Some of My Absolutes

[Tim McMichael]

If a technical model is sound, it should work for every level of ability. The principles that govern a 9' vault are the same that govern a 19' vault. The individual attempts will look different, but the basic fundamentals that make them work will be the same. There is no such thing as a model that will work for an elite athlete and not for a beginner or intermediate athlete. This means that instruction will be consistent and repeated throughout an athlete’s entire career. It also means that proper technique can be worked on from eight steps as well as from eighteen.

If a technical model is sound it will not be painful. Any vault that results consistently in pain in any area of the body is unsound. The answer is not to push through the pain, but to find out what is wrong technically and fix it. A good vault is a positive, exhilarating experience, not one fraught with pain and injury.

If a technical model is sound, the standards will be relatively deep. Any technique that does not result in the athlete consistently landing at least five feet behind the box is dangerous and limited. Moving the standards closer does not result in higher vaults.

There are many exceptional athletes who have jumped very high with vaults that do not fit these criteria.

[altius]

Quote "If a technical model is sound, it should work for every level of ability." Unquote.

That was the whole point of BTB. Perhaps if I ever get a chance to rewrite it, that message will become clearer.

[bel142]

[quote="Tim McMichael"]If a technical model is sound, it should work for every level of ability. The principles that govern a 9’ vault are the same that govern a 19’ vault.[/quote]

I believe that the above is a true statement, however I do not agree with it necessarily, if that makes sense.... A coach cannot have a beginner vaulter focus on skills that an elite athlete needs to make a bar.

An emphasis on technical skill at the beginner level is crucial however the model needs to be severely watered down for the beginner, for safety and for a learning method.

A kindergartner can add one number to another, but not one exponent to another. It’s still adding just more advanced.

[vault3rb0y]

It seems to me that the quote is true, but you still have to teach it from the ground up. And once a 9' vaulter has a few basic principles of the model, he/she is usually no longer a 9' vaulter. He/she might progress to a 12' vaulter where he/she might learn a different set of skills, following the same principles but focusing on a little less minor things than "fun fast and drive that knee". I wouldnt be suprised to hear that said to a 9' vaulter but i would to a 12'-14' vaulter.

[altius]

Careful now 3po - you are questioning an experienced athlete and coach -AGAIN!

[dj]

good morning...

here is where we need to really take notice to what tim and altius, and the many vaulters/coaches with their experience have been saying all along...

what do you do with a vaulter that has a PR of 18-8 but has been "retired" for 2 years???

Run - Plant - Swing

what do you do with a beginner??

R---P----S

HOW something is said can change.... ie.. free takeoff or leave the ground as the pole tip is just touching the back of the box...

rowing or.... working the hands through the middle and top of the vault.. or 3rd option...just Swing..

how we Run.. how we Plant.. and how we Swing.. is the key to vaulting..

dj

[vault3rb0y]

Hey altius .
I wasnt trying to question tim, in fact the opposite. Theres some people you just dont question on certain topics. I was in fact reinforcing what he said, in a side convo with bel. I simply meant to say that the same model governs a 9' vaulter as a 19', however i would think the 19' vaulter works on much more minor details of the model as opposed to a 9' vaulter. For instance, just like DJ said, they both "jump swing pull", but in a practice a 9' vaulter probably wont hear "you need to hit the free take off hard and swing immediately after drive phase is exhausted and swing 2 cm farther back then last time, staying connected with the pole to clear this next bar". At least i never did .

Really, what i was trying to say was summed up by DJ much easier than myself . I gotta work on those English courses next year .
Its funny that you call me 3po though, lol. I kinda like that one.

[Tim McMichael]

The first thing I do with an absolute beginner is show them how to place their hands on a pole and then walk them through a three step plant. After 35 years of vaulting, the first thing I do to begin my training is rehearse how I place my hands on the pole and walk through hundreds of three step plants. There are certainly things I will work on later in the season that a beginner will never get to, but the limitation is their progress and experience, not the basics of the model. I can't expect a beginner to feel the difference between degrees of pressure in their hands or the crucial timing issues involved in milking every ounce of energy out of a jump, but I do have to teach them to use their hands properly, and to be patient at the top of the vault, or they will never develop the proficiency that may be a decade or more away from realization.

[bel142]

Now, in anyone’s experience, is there a difference in the physical training within an elite vaulter, than a beginner? (track work outs and what not, vaulting for fitness, rather than working on fitness for the vault)

Over the past few years I have started to focus on running/sprinting technique more than the major parts of the vault. At what point if any, does a vaulter stop trying to "learning to vault" and start fine-tuning their technique?

