I can't get myself to jump.

[Ming3r]

Alrite, now today was the first day of the season that we were vaulting outside...and I was doing fine on the 3 step blowthroughs. I then proceeded to get a 5 step to work on inverting, but after that...I couldn't get myself to jump. This has happened quite a lot in the past, where I would go a day or two unable to jumpa dn whatnot...

Was wondering if anyone had this problem before and any suggestions...probably all psychological junk is whats wrong with me...

[nitro]

i have the same problem now...i feel like the box is too far away but i have a good step or even a lil under....idk i cant fix it either i just take off anyway and hope for the best because i have to

[VaultMarq26]

All in the head.....been there before......just gotta jump once and you will be good

[Gator Alum]

Could be two different things. My first question is how cold is it in NY? Are you really warmed up enough. Even if you are warmed up properly, your stride length could vary a little in colder climates. One inch per stride shorter than your normal stride length adds up when you drop back to a longer approach. You may be too far outside the box right now.

Secondly, when you move outdoors your perception changes. When vaulting indoors, usually you can see a wall behind the pit. This makes the box/pits seem closer to you. When vaulting outdoors, you only have landscape beyond the pits and it can make the box/pits look farther away.

I would guess it is a combo. of both right now. Warm up really good, move your step up a foot to 18 inches and take off!

Another thing to try is keep moving your step back a left. Start at 3 lefts with drills, go back to 4 lefts for more drills, 5 lefts with shorter pole, 6 lefts....7 lefts. Each time you feel confident, move back a left.

[altius]

Another thing to try is keep moving your step back a left. Start at 3 lefts with drills, go back to 4 lefts for more drills, 5 lefts with shorter pole, 6 lefts....7 lefts. Each time you feel confident, move back a left.

Great advice - This is one of the most frustrating situations for any coach or athlete because there seems to be no reason and sometimes no cure. However take heart from the fact that throughout 2001 Steve Hooker could not get of the ground - even off two steps - but this year he has already jumped 5.91m!

You might need to drop back to two steps/One left and then begin to rebuild -while at the same time working on your full run away from the pit -planting into a towel or a sliding box! But even more important, take a look at the STRUCTURE of your run up and begin to include 20/20s in your training.

[Ming3r]

Well, it was warm today (like./...75ish...but then it rained...)...For me, it seems humidity plays a bit of a factor as my hands when extremely dry just aren't good at not sliding...

But I managed to get myself to jump...kind of. Not too pretty, as my coach is basically refraining me from using a certiain 150 pole which is extremely light, but the top looks to be a bit shattered...so I can't use it anymore.

So Now I'm back on the 150 that I started with 2 years ago...and its still as stiff as my 160....So, of course, I'm slowly moving up the pole. I'm on a makeshift 4 or 5 step at the moment, (4 for warmups and 5 for...faster blowthroughs I guess). Moving up a handhold at a time when I can handle the jump, and moving 3/4 of my foot back every time.

And since I'm basically releaning the vault, I've started pretty low...holding maybe at 8 feet, still going up.

Man, this jumping thing is just psychological though, as I'll hit a few days about once every 2-3 weeks where I can't jump. Oh well.

[pvu-hooligan]

ive had the same thing happen with me for the past week. today was one of the worst too. i figured out my problem was my running, i was thinking too much. but i fixed it out just fine. hope u get out of ur rut, its all mental. good luck!