Patience

[Tim McMichael]

One of my difficulties is in dealing with the patience and diligence required to follow sound technique from the beginning on. For instance, I have a girl who was jumping 8’6â€Â

[SinCity]

We had a similar situation happen at our club. This athlete made huge improvements in her run and plant, and worked harder than anyone else day after day, month after month. She improved in some areas but didn't ever jump high. There was just something that wasn't clicking, I don't think many people could understand why someone who worked so hard could not improve in hight even though she actually improved in a lot of areas. But, if you looked at the rest of the kids most everyone else PR'd this season by 2'. Some things just don't click for some. WE don't b.s. the kids or parents. We tell em how and where they are improving, but it isn't really showing up, but when one litttle thing clicks it is going to be a huge PR. I think this is the only way to do it, can't B.S. em. Just tell them the truth and sometimes the truth hurts. I think in today's society we sugar coat things and I don't think it is ok. If you hurt their feelings, it wasn't your intention, but people don't always get what they want or work for.

And, running a club or coaching in general you don't want to be like that, but sometimes it is necessary. My .02

[ladyvolspvcoach]

Tim, that's one of the most difficult things to deal with. Especially with the girls, and it doesn't matter if they are in high school or college. Everyvaulter goes through that time when nothing seems to work. It's important for the athlete to know that isn't just THEM. I'm fortunate to have my 8' high schools girls be able to watch my 13' college vaulters have the same kind of practice that they have. Parents and high school coaches want the improvements to be constant and continuous. The trouble is that skills development isn't like that and it's different for every athlete. I do all I can to create long or longer term expectations for the parents especially. If they think they will go from 8' to 11' with the kind of weight training and gymnastics training that they do in high school in a couple of weeks then there's a certain crash in the future of the whole family...It's hard to manage expectations, extend the date for successful or measurable improvement, and keep every one upbeat and committed to the LONG haul. But, alas, as coaches that's that's one of the skills we have to develop....my.02

[htheodore]

I feel your pain brother!

[AVC Coach]

I agree with you Tim. It is very difficult being patient sometimes. The sad truth is that as patient as you might be, you're dealing with young people and sometimes they don't get it. No matter how many drills, pep talks, voodoo dolls, etc..........they just don't figure it out.

We teach one of the hardest subjects in the world and sometimes we are going to have a kid that can't pass our class, even with remediation and extra tutoring.

[IndyCoach]

I have the exact same problem with my kids. I started anew program this year and did not have one experienced vaulter. We would go to meets and the kids would get so frustrated that they were getting beat by kids who would just hold high, hang on and flop over. Over spring break one of my girls went to a camp put on with the help of college kids (i recomended Bell's camp but they didn't want to spend the $) and they basically ruined what we had been working on. They moved her up 18" on her grip moved the standards all the way up and let her quit turning and just used her great swing to get up and then go over with out her turn. She cleared 9" over her PR so she thought this was the greatest thing ever. She basically quit listen to me and by the end of the season was still jumping the same height and her team mates that she had been beating were now well above her. She is now back on track, the season is over and we are back to working in the sand get her back to a free take off holding lower and getting her technique back.

[Robert schmitt]

I think you all ready mentioned the best thing for this. when you have other kids that succeed. like the 11' she has to realize that what you are coaching has to work. and the heights will come as her tech improves. What is frustrating for the athlete is watching some one who started at the same time with not as much sucsess surpase them as the tech improves. I always remind them that it was the improvment in tech that brought about the increase in clearances and that once they achieve those same technical improvments they will reap the rewards also

[dj]

good morning

this thread is the true "essence" of coaching. and i hope the top coaches will make this a "round table"... this is how, in my 40 years of coaching, that the best coaches have found and shared the answers to improving the vault.. of course we just did it by sitting around at some "hole in the wall" and BS...ing... "my boy can beat your boy"... because he can do this!!! hehe

i will say this... it will not happen if you as a coach are not willing to step to the "edge" and try something you are totally against.... i.e. some vaulters and coaches say there is NO jump at takeoff.. some say there is a HUGE jump at takeoff ... believe me "there is a jump and there isn't a jump!" but i don't think it should even be called a jump. i have told some to jump and some to run off the ground ...

