWS-LEADER • MAY 2, 2008
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Branson --Adam Johnston already has counted off his steps. Ten, to be exact.



The Branson High School senior is standing at a chalk-drawn hashmark as if he's posing in a full running stride. His left foot is in front of his body, his right foot behind. As he stands, he has a death grip on the 14-foot-long pole, which is held at a 45-degree angle from his torso.

He checks the grip of both hands, making sure it's thumb-width apart so things go as planned when he's attempting to sail higher in the air than a basketball rim or a football goal post.

When he's happy with the grip and full of nervous energy, he rocks back and takes a deep breath.

Now it's time to pole vault.

"(My routine) is where I get my mojo, I guess. I take a deep breath, put (the pole) down, hike the pole up, take another breath and take a step back and go," Johnston said. "Keeping the same routine makes it less jittery."

As abstract as pole vaulting looks, there are many subtle techniques to learn. That's why the vaulters on the Branson track and field team -- arguably the best in the Ozarks or the state -- took some time to explain the specifics of the sport ... how to do it without getting hurt.



how to get started

Before you start flying through the air, you must become familiar with the pole.

All poles have a weight limit and are matched to the vaulter's weight. The higher the vaulter wants to go, the longer the pole should be.

The actual weight of a pole, which usually are made of fiberglass or carbon fiber, is between 30 and 75 pounds. Some pole vaulters bring a collection of poles to an event.

Each pole has a "bend," which is the key to getting up in the air and being propelled forward over the bar.

First, you have to find where the pole bends, which provides the flex to help a vaulter get over the bar. To find the bend, Branson vaulter Ryan Watkins rests the pole on his shoulder and looks down to see where it bends naturally. He wants the curve closest to the ground, rotating the pole in his hands until it's in the right position.

A vault on a pole that isn't set with the bend in the proper position could send a vaulter backward or cause the pole to break. Vaulters also are urged to never use a pole under the suggested weight.

"You'll go backward if you don't find the bend. It only bends one way," explained Branson sophomore Maggie Givens, a former gymnast.

After Watkins, a right-hander, finds the bend, he grips the pole near the top with his right hand, palm up, and his left hand about shoulder-width down the pole, palm down.

Like Johnston in his routine, you want to mark off your steps, technically counting one for every left-footed step. Johnston knows he needs the steps to be perfect so he can generate enough speed (see: kinetic energy for science buffs) to create the torque to get over the bar, plus have a fluid motion on that last step.

"You're a sprinter without the arms," Branson coach Kevin Blackwell said. "You have to concentrate and run straight, but you can't swing your arms to correct it. You have to concentrate and make your steps perfect."

Added Givens: "It's tough at first to get used to the running, but you catch on."

Once you have the bend, the grip and the steps figured out, now comes the fun part, Givens said.

"I just like flying through the air," Givens said. "It's as simple as that."

air traffic control

If you've been to a track meet or watched track in the Olympics, you have a vision of the pole vaulter flopping over the bar and free-falling onto his back on the mat.

There's so much that happens before you get to that point.

As he takes off running, generating speed, Watkins counts down: "4, 3, 2, 1, lift, flop."

He does it under his breath. Some do it in their heads.

As he approaches the box -- the metal area where you plant the pole -- he slowly lowers the pole closer to the ground. When he plants the pole, his arms are extended over his head. He jumps off the trail leg and starts to pull himself up in the air.

As his lower body reaches the top of the pole, "break at the hips and swing over the bar," Watkins said.

That's right, as he is flung in the air, he's essentially traveling with his back to the ground until he reaches the top of the bar. That's when he flips over it, twists and lands on his back.

Easy enough, right?

As vaulters try to increase their height, the type of pole will change. The longer the pole, the higher they're trying to go -- but also the more difficult the task.

no pain, no gain

Blackwell, the Branson pole vaulting coach, said in his four years at the school he has never had anyone injured while pole vaulting. In part, that's because of the emphasis on fundamentals.

But that's not also to say there aren't risks involved.

Every pole vaulter has a story about how he got sideways going up and had to hold on to the pole to protect himself as he goes down.

"I like it because so many people are afraid of it," said Givens, who also admitted to being afraid.

Givens also stressed that vaulters cannot be afraid of the bar. She said if you're afraid of it, you're more likely to hit it -- which hurts in itself, but then the pole can fall on you, which smarts, too.

"If you focus on the bar, you'll get freaked out because it really hurts," she said.

Watkins said he has ended up in the grass on both sides of the pit. As scary as that is, if you don't break the threshold of the bar, he says, it's not considered a valid vault and you can try again.

Givens said the muscles that hurt the most while pole vaulting are her back, shoulders, stomach and the back of her legs.

As of now, Watkins and Johnston are neck and neck for the best pole vault marks in the Ozarks. Johnston has cleared 13 feet, 6 inches and Watkins 13-0. Givens is tops among local girls, clearing 10-9.

Would they recommend the event to anyone else?

"I'd recommend it to people who aren't scared when the pole bends," Watkins said. "When the pole bends, people tend to just let go, and that's bad."

[stormvault]

WOW!! 30 to 75 pounds. I am guessing they are also the strongest vaulters in the Ozarks.