Advice for Coaching Middle School Kids

[tsorenson]

Remember that making your early season practices drill-based, mostly off-the-pit, is beneficial in several ways:

-it installs solid fundamentals for the approach & takeoff (and swing if you can get to a highbar)

-it reminds the coach and athletes that the approach & takeoff are the most coachable areas of the event

-it's the best way to weed out kids who aren't serious about working hard or who aren't willing to do drills

-it makes the event safer by making sure nobody is just grabbing a pole and "going for it"...this is how it was done when I was a beginner, and 2 out of 3 boys who tried the vault my freshman year got injured the first day, including my twin brother (I was the only one who didn't get hurt...the other two were both better athletes than I was, but never tried vaulting again after that day )

The event is fun when you learn it properly from the beginning, and can improve without roadblocks, avoiding bad habits and frustration. Letting kids jump every day for fun is not a best practice, in my opinion. Drills, drills, drills! Make each drill a competition with yourself and your fellow vaulters, that is the path to success

Tom

[altius]

Remember that making your early season practices drill-based, mostly off-the-pit, is beneficial in several ways:
Tom

Many readers will remember that I have been singing that song since I first visited the USA to watch young vaulters. -and certainly since I began contributing to PVP. I have consistently argued that vaulters should take their drill work as seriously as do gymnasts. However in my opinion there is no doubt that giving beginners the opportunity to stiff pole jump over bars - even in the first session -has many advantages. It has certainly been be beneficial to us in Adelaide in an environment where youngsters can choose from an immense range of sporting activities in their schools and communities and who vote with their feet if they do not enjoy the experience - be it pole vaulting or any other sport. This is why I included a brief clip of two boys vaulting over a bar using a working model of technique - on a dvd that also includes film of young athletes executing fundamental drills as well as they are likely to be done.

The underlying thesis of my recent manuscript on the teaching of sport, is that the most important factor in learning is the commitment of the learner to mastery - without that - neither time on task or the alignment of that task with the real activity will make much difference. So the motivation of the learner is critical - especially in the early stages. I therefore repeat my advice to use small c comps for beginners.

However from a skill development perspective, jumping from 8 steps over a bar is far more valuable than that, because drills - no matter how perfectly executed - are merely means to an end. The end in this case is to be able to jump over a bar using a pole - this is the whole that we are aiming for - that drills are designed to achieve. So full jumps early on give youngsters a picture of what they are aiming for - the end purpose of the drills they are being asked to undertake.

Finally as i have argued elsewhere, stiff pole jumping from a short run can help to develop critical elements of skilled performance in this event on a flexible pole - in a way that no amount of advice or cues from the coach - or even other drills can do.

[Vault101 Boy]

I could not agree more about the early season. I guess its been about a week and a half of me coaching and only one person has been in the pit and that was for some swing ups. Those sand vault drills are great though!! Its a lot less time to get a bunch of kids off the ground (so to speak) than waiting for kids to get steps and go into the pit.

A few of the better vaulters usually have to wait around for me to teach the new kids, they do drills but walking three steps usually do not take them 15 min to do. Any specific drills that they can focus on while i work with the larger group?

[rainbowgirl28]

A few of the better vaulters usually have to wait around for me to teach the new kids, they do drills but walking three steps usually do not take them 15 min to do. Any specific drills that they can focus on while i work with the larger group?

Let them screw around with vaulting on the grass or turf.

[Vault101 Boy]

thanks

[Vault101 Boy]

The kids had their first meet today, only 2 of our folks decided to compete in the vault. 8th grade girl flew over 7ft and practically cleared 7'6, the 8th grade guy got 8'9" and ran out of grip on his pole so hell be like 9 or 9'6 soon. Thanks for the coaching advice, it was great to see them so excited.