another example is "to push or not to push" the bottom arm at the takeoff?... my heart and soul is against it... but as recently as last year i if i had not have introduced what i called "Push - Pull" three of my vaulters would not have gone from 10' to 12 feet in a month...

i get frustrated all the time because my friend Rusty at SC can coach the plant so damn good and i'm not as good at that phase as he is... i've tried to "steal" his process but finally gave up and just let him do it with my athletes.. guy kochel and i commonly did that with bell and tully... each coach has his/her own vision of the vault.. it works with some but not all... that's why we need to "broaden"our vision..

most good coaches will take care of the run and plant first... ergo.... the athlete improves quickly and starts to catch up to their current physical ability... AVC seems to get them there quicker than me so i try to "steal" some of his "mojo" when i can...just don't see him much...

i am accused of and tend to focus (over focus?) on the run.. but i have taught vaulters that became good, to plant properly... but those vaulters would have not planted correctly if they had not have had the correct pole carry run...

we know it is different with each vaulter.. and we as coaches need to accept and understand that... the hardest thing to do is to coach a group of vaulters and make them understand that what you say to one doesn't necessarily pertain to the others.. and to get a parent to understand that is harder, especially when one out jumps the other!

my point is.. some i tell to jump... some i don't... what i have done is develop drills and a process to give the vaulter a penultimate, Left.. Right..Left, into the takeoff... that, in my opinion, is what gives the vaulter the correct "impulse" i'm looking for...........(before the pole hits the back of the box (which.. is not always)and the vaulter is fully extend at the "liftoff. )

what we hopefully can do on this thread is share our ideas, try others thoughts.. but not to an extreme (even with my step chart)

again what good coaches generally do is correct the technical aspects of the run and plant first... this allows the athlete to use the physical talents they have, generally the faster, stronger more athletics have greater gains. once this is done the "real' process sets in. now physical changes have to take place for greater improvement and those take time and work..

i.e.. we see a large number of girls/women reaching 12'-12-5... and seemingly "leveling" off. to change now becomes a matter of "minute" increments in physical and technical aspects.. little more speed, little higher plant, cleaner takeoff, better pole selection ...can give a foot or more in improvement, but these are not easy changes for the best of vaulters...

look at tim mack... in 1995... 18-4... 10 years later.. 19-4.. Gold medal ... as coaches, athletes or parents we don't want to wait a month much less 10 years!

the answer for all of us is... RUN...PLANT..SWING and maximizing the application of force on each phase.

Find a weakness ... get rid of it ... find another...get rid of it...

Remember!!! The weakness you find will be as a direct result of what took place just BEFORE the technical weakness..... in other words a bad plant is the result of and improper approach run, pole carry, pole drop.. so to work on a late or bad plant you have to correct the approach run, pole carry, pole drop..

1. Maximize the RUN with: posture, rhythm, speed, accuracy

2. Maximize the PLANT with: reach, takeoff point, impulse, energy transfer

3. Maximize the SWING with: distance of the radius, speed of swing, continuation of the swing to "pull/push"

don't be afraid of trying something outside of the "box".. your athletes may have to know the "wrong" way before they can understand the "Right" way.. PUSH/PULL has now gotten each vaulter to 13/13-6 and i no longer refer to it as "PUSH/PULL. it is now "Get the feet down...Extend the arms and Swing". and the arms go up (with no "lock out") and there is a smooth transfer from takeoff to Swing.

"Push" to one may mean "straight left arm" to another... and extending the left arm "as high above the head as possible" to the other. one you would tell not to push and find another "process".... the other you would leave along and move to a real weakness...

dj

[baggettpv]

well, Interesting thread. Athletes having a solid basic model, good instruction and adequate facilities should all improve given time. In Education the differences in learning is called a Learning Rate (Talent). Within the different Intelligences each person has a diferent learning rate. The key to teaching is directing the learning activity to the Individual Intelligence (noun) of the individual learner. The role the teacher creates between them and the learner will enhance this learning rate and the structure of the lessons will also influence this learning rate. A sound educational background will assist the teacher in determining and maximizing these learnings.

Rick Baggett
WSTC LLC