5'6" - 6'6"; 2nd year vaulting.

[birdi_gurlie]

Age: 15
Grade: 10
How long you have been jumping: 3 seasons; this is my 4th
What pole you are on (length and weight rating): 11' 110 Skypole Ez-Plant
How high you are gripping: Ummm...I haven't been able to check yet, but about 8.5 feet? MAYBE?
What bar(s) you are attempting in the video: I shall say near the video links.

Here are my recent vaults, all on 2-25-09:
1st attempt, 5'6: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=723A0__p ... annel_page
[There was a 2nd attempt, which I cleared, but they didn't tape it...unfortunately. I think it was pretty good, too! Oh well.]
1st attempt, 6':http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUZBFQlptyE&feature=channel_page
[6' is my PR...I've gotten it 4 times though: 2 times last outdoor, 1 time in indoor this year, 1 {so far} in this outdoor]
1st attempt, 6'6": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyQ5KV1J ... annel_page [Best one, I think]
2nd attempt, 6'6": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVx_fyd7 ... annel_page
3rd attempt, 6'6": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wA536LGk ... annel_page

We were having a meet the next day, but they didn't have pole vault so we vaulted as if it were a meet that day.

If you want to see my vaults from the previous year, they're also on the account...they should be easy to find, seeing as there aren't many videos on there.

Okay, I've been TRYING to do a bunch of drills and tape them but that has not worked recently.
I know, I know, no excuses, but if something runs late, something runs late!
[And if you have tons of Statistics homework to do, you have to do it! Unfortunately... Well, no, that class is fun but...yeah...I digress.]
But I SHOULD be able to get a few running drills done on Thursday, because everything will be done early enough and I will have less stats homework.
If not that, some bars work.
[We don't have a "high bar" high bar...just a pull up bar across a squat machine thing. It's not the real-deal, and I can't do certain drills because there are TWO bars attatched, but I can do a version of bubkas and a few other things.]


So, yeah, just give me some feedback, please!

[powerplant42]

{sigh...} I can see you haven't really started working on staying behind the pole yet... Have you tried ANY of the drills I've been mentioning to you? Please keep our messages frequent, I've been waiting for one from you for a long time now!

You are getting by on 60% your own jumping ability... The pole isn't doing much work. There is an almost total absence of a swing.

Film those running drills for me, PM me, and let's get you clearing 9' by the end of this month!

[birdi_gurlie]

I did some of this one drill...its kind of like a vault onto grass, well, minus the inversion stuff. kind of like a pop up but onto the grass.

On the other drills, however, I told you, I haven't had a chance!
But I will try to get the running drills videoed, at least.
But it will be at least thursday before i can do it...the last day my teacher is taking late work is on Thursday, so I'm on overtime. [A few homeworks...I get most of it done; got a little backed up.]
AND I am doing driver's ed this week [the driving part {pray for me, and everyone on the roads! I'm not terrible, but still...couldn't hurt..}] and that isn't over until 4:15, except for Tues. and Wed., which it is 5:15...sooo...I can't get to the poles and such and so forth.

Plus, it's FREEZING HERE!
DUDE IT ACTUALLY SNOWED! AGAIN! TWICE IN ONE YEAR! THAT DOESN'T HAPPEN HERE! :O
{And they talk about global warming...pshh...how about global cooling...we havent gotten snow in 6 years and then it snows twice in a year, not including the flurries we got this year.}
Not that that would keep me from doing certain drills, but still.


I shall definitely try!

[VaultPurple]

Your run looks pretty decient in my opinion (expically for level of vaulting). You stretch a little on last step so i would recomend moving up a little bit. The only reason you look under is because you crouch at the plant and your right arm is still bent whcih makes your shorter (if your arm was up your step would be fine there... a^2+b^2 thing). But you have the tipical take off of a beginner pole vault where you just run as fast as you can and jump 'into' the pole and 'swing' out of control inward. One of the biggest problmes with your swing is how your left elbow goes to the left side of the pole, this blocks you from being able to swing and turn ( you find yourself ever getting armpit burn?).

Right now you just have to fix the first part of the vault befor anything else will come. Because if you dont have a good plant (over your head and not beside) and relative strength or swinging ability, your not gonna go much heighter with a 8ish hand grip just because there is no time to do anything technical. But i really dont think run has othing to do with it because i think you could jump just as good coming from a 3 step (probably better).

IMO id say stay away from the pole vault pit for the next few weeks... Stay on the grass field holding fiew inches over your max reach on the pole and taking off into the grass. Unless you can plant in the grass from a 1, 2, and 3 step and land safely and straight infront of you, you shouldnt be trying it at the pit. This drill will just build body awareness and after doing it sould be able to clear 6' from a 2 step without even thinking about it.

The majority of the people that are only jumping around 6' can not do this drill right away because they are clearing the height based on running fast and jumping rather than planting right. So do not give up after a few tries. DO NOT STOP UNTIL IT IS DONE RIGHT!

So just stick the pole in the air, Reach as high as you can, then grip about 3 inches over that. Now grip the pole like when you are vaulting, but start with your right hand over your sholder and pole tip off ground, now take one left and jump as you push right arm up as high as you can like you are trying to touch something really high while the tip falls (pole should almost be verticle if not more if you can jump high). Just jump like you are planting with knee up and trail leg behind you. Then when tip hits ground just ride the pole foward keeping your trail leg back at all times.

But this IMO is the most important drill in learning how to pole vault and if you cant do it gripping atleast a foot over your head, you shouldnt move to the mat.

But once you can grip about a foot over your head and do the drill controlled, when you move to the pit you can move your hands up at least 9in because of box.

[powerplant42]

Overexaggerate the pre-jump in this drill.

