Pole Push off

[jumpbackin]

i agree if genetics had nothing to do with it, then everyone would jump 19+ and run 10flat 100's. i know alot of guys who bust themselves everyday and arent "elite". and i know some guys who half-a** it and are incredible. ask Donald Thomas how much genetics played in his first track meet in his life.

I don't know who Donald Thomas is but I suspect the question to him would be about the same as asking Jim Thorp how much genetics helped him in his first ever Decathlon. If I remember correctly, his first was in the US Olympic trials and his second was for Olympic Gold.

[rainbowgirl28]

I don't know who Donald Thomas is but I suspect the question to him would be about the same as asking Jim Thorp how much genetics helped him in his first ever Decathlon. If I remember correctly, his first was in the US Olympic trials and his second was for Olympic Gold.

A teammate of mine last year who high jumped 7-3.25 in his first meet ever. In sneakers and basketball shorts. He turned out for the team 2 days before and had never really high jumped before.

Story: http://www.polevaultpower.com/forum/vie ... php?t=7161

[EIUvltr]

Exactly, hard work and dedication will only get you so far. This doesn't matter much if your goal is to simply do the best you can, be all you can be, and all that crap. But if you want to be the best, genetics are what will get you there... and steroids.

All hail Ben Johnson

[AVC Coach]

Good luck with all of that then! Work hard, work smart and hope your genetic make-up supports your pole vault ambition.

[EIUvltr]

i agree if genetics had nothing to do with it, then everyone would jump 19+ and run 10flat 100's. i know alot of guys who bust themselves everyday and arent "elite". and i know some guys who half-a** it and are incredible. ask Donald Thomas how much genetics played in his first track meet in his life.

I don't know who Donald Thomas is but I suspect the question to him would be about the same as asking Jim Thorp how much genetics helped him in his first ever Decathlon. If I remember correctly, his first was in the US Olympic trials and his second was for Olympic Gold.

Did they even know about genes back then? I thought they were discovered in the 50s.

[bvpv07]

I don't think that that's quite the point.

Regardless of whether or not we understand how something works (or exists), it still plays its own role.

[ADTF Academy]

I don't know who Donald Thomas is but I suspect the question to him would be about the same as asking Jim Thorp how much genetics helped him in his first ever Decathlon. If I remember correctly, his first was in the US Olympic trials and his second was for Olympic Gold.

A teammate of mine last year who high jumped 7-3.25 in his first meet ever. In sneakers and basketball shorts. He turned out for the team 2 days before and had never really high jumped before.

Story: http://www.polevaultpower.com/forum/vie ... php?t=7161

This was actually the best peice of coaching I have seen in a while at the National meet with this guy.


During warmups I saw this young man down by the high jump. Trying to find his starting spot. Hearing that he had no experience I witnessed the coached be like yeah right there. That looks good. LOL

It was the best coaching I have seen in a while. To many over coach espically in the high jump. He went on to jump well as well from a random starting point. When you got hops you got hops.

[Tim McMichael]

I head that Houston McTear could roll out of bed in the morning, bend over and touch his toes a couple of times and run a ten flat hundred meters. There are just some deep jungle animals out there. I suspect that Tim Lobinger is one of them because he can jump so high with that horific takeoff. Now there is a guy whose vault lives or dies with his pushoff. Everything he does wrong in the first half of the jump is balanced by what he does right in the second half. Nobody jumping today works harder on the top of his jump.

[Bubba PV]

Good points! The master of the top of the jump could be Anthony Curran. I’ve got a video of a short run jump at UC Irvine at 5.62m (18’ 1 ½â€Â

[Tim McMichael]

For what it is worth, here are a couple of things I have noticed over the years.

People who push off a long way come from some variation of this position.

http://www.putfile.com/pic.php?img=4057732

From here they extend explosively up the pole and use their arms to apply power all the way through the turn and push. Most athletes who get here, however, are under at the plant. You can reach this position with a free takoff, but you have to swing through the hips and not the shoulders.

This is the place everybody is trying to reach in the Petrov model.

http://www.putfile.com/pic.php?img=4057731

You have to have a great plant and swing through the shoulders to get here. These guys grip high and only use their arms to stay as close to the pole as possible through the top of the jump.

The further an athlete’s hips are from the pole in the middle of the jump, the further they push off. Here is the position Joe Dial extended from.

http://www.putfile.com/pic.php?img=4057906

[EIUvltr]

I head that Houston McTear could roll out of bed in the morning, bend over and touch his toes a couple of times and run a ten flat hundred meters. There are just some deep jungle animals out there. I suspect that Tim Lobinger is one of them because he can jump so high with that horific takeoff. Now there is a guy whose vault lives or dies with his pushoff. Everything he does wrong in the first half of the jump is balanced by what he does right in the second half. Nobody jumping today works harder on the top of his jump.

Paul Burgess?

[MightyMouse]

...and genetics help too.

I’m pretty sure you just added this as a side comment, but this idea is always thrown around in speed and strength discussions, I really don’t think it does any good. It sounds more like the response a coach gives when his athlete isn’t improving rather than something constructive. Just because someone hasn’t gotten faster in months, or a years worth of training doesn’t mean that they couldn’t put everything together the next day.

Just my overly optimistic opinion

more like naive opinion

Wow quite the rip.
What Im saying is there’s not a thing you can do about genetics, besides use it as an excuse. So why even consider it. Go get stronger, better technically, and at the end of the day be satisfied in your own improvement.

Excuses come out of jealousy/resentment. And they lead to self depreciation because you aren’t as "good" as someone else. None of which benefit any athlete.