11-6 to 13-6 in 4 hours

[Hickman]

Here is a treat for you eyes, a series of jumps from the meet last Friday night. He started jumping at 4:30PM, 11-6ft and we ending the night at 8:30PM with a 13-6ft jump a SB and tied for last years BR.
They are all on the same pole a160lbs 14ft Catapole. This athlete has one of the best free takeoff when he hits it right. Any suggestions on any of the jumps or an aspect we/he needs to work on????
We have be working on a longer, faster swing from the trail leg and trying to get him to turn on the front side of the crossbar. Just this week we picked up a 15,15-6, and16 foot 160lbs UCS poles and he was able to take some pop-ups on the 15ft and he said it felt good, We have another warm day with a 15mph tail wind so we are going to give it another good.
Thanks
Coach Gordon
Link:
http://www.treemo.com/users/Hickman/channel/
File name Nate Little 13-6 SB

[bel142]

Morning,

He has a whole lot of things going well, that is great. One thing that I am seeing, is how low his pole tip is. This can be debated to be great or not great. From my point of view getting the pole tip low to where he has it is good, however the fact that he is holding it there through the last 4Ls of his approach makes him counterbalance and lean back just before take off. We want the pole drop to 'drop' and help achieve a levering action to actually lift the body up. A low pole tip is desired but not for how long he has it... He is leaving the ground on time, or even early, but he is loosing the mechanical advantage of a free take off and drop. If he can learn to use the pole drop he will have a 1 - 3 inch higher take off upon impact because of the levering action that happens. This leads to more grip, more fiberglass.

I think he is on too small of poles right now, however he may not be strong enough yet to handle more fiber glass. I see this when he translates to his shoulders quickly after take off. If he had more patience he could let the pole role a tick more, close off, cover/connect then come out the top of the pole, and really work the top end of the vault. He may be feeling the pole move too much, forcing him to pull out awkwardly on top prematurely. Having more patience/fiberglass while hitting his positions, would prevent this. If I were coaching him, in practice, allow for a blow through while getting him to come flying out of the top of the pole, in line and perform a fly away. Then as he can do that consistently, add, little by little more fiber glass until he is not blowing through and coming off the top like a circus freak.

It certainly does look good...

-bel

[KirkB]

That 4 hr marathon was probably a bit much ... some of the lower bars could have been skipped ... but nevertheless, nice jumping!

... We want the pole drop to 'drop' and help achieve a levering action to actually lift the body up. A low pole tip is desired but not for how long he has it... He is leaving the ground on time, or even early, but he is losing the mechanical advantage of a free take off and drop. If he can learn to use the pole drop he will have a 1 - 3 inch higher take off upon impact because of the levering action that happens. This leads to more grip, more fiberglass. ...

Nice coaching, Bel ... except that the part that I underlined is a fallacy. The reason you CAN'T get "leverage" from dropping the pole is becuz while you think that the dropping pole is forcing (propelling) your body angle forwards (I ASSUME that's what you're thinking), it's actually causing more contact with the ground in a BRAKING action. I've discussed this in a few other threads ... based on my own personal experimentation with this. Trust me ... it doesn't work. But if you can provide some type of positive, convincing PROOF that it works, then I'm all ears.

But I do agree with most of your other coaching tips ... and he is dropping the pole way too early. It should "free-fall" into the box.

Kirk

[bel142]

Morning,

Thanks, every once in a while I let a nugget of truth slip out in my coaching advice...

anyhoo, in terms of the levering action I wasn't directly speaking of body position with the pole drop. The athlete in the footage is loosing the advantage specifically to what you are speaking of because of the breaking action with the body angle. I was actually speaking of the levering action 'within' the pole.

This may be an abstract way to think about the pole drop, and I would really appreciate if you could send me the link about where you have discussed this, just because i am getting to the party late, so if someone else has already brought up what Im about to write and been proven wrong then ill save my breath with any later debate...

The reasoning about the leveraging, if we think about the pole in terms of the front/bottom hand, and the rest of the pole as a see-saw. The hand is the pivot point, as the pole tip falls/goes down, the back/top hand is the other end of the system, going up by a slight degree of upward force. When paired with very specific take off timing (free drop and take off timing), that force is enough to lift the body up, slightly... Many people talk about the mechanical advantage of the pole drop in terms of different forces on the body pulling you forward... I am literally talking about levers and mechanics... within the pivot of the front hand and the torque forces on both ends of the lever. If we put pressure into the pole with the top/back hand to hold it up as he does then the force in the system is zero. But with a free drop there is an upward force that can be extracted...

any thoughts?
-bel

[tsorenson]

Bel142,
There is an article by Brian Yokoyama that discusses this concept in detail. I tried to attach the pdf file but it didn't work...I think it's on PVP somewhere if you do a search. It is called "a new model and approach to pole vaulting technique".
I believe that this concept makes sense but is very difficult to implement, both for myself and the vaulters I coach. Anyway, this "free pole drop" is always the goal, even if we don't always achieve it perfectly. I always emphasize it during full-speed pole runs, and during 3-step stiff pole drills (you can really feel it when you do it right).
Tom

[charlie]

Don't change a thing! Great EARLY PRESS Support . Move up in grip and poles and you will bypass a tone of BLOCKERS and CLUCHERS!!! You get a nice LIFT because of your technique!!!!

[KirkB]

Don't change a thing! Great EARLY PRESS Support . Move up in grip and poles and you will bypass a ton of BLOCKERS and CLUCHERS!!! You get a nice LIFT because of your technique!!!!

Come on Charlie ... ya gotta agree that holding the pole that low for that long is gonna make ya lean back! A free, weightless pole drop is where it's at!

Kirk

[charlie]

Kirk, I agree, just like what he does at the plant and takeoff !Should NEVER run with pole that low!