Inversion Fixation

[Tim McMichael]

This is a question from LHSpolevault in a thread below called "Legs dropping too soon." I feel strongly enough about my answer that I decided to start a new thread.

Any critique as to what I'm doing and should do? Thanks
http://video.tinypic.com/player.php?v=34qogm9

This is one of the worst things I see happening in the pole vault right now. It has been going on for more than a decade, and I want to see it stopped at all costs. I think it has been responsible for some terrible injuries and it has been the ruin of some very good athletes.

There is a very good book called “On Learning Golfâ€Â

[rainbowgirl28]

Great post

[sooch90]

Could you perhaps find some sort of video or draw a picture of a vaulter softening the "downward pressure"? What exactly is this downward pressure?

[SlickVT]

Good post.

It goes overlooked too often that if one aspect of your vault is not up to par, then something you are doing before that aspect is wrong.

Cause and effect.

[theczar]

thanks for the post, great information to know!

[Barto]

Great post Tim. All of my athletes know that the words "upside down" and "inverted" are banned at my track.

[KYLE ELLIS]

well i noticed at just about any meet i go to now college athletes will have a terrible takeoff and because of that can't line up with the pole, and i look over and all the coach's are motioning with their arms how to get "inverted" better and stay close to the pole. alot of the coach's are fixated on this aswell. i will say the coach's with better vaulters are more concerened about the run and takeoff.

[OUvaulterUSAF]

I snapped two poles in a row at LSU in '00. Why...because I stupidly went for an early inversion as described above. Luckily I only came out of it with a swollen hand.

[Tim McMichael]

Could you perhaps find some sort of video or draw a picture of a vaulter softening the "downward pressure"? What exactly is this downward pressure?

This has been discussed at length in other threads, so you might want to do a search of the forum. The important thing to note here is that an athlete can, more or less, flip up to an inverted position by incorrect actions that stiffen the pole during the first part of the jump. The right action keeps the pole moving and the vaulter penetrating into the pit.

This is not easy to fix. A year is not too long a time to expect to work on changing to the right action, and most of the work has to be focused on things that happen before the athlete leaves the ground.

[Boomer]

I definitely agree with Tim. Being a coach of high school and university vaulters, it is evident to me that many vaulters do not know the importance of the run and takeoff, and how they relate to the ultimate inversion and clearance.

A lot of coaches will still preach a stiff locked out bottom arm, pushing straight in front of the body, which just pushes the pole away and blocks a vaulter from inverting. As soon as a young vaulter lets off any of the pressure in the bottom arm, the pole recoils, thus losing all penetration.
I see way too many high school vaulters using this concept because they want to 'bend' the pole and get 'shot' in the sky. It is too dangerous and coaches need to teach proper mechanics.

The 'hip flip' as Tim calls it is a very common way of vaulting, in my opinion, for many young vaulters. They take off inside, with their hips underneath, A LOT, and block out their bottom arm to get into the pit. Then they let up on the arm to invert, and voila, pole speed gone !, or they keep the arm blocked out for the whole vault, and become the helicopter on Magnum P.I.

I agree with Tim when he says that focus needs to be on proper run and plant mechanics for beginners.

[LHSpolevault]

I now know that the run AND takeoff are the most important after yesterday. My takeoff was awful... thus resulting in errors in the other phases of my jump, causing me to NH.

boo for NH'ing.

[vault3rb0y]

I believe a coach can be just as, if not more, responsible than an athlete if the athlete is not dong something correctly. Given that the athlete is doing what the coach is asking.

I recently heard of a coach who had a girl in a meet warm up on a very soft pole for her. She blew through it, as expected. Perfect warm up jump, right? No, then the coach of the girl tells a friend of mine that if she had a better take off and run she would "hit it just right" and somehow not blow through the pole. If she hits it harder and better, shes gonna blow through it even more!! This kind of ignorance shouldnt be found in college coaches, and its these kind of tips that, combined with a vaulter trained to do what a coach asks, can be dangerous. Even more dangerous than a vaulter trying to learn on his/her own, in some cases.