[birdi_gurlie]

You stretch a little on last step so i would recomend moving up a little bit. [...] One of the biggest problmes with your swing is how your left elbow goes to the left side of the pole, this blocks you from being able to swing and turn ( you find yourself ever getting armpit burn?).

[...]

Stay on the grass field holding fiew inches over your max reach on the pole and taking off into the grass. Unless you can plant in the grass from a 1, 2, and 3 step and land safely and straight infront of you, you shouldnt be trying it at the pit. This drill will just build body awareness and after doing it sould be able to clear 6' from a 2 step without even thinking about it.

So just stick the pole in the air, Reach as high as you can, then grip about 3 inches over that. Now grip the pole like when you are vaulting, but start with your right hand over your sholder and pole tip off ground, now take one left and jump as you push right arm up as high as you can like you are trying to touch something really high while the tip falls (pole should almost be verticle if not more if you can jump high). Just jump like you are planting with knee up and trail leg behind you. Then when tip hits ground just ride the pole foward keeping your trail leg back at all times.

I have had that problem for AGES! Everyone's like "Why are you giraffe-stepping!?" Honestly, I just don't feel it. It feels like its the normal length. Any ideas on how to correct it? The only thing that EVER worked was once, at conference meet last year, one of the girls clapped out the correct beat. However, we haven't done that again, and the girl [one of the "captains"...we have a few with a higher captain, or sorts...a "higher"-archy of sorts, lol...best vaulters out of the group.] doesn't particularly like me for some reason this year and doesn't really do much at practice. {But I think her shoulder is still hurt.}

No....I haven't gotten "armpit burn" but I HAVE had a few instances where my knee hit the pole and such...and I get mat burn on my elbow, but I think that's just from how I land or get up or something, not the pole.

I have done some of that drill...I have a video...SOMEWHERE. I'll try to find it.

Also, the "not touch the mat for a few weeks" is impossible. We have a meet next week...actually, I'd be vaulting in a meet tomorrow, but I have driver's ed.
However, I will also have at least one meet next week...pretty sure it's one, but it may be two.

[VaultPurple]

by trying the drill its not once or twice... you got to start at one end of the football field and do it all the way down from inzone to inzone for the entire practice...

and by saying it is impossiable to stay off mat ... well not compleatly true because these drills will get you almost as high as you are already without a pit so it doesnt matter if your jumping on grass or pit your more likely to get better on grass than just running hard at pit and having bad form. if you are convinced you have to have jumping time on pit, spend 30 min doing drills up and down football field and rest of time jumping on mat.

If your at drivers ed, take a pole home or get a 10 foot pole you can use at home.

ps. the only step i was concerned with is the very last one, and it will be fixed by just moving up. but that is really your last problme.

[birdi_gurlie]

Okay!
Well, I DO have the videos up, so if at all possible, see if I'm doing it right
[I don't always understand what a drill is when it's said, but I think this is what you meant.]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vn2J8mVswhU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ly_JAGu0wa8
If not, could you find a video to explain it?

Okay. See, the problem is, when I go up even 3 fingers, it screws me up...:S I scooted back 6 inches like I was supposed to [3 finger/6 inch rule]

Well, this week I plain don't have time...I get back right as it's getting dark and this is the last day before the semester is over. Well, before make-up work will be taken. [Really, I'm a good student...but some of the problems confused me.]
I'll attempt to talk with my mom about it, but IDK if she'll agree to it tomorrow. [To bring home a pole over the weekend, if I can get my two coaches to agree.]
If they'll let me, I can probably just leave it in the weight room until driver's ed is over...the coach who stays in the weight room stays LATE-LATE and almost always come in early.

[powerplant42]

This is a key drill for you to do... If I wasn't so hurt, I'd put up a video of myself (but I might anyway). Maybe I'll get a teammate to demonstrate. There is also a long section on this in the BTB2 DVD!

I've never seen another high school kid around my area do this drill right other than the teammates that let me help them. I'm guessing that there aren't a whole lot of kids around the country that do it right either (or even heard of it/seen it before). They all make the same mistakes that you do... No pre-jump (or extremely small), and no staying behind the pole. When I see that second part, I get really annoyed for some reason... Typically people will just swing right past the pole, probably meaning to do that, thinking that that helps train their swing (when it's doing just the opposite)! It's normally the coach's fault though, or they are just a beginner (like yourself).

You currently don't need more than 1 left for this drill... baby steps! Watch the demo in the DVD.

[birdi_gurlie]

My vault coach still has the DVD...he was looking at it with a gymnastics person in order to figure out some ways to incorporate gymnastics into our work out.
I keep forgetting to get it from him in class! Ack!
:S

On the bright side, my other coach is going to drop my pole off tomorrow. [We have a teacher's workday tomorrow and one of the people from our church is picking me up because my mom can't. So I was going to have my mom pick it up later that day, but my coach offered to drop it off because he lives near me.]

[powerplant42]

If your coach really wants more gymnastics in your program,the DVD is okay, but Petrov's gymnastic assistant's speech is much better, along with Gormley's overview in the book, and Petrov's gymnastics DVD... I'm not totally sure where you can get the last one, I'll try to figure it out... I need a copy for myself too!

[birdi_gurlie]

Well, at the moment, anything is better than nothing...we have a very tiny bit right now. And we don't usually do it; just me. [Because I'm trying to do extra...we actually aren't REALLY allowed because our coach can't always be in the gym with us {someone got hurt at our weight room bc they were acting stupid, so now we have to have a coach with us.] Our coach talked with the gym person and he lets us...but most people don't want to. I've been doing the drills on the bars enough that I just go up to one of the coaches in the weight room and ask if I can use the bars. He lets me. [I haven't talked with the MAIN coach yet, but he hasn't said anything yet.]