Pushing back out with the left arm?

[maranble]

I myself am only a 12'6" pole vaulter so I'm certainly no guru when it comes to vaulting. I help some of the younger guys at my school with vaulting because they don't have a coach for themselves & I train elsewhere. That being said, I have one guy who I know has the power to be an 11ft vaulter no problem, but he has issues with his bottom arm.

Problems I need to correct with him:

-Doesn't swing the feet all the way to the top of his pole
-After takeoff, he pushes back out with his left arm, causing him to spiral around the pole uncontrollably

These two problems have led to other issues with his turn; the primary problem being that his feet are swinging from side to side and knock the crossbar off from behind.

Are there any drills I can do to help him correct these problems? I have told him and shown him what to do but he's thickheaded and needs an alternative method.

Thanks for your help

[vquestpvc]

Simply, based upon what you wrote, there may be two concerns:

1) your vaulters arms may not be high at take off. If the left arm (those that take off left footed) is in front of the vaulters
head it will "block" him out causing him to do whatever it is he does. Also see that his hands are not too far apart on
the pole. Think of gripping the pole as the same as swinging on a horizontal bar; the hands will be about shoulder width
apart. Too great a gap between the hands will naturally force that left hand (or bottom hand) in front of the head also
blocking the vaulter out.

2) The "blocking out" previously noted will keep the individual from inverting or swinging his legs to the top.

Hardheaded. Hmmmm. A hammer won't work then. Nor will any drill. This vaulter needs to be convinced of proper technique. Show him some videos of "good" vaulters. Seemingly a common fault with many young male vaulters is an eagerness to bend the pole. You need to convince this vaulter that there are no points, rewards or chicks for bending the pole. The rewards (maybe chicks) will come with clearing big heights. However, this will only be accomplished with proper technique.

It's great you're willing to help out younger vaulters. But, try to be well informed. Obviously you're making an effort at this site.

[altius]

"I have told him and shown him what to do but he's thickheaded and needs an alternative method."

Change his warmup and ask him to include at least three full blooded head butts against a wall - this may open his ears and his eyes enough to take things in. If this doesn't work send him back to the football coach.

[achtungpv]

Have him vault with an unbending pole. He'll only try to block once.

[CAhighvaultage]

Being that I'm in the process of getting a consistent bend in my pole, I have tried wide grips and I definitely agree with what has been previously said; if you block out than you are going to have an extremely difficult time getting inverted. I found the easiest way to fix it was use an almost uncomfortably close grip so that when you hit the box, the bend is almost completely dependent on how straight the top arm is, thus also improving form. Now that I have started using a close grip, it isn't even comfortable to have large grip. Also do some straight pole practices because they really help with the takeoff and swing. I'm not quite sure what you mean by his feet wobble back and forth but I have had problems going sideways because I pull too much. In that case I pretty much just worked it out on myself. Hope this helps.