frustrated

[squalicumvaulter07]

wow i really feel you man.. at the begginning of this season (this is my first year) i had a big mental block of 8'0 and it was really getting to me.. grrrr. haha. then i went to a meet and just tried to forget about the height.. they put it to 8'0 and i looked away. im like, yea this is only 7'6. it worked... but i dont know.. maybe im just a loser.

[Peepers PV]

wow i really feel you man.. at the begginning of this season (this is my first year) i had a big mental block of 8'0 and it was really getting to me.. grrrr. haha. then i went to a meet and just tried to forget about the height.. they put it to 8'0 and i looked away. im like, yea this is only 7'6. it worked... but i dont know.. maybe im just a loser.

That's how I first jumped 10'6. I had to get to a meet, and in the process of getting there I got lost for 2 hours. When I finally got to the meet, the competition had already started, and I responded to this by freaking out.

My coach came up to me and said, "Well the bar is at 8'6- feel like you can jump?" My PR was 9'4 at the time, but since I'd never missed 8'6, I went ahead and jumped cold. I cleared easily and walked off of the pit when my coach started to congratulate me on my new PR. I was like, "My PR is 9'4- that was only 8'6." Then my coach goes, "Actually I just told you that it was 8'6 so you wouldn't psych yourself out. The bar was really at 9'6."

I finished out the meet with a new PR, a new school record. It just showed me how much of the vault is in your head.

[jwhip]

i dont think
i sing a song before i vault and i forget that im vaulting. because alot of what vaulting is is muscle memory and if you dont think your self out of the vault and just do it youll be fine. my coach always says "dont think your self out of the vault"

[vaulter870]

either sing to your self or gety your self thinking about other things the less you think about the vault the better you will do or at least i have found in my experences

[Bonevt]

I know what u mean, Ive gone up 40 or 50 lbs in pole am griping higher and am stronger then I was during outdoor. I think alot of it is that this point in the season your not used to jumping when u have to, try and spending some time in practic donig a mock meet, Bar, time limits, 3 misses your out. Or just jump with a bar up at or around the hight you want to get the feeling back.

[ladyvolspvcoach]

ok! quick response!! Don't think! Just go! Measure your heights with respect to how far below/above your grip!! The heights don't REALLY tell how well you are doing......But the height ABOVE your grip does...have faith and be patient....remember if you see the bar while you are doing the vault...you aren't doing the vault right!!!!!

[MightyMouse]

I make sure to bring a stubbie to each meet so the muscles memorization doesnt forget . I got so used to doing it that I do 10 stubbie drills before each vault

[GirlPoleVaulter87]

I've come to realize that attitude is everything. Sometimes you just need to relax and don't worry about what height the bar is at.

Just try and concentrate on everything you and your coach (if you have one) have been working on. I know its hard not to get frustrated and become a head case especially when you know you could have done better.

But i guess take things one day at a time and appreciate where your are

[blazerunner121]

oh wow, i remember this thread back in april ... and i can def. say i've improved both mentally and physically for vaulting in these 8 months.

[Courts]

I have weird habits, (just ask my coach Robert!) but I find if i visualize what I need to do as I am standing on the runway and then clear my mind before i start to run it helps me actually do what I need to do. The key is to try not to think as you are vaulting. If you take practice seriously it will transfer to competition.

[bvpv07]

if i visualize what I need to do as I am standing on the runway and then clear my mind before i start to run it helps me actually do what I need to do

This is what I've been told to do. If you think about it a bit before you go, such as visualizing yourself doing the vault, and then clear your mind and take a few deep breaths before you vault, you tend to not overthink the vault, and still have the benefits associated with visualization. It's pretty much crazy to try to vault well if you are going down the runway thinking, ok now I need to have my hands here...then I need to...and then I need to make sure that I...

[superchau88]

omg im soooooooooooooooo frustrated too! my arm won't block out when i plant and i know it is all mental. I haven't been able to fix this for several months and i barely feel like i have improved. I really hope by tomorrow things will "click" b/c there is some county meet ugh. What does anyone think of when they vault? I have a feeling i think too much...

wait..isn't it bad to block out your arm? that's what i was told...