When would it be appropriate in an athlete’s career to make that switch?

[jcoover]

n a practice a 9' vaulter probably wont hear "you need to hit the free take off hard and swing immediately after drive phase is exhausted and swing 2 cm farther back then last time, staying connected with the pole to clear this next bar"

I would hope not! Not even the elite's can process that much information in one vault! Nobody's minds move in slo-mo, 3po!

[Tim McMichael]

in a practice a 9' vaulter probably wont hear "you need to hit the free take off hard and swing immediately after drive phase is exhausted and swing 2 cm farther back then last time, staying connected with the pole to clear this next bar".

LOL, I have seen coaches say things more technical than that to beginners and intermediates and I cringe every time. You won't hear anything like that out of me for a 9 footer, but you might hear me say something like:

"Be as tall as you can when you run and stretch up high at the plant just like the three step drills I gave you to work on all week. You have been doing them haven't you? (blank stare) Remember, 100 every evening before you go to bed? (still a blank stare) Aaaargh! You can't expect to get better at this if you don't do your drills."

That is what coaching a 9 footer is usually like.

But this is about the best a 9' vaulter can hope to comprehend of the free takeoff, even if they are working on their drills. At this point I will not even be working on the swing, but I will be looking for the beginnings of a good swing flowing off of a good plant. For that to happen the vaulter has to be connected to the pole right at the takeoff. If I do my job right an athlete that I bring along from a beginner to elite should never know how hard it is to pole vault. While my initial instruction will be necessarily simple and direct, you can bet that I have the same principles that govern an elite vault in the forefront of my mind at all times. I will encourage what fits that model and tamp out what does not. Mostly I will rely on the development of the right feel for the vault, and hopefully I will not have to say much at all. I think it is as important to be careful in what I don't say as it is to be accurate in what I do.

Your point, however, is well taken. I should clarify my initial post. Just because the principles that govern a sound vault are the same across all levels of ability does not mean that beginners should be given exactly the same instruction that an elite athlete receives, and certainly the physical training should be different.

A mother once called me asking for private lessons for her daughter. She told me how much potential her daughter had and how talented she was, and I agreed to do what I could to help. When she showed up to practice, I found out that her fantastically talented and athletically gifted daughter was seven years old. I cut down a broken crossbar to about six feet long, taped a tip on it and gave it to the mom and told her to give it to her little girl to play with in the back yard and to come back in about four years. I never heard from them again, but I promise if that kid had spent those four years with that pole making up games and jumping over puddles and into the sand box and over the dog house (and the dog) I would have had an easy job of coaching when she came back.

[Tim McMichael]

n a practice a 9' vaulter probably wont hear "you need to hit the free take off hard and swing immediately after drive phase is exhausted and swing 2 cm farther back then last time, staying connected with the pole to clear this next bar"

I would hope not! Not even the elite's can process that much information in one vault! Nobody's minds move in slo-mo, 3po!

At the highest levels of mastery time really does slow down subjectively. Joe Dial once told me that he felt like he had enough time to eat a sandwich during a vault. He also said that if there was a fly sitting on the bar he would know it and could probably catch it in his hand as he went by. The amazing thing is that this was not much of an exaggeration. When we competed against one another in practice he would sometimes talk to me - during the jump. He would say something like "I'm going to light this up," as he rocket toward the bar. And then he would say, "See, I told you" as he fell toward the pit. Practicing with him was like getting a doctorate in resisting intimidation.

It is a truth worth meditating on that for most vaulters the jump happens so fast they are over the bar before they know it, but for a very few of the very best it seems to take forever. This is linked to the fact that slow motion drills are more effective in skill acquisition than those done at full speed.

This is a true story: Back when giving pushes seemed like a good idea, I had one of my athletes give me a tap on my biggest pole gripping 16'. I did not know that he had never done this before, and he pushed me straight sideways as hard as he could. I ended up headed over the right hand standard which was set at 17'. I had time to figure out where I was going to land and to understand that I was basically screwed and to come up with a plan to make things a little better. I let go of the pole and grabbed the top of the standard, and pulled as hard as I could. The fastener gave way, and I collapsed the standard down to its shortest height and let it topple over to the ground. I ended up standing beside the pit. All of that seemed to take a very long time to happen, but in reality from takeoff to landing only about four seconds went by. Scientist don't really know why this happens, but it does, and some athletes can turn it on and off at will.

It's late, and I am rambling. The moral to this if nothing else makes sense is: don't give taps.