Staying Consistant

[pvdad81]

Saturday my son jumped in a meet where he cleared 13'9". He was over it by about 9". We moved the bar to 14'3" thinking he should have 3" to spare. He blew through twice and bailed out once. His jump at 13'9" would have made 14'3" but he changed his jump. I think he was trying harder. How do I get him to jump the same jump? We've had this problem all season. Phisically he is ready for the next height but mentally he is not. Any sugestions?

[highhopes]

Put a bungee up at 15' or 16’ and have him try to clear it. That should get him in the right mindset.

[AVC Coach]

I have that problem with some of my younger vaulters. Keep assuring him that he doesn't need to do anything different. Since he's your son and you know his tendencies better than anyone, move him up a stick if you think he's going to give more effort at a big height.

A very important part of coaching vaulters is knowing how they will react in different situations so you can anticipate any adjustments you will need to make in advance.

[pvdad81]

Since "moving him up a stick" means buying him a new pole, I want him to maximize his 13'6" pole. I told him I would buy him a 14' pole when he is ready but I know he can go 14'6" with his current pole. I've seen him jump that high when the bar is at lower heights. He hates it when I say, "your last jump would have cleared this bar easy." However, it has been true 4 or 5 times this year.

[AVC Coach]

Unless he had the "last bar" cleared by all parts of his body all around, the clearance over the actual bar can be deceiving. You're not going to go golfing with a 5 iron as the biggest club in your bag. You'll have to buy some more clubs if you want to brag about your shots while having a drink at the 19th hole with the guys who did buy those clubs.

[pvdad81]

I agree with your analogy. And I intend on buying him the biggest pole that Earl Bell can get him on later on this summer at camp. I was just hoping that he could get close to 14'6" with his 13'6" pole before we get there.

[bel142]

In those situation, when you blow through a pole in competition, pick up the next pole, and if you don't have the pole, keep in mind what you need and then keep your eyes open to add it to you bag.

But the human body is changing at that age and is still growing, so leg length and runway speed is going to very inconsistent. Inconsistency is a huge part of the vault at those younger ages. One of the best ways to deal with it is just repetition. Chad Harding told me “Best way to learn how to pole vault is to pole vault…â€Â

[pvdad81]

I don't understand how he can have a huge jump at 13'9" and start blowing thru at 14'3" with the same pole. I think he runs faster but I don't want to tell him not to run hard. I want him to run the same so that he has the same great jump which I know would have cleared the next bar.
We have a borrowed pole that is a little bigger but it is hard for him to switch to it mid-competition. It seems the standards are always in the wrong place. We have to move them around alot. To far back then to close. He would feel more comfortable starting and ending with the same pole.
Physically, he is jumping 14'6" high. The problem is that he does it when the bar is at 13'9" where he has alot of confidence and not at 14' or higher.

[vault3rb0y]

It could be a number of things, and at least for me from experience, the biggest variable in the jump from one height to another is mental. He could be looking at the bar at 14+, maybe he gets a little excited jumping at 14+ and comes out early, maybe he gets that extra adrenaline the last few steps of his run and he blows through. The hardest thing for young vaulters, myself included, to get around is the fact that every jump should be close to the same. Your jump itself should never change much, and ideally your run would be fast and explosive from the first jump to the last. Thats not the case, and we fix it with different poles, adjusted runs and adjusted standards.

The way i have gotten myself on the 12 step recovery program of headcases and overanalyzing was by being admitted against my will by my coach . My coach assured me that i can go MUCH higher than i think i can, and once i truly started believing that, it seemed that every bar was just a stepping stone to some vault that is at the VERY PEAK of my ability. I get in that mindset, and usually i can concentrate to jump consistently. Another thing that helps is just having that coach around at the big meets. I dont like having to think about how far to move my run, or when to move up a pole, i like being told when its the right time. Learning to have a somewhat blank mind when vaulting is a good thing. When an athlete is thinking about the jump himself during a practice, he will have a hard time getting better. I say this from experience, because i still overanalyze my jump, and when i do, i dont get any better. When i let my coach take over and stop stressing about it, good things happen. Thats something i think a young vaulter like your son will benefit a lot from if he learns it, because i did- dont worry about your jump, try to make every jump the same, and have fun. Do that and if it worked like it did for me, you will see a much or consistent, explosive run.

[bel142]

A good portion of the Pole vault is psychological. 13' 9" might like a normal height. But any time a PR comes up, the vault can go down the tubes real quick. He might be running a tick faster might hit the box a bit harder. Step might be better; plant might be more on time...

If the standards are consistently too close then too far deep, then it might not be as big of a standard issue as one might think. The he might not be hitting the box/pole the same way each time.... BUT get a notebook and track where you put the standards in competition with regards to what pole he is on.

My last meet this year, I opened at an easy bar, on my normal competition pole (one pole bigger than what I usually open with) and blew through it the first vault, so had to pick up my 'biggest pole' for my opening bar and ended up No Heighting, because of inconsistency issues. Each vault was different and that was the problem.

Like you said he has the confidence at 13' 9"... but that confidence at 13' 9â€Â

[pvdad81]

Thanks for all the suggestions.
I think part of the problem is where we have to practice. Our runway is concrete so no spikes. He almost never gets on his big pole unless the conditions are perfect. And now that it's summer, we can only practice when we can find a coach to supervise (school policy).
It's hard to build that consistency when he only gets to use his spikes and big pole in meets.

[txpolevaulter_k25]

yeah our school had a concrete runway (building new track this summer) they are very hard to stay consistent on