Advice for height?

A forum to discuss pole vault technique as it relates to beginning vaulters. If you have been jumping less than a year, this is the forum for you.

Moderator: achtungpv

User avatar
Vault Chick
PV Pro
Posts: 353
Joined: Sat Aug 05, 2006 4:29 pm
Expertise: College Vaulter
Lifetime Best: 10'8"
Gender: Female
Favorite Vaulter: Tye Harvey
Location: Clearing a Crossbar in California

Advice for height?

Unread postby Vault Chick » Sat Aug 05, 2006 6:42 pm

What kind of advice would you giva a girl who is only about 5 feet tall?

User avatar
Cooleo111
PV Pro
Posts: 341
Joined: Fri Feb 10, 2006 7:15 pm
Expertise: HS/College/Post-collegiate vaulter, coach
Lifetime Best: 4.80
Location: New Jersey shore
Contact:

Unread postby Cooleo111 » Sat Aug 05, 2006 6:54 pm

Learn to jump ;)

User avatar
fx
PV Whiz
Posts: 232
Joined: Sat Oct 08, 2005 2:29 pm

Unread postby fx » Sat Aug 05, 2006 10:04 pm

Pole vault with the same technique. Being fast helps if you're short.

User avatar
Tim McMichael
PV Master
Posts: 714
Joined: Mon Apr 03, 2006 3:36 pm
Expertise: Current college and private coach. Former elite vaulter.

Unread postby Tim McMichael » Sat Aug 05, 2006 11:24 pm

If you are going to jump really high at that height you are going to have to be fast. That being said, there are some advantages to being short and light. There is a huge gymnastic element to pole vaulting, and how many six foot tall female gymnasts have you seen? You need to be the best technician in any competition you enter, but at your size, that is a much more attainable goal.

If I were you, my goal would be to jump on a pole ridiculously over my body weight and push off a mile. That is how you can make up ground on taller athletes who can grip higher, but are not as technically proficient. Good luck.

User avatar
ladyvolspvcoach
PV Follower
Posts: 606
Joined: Wed Oct 06, 2004 1:52 pm
Location: Knoxville, Tennessee
Contact:

higher

Unread postby ladyvolspvcoach » Sun Aug 06, 2006 1:45 pm

Tim's right! Get your run down first. I have a lady vaulter who started a year and a half ago. She had never seen a pole before, but knew she wanted to try it. She's 5'1" and 105 lbs. Now she capping a 13' 130 and will be moving up this fall. She is a former gymnast. We concentrated on her approach for most of the first year using DJ's chart to set up several "ladders" with different stride lengths. We ran 5 lefts ladders, 7 left ladders, and 9 left ladders. It was amazing to see how much her run changed over the course of the first year.

AKell
PV Nerd
Posts: 94
Joined: Sun Apr 16, 2006 7:04 pm
Location: Unionville, PA

Unread postby AKell » Tue Aug 08, 2006 5:34 pm

yeah, size doesn't really matter until you're at a pretty high level--if you are the best you can be with your body, you can still beat a lot of other people with a body size advantage who aren't as technically proficient.

getting ripped helps though :yes:

our best female vaulter at our school is 5'1 and (maybe) 80 lbs. my coach put her on an 11' 110 and in 2 weeks she was doing 7 or 8 feet; she won a small invitational meet her first week vauting with 7'6 holding at around 10'.

"it's not the size of the indian, it's the size of the fight in the indian"
-one of my smaller hockey playing friends

go kick some butt.
To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift. -Pre

Texasvaulter07
PV Whiz
Posts: 122
Joined: Mon Apr 25, 2005 10:01 pm
Location: Hudson, Texas

Unread postby Texasvaulter07 » Tue Aug 08, 2006 7:04 pm

HEY!!! im Native American lol
Vault Old School wrote:Hey I was just wondering if anybody out there knew Bubka's Height, Weight, Body Fat%, etc. when he was competing?


bjvando wrote:i heard he was 7 ft tall, with a negative body-fat percentage......

SKOT
PV Pro
Posts: 462
Joined: Mon Apr 11, 2005 11:58 pm
Location: IL
Contact:

Unread postby SKOT » Wed Aug 09, 2006 7:33 pm

the takeoff needs to be absolutely perfect! I jump with a girl that claims to be 5'1", but she isnt even that tall. She jumped 3.80m (12'5") because she has amazing technique at the takeoff! it doesnt hurt that she caps a 13' pole that is 35 lbs over her wieght

User avatar
Vault Chick
PV Pro
Posts: 353
Joined: Sat Aug 05, 2006 4:29 pm
Expertise: College Vaulter
Lifetime Best: 10'8"
Gender: Female
Favorite Vaulter: Tye Harvey
Location: Clearing a Crossbar in California

strength

Unread postby Vault Chick » Wed Aug 09, 2006 11:43 pm

SKOT wrote:the takeoff needs to be absolutely perfect! I jump with a girl that claims to be 5'1", but she isnt even that tall. She jumped 3.80m (12'5") because she has amazing technique at the takeoff! it doesnt hurt that she caps a 13' pole that is 35 lbs over her wieght


I am 5'1", and just completed my sophomore year jumping 9'3". My coach says I need to jump on bigger poles to jump higher. The problem is, I block myself out, so when I go to the stiffer poles, I lose my top hand grip. What do you recommend? I am doing pull-ups and bubkas every night to build up my arm strength. My coach highly recommends a gym membership, but my parents don't want to pay 40 bucks a month for one. What is your advice? Would the gym be good? Because my speed is good already. Thanks!

GeorgeN
PV Nerd
Posts: 74
Joined: Sun Jun 18, 2006 5:50 pm

5 ft

Unread postby GeorgeN » Thu Aug 10, 2006 5:59 pm

First choice: grow taller. If you can't do that, here is a pep talk.
I saw a boy in 1977 who was 5'3" vault 13 feet with a 12 foot pole.
He had perfect technique of course. Also, in the 70's , there was a college high jumper who had the world indoor record in the high jump. I can't remember his name, but he was 5'9" tall( or small). There are men and women 6 feet tall who can't do poop.

George, an old fart
If you don't have the ability, and you don't have the desire...............

tstkl
PV Beginner
Posts: 21
Joined: Sun Jul 30, 2006 9:47 pm
Location: norcal

Unread postby tstkl » Sat Aug 12, 2006 8:31 pm

fx wrote:Being fast helps.


fixed
dsm'er for life, even if I want to quit...

GeorgeN
PV Nerd
Posts: 74
Joined: Sun Jun 18, 2006 5:50 pm

vault chick on strength

Unread postby GeorgeN » Sat Aug 12, 2006 9:07 pm

When I was in high school I vaulted 14'6". I was 5'9" and weighed 125lbs. I did hand stand push-ups against a wall. I bought a chin-up bar and mounted it in my father's closet. I performed inclined push-ups with my shins on a chair. I did squats with my back against the refrigerator because my back could slide on it.
My best weapon was my speed. I ran everyday. I usually did 2 miles at a fast stride. Sprints always gave me a hamstring pull. I don't recommend sprints for pole vault work outs.

That's all
If you don't have the ability, and you don't have the desire...............


Return to “Pole Vault - Beginning Technique”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 3 guests