to vertical
- Press the
left arm vertically up to the pole (not pushing out into the pole
or pulling the pole down to the box - let it fall)
- Raise the
hips, chest, shoulders, head as vertically as possible
- Drive up off
of the left foot - drive the right knee up to a 90º angle
- right foot out - toe up
- Left toe
should be directly under the right hand at takeoff
- Plant Drills
(see video)
- walking stubby
left/right/lefts - standing stubby plants - jogging LRL’s
- pole walking LRL, pole running LRL, LRL into wall (or box),
Wall Drill
with Lift(hip drill), Sliding Box Drills (all of the above),
one arm drills
Drive-Swing
-
Lead with the chest (not hips) underneath the bend of the pole
- both arms, shoulders, chest, hips all maintain press up
-
Left leg stays back - push off of toe as long as possible
Drive Swing
Drills
- Grass
Drills (keep left leg down and back),
Sand Drills, Pit Drills
- Rope Drill
with collapsed left arm (hold drive position)
- short pole stall through, one arm Drills into the pit
Swing
Up
- When pole
swings to side
-
drive hands to thighs (though more exactly, legs swing up to hands)
- aggressively swing
long left leg past the top of pole (maintain bent
right knee)
-
flex left elbow, bringing hips to the pole
-
close off left arm bringing back of wrist to left chest
-
bring pole as close as possible to body
Swing Up Drills
- on all drills maintain a long top arm (don’t PULL!!!)
- Grass (Sand,
Pit) Drill with Swing Up to invert (land on feet!!!!)
- Rope Drill
with Swing Up
- Pop-Up into pit (emphasize long left leg)
Pull - Turn - Extend
-
As pole unbends - allow body to shoot straight up the pole
-
Begin turning hips to the bar - cross right foot over left
-
Release left hand first - then right (release pole back - do not “throw”)
-
Pike as hips peak over bar
- cup chest - do not “throw back” head (as chest is thrown
out)
-
wait to “snake” bar - don’t lift head or arms
Pull- Turn -
Extend Drills
- “flex and
slide” floor drill, underwater vaulting, gymnastic back roll
to handstand,
stubby bar clearance drill, straight pole bar clearance,
trampoline and rope
drill to clearance
one arm vaults
- push pole on runway - plant overhead (just top hand)
- swing up on correct side of pole - land on feet in pit
- raise grip
height according to penetration
- teaches tall
plant, planting with step on, staying long under pole
- swing long
left leg
push vaulting
- push pole on runway - holding with both hands but resting
top hand on shoulder
- plant consists of pushing both hands up into air
- execute full
vault from plant
- teaches
plant/vault mechanics without dealing with run issues
- teaches correct vaulting technique - and safe vaulting
- cannot have a “bad” runway - or a “lip” on the box!!!!!!!!
- new rule - boxes with “lips” are illegal
- with both one arms and push/vaults - start at lower hand
grip and raise
grip (one grip at a time) until vaulter
starts to land in the middle of
the pit (instead of over penetrating) if the vaulter
comes up
short - lower grip again to improve mechanics
Systematic Teaching Progression
1. Pole
Orientation (using stubbies) - pole grip, pole carry
2. Pole Run
(start with walking, then jogging, then running with stubby)
3. Repeat steps
one and two with a suitable pole until athlete can consistently accomplish
4. Plant -
standing plant action with stubby
5. Walking
plant action with stubby emphasizing correct action to correct foot
6. Running
Plant - increasing from jog to running plant action with stubby
7. Repeat steps
four, five and six with suitable pole until athlete is consistent
8. Sand Vault
(using long jump pit) (note - make sure there are no obstructions to pushing
the pole down the runway)
- place a pit
section in the long jump pit
- using a
three to five left approach, athletes should push the pole
down the runway, “plant” the pole vertically overhead, into
the sand in front of the pit section and jump into the pit
on the
correct side of the pole (athlete should work for distance -
not height)
and land on their back on the pit
- as the athlete improves technique, athlete can increase
swing-up, and can add
pull and turn to land on stomach in the pit, and/or
9. Push Vault -
using the same technique as the Sand Vault into the box and the pole
vault pit - some goals apply
10. Vertical
Takeoff - using a pole carry and a three to five left approach, athlete
should
vault into the side of the pole vault pit, planting the pole
up against the bottom of
the pit. This teaches
athletes to use a pole carry, a vertical takeoff, and can be
used to achieve the same goals as the sand vault.
11. One Arm Vault - athlete ‘push” vaults using
only the top (right) arm
- teaches a
high plant angle, vertical takeoff, correct pole placement in box
and can continue to
be used for drive-swing and swing up drills
12. Full Vault - athlete moves to a five to seven
left approach. As the athlete achieves
greater depth into the pit, coach can move athlete up the
pole one hand grip at a
time. If run/plant is
a serious problem, athlete can “push” vault, but should
eventually working on run/plant timing
Goal
- To vault in a safe environment
Pit Location
- is it in a “high traffic” area - where accidents, equipment,
and people are
likely to interfere
- is it in a easily supervised area - where a coach with
multiple
responsibilities can
observe practice
-is
it in an appropriate place for prevailing winds
Box Condition
-
is the box legal (105º) or 90º - and has it been set properly (leveled)
- is the box anchored and is it intact - and is there a lip on
the box
-
is the box padded
Size of Pit
- new rules - 20’2” length - 19’8” width.
16’6 wide in front of
the standards
16’5”
depth behind the box
-
is the pit covered with a common cover
-
are there insets for the standards (if not it cannot be legal)
Standard Settings
- new rules - standards are now from 15 1/2” to 31.5” (40 to
80 cm)
Pit Inspection
- are their holes in the pit - areas where vaulters
will “go through”
-
is the foam intact and will the cover allow for a vaulter to walk/run on it
-
are all hardened areas around the pit covered
-
are all dangers removed from the pit (pallets, cinder blocks, hurdles)
Runway
Environment
-
is the runway intact (no holes) and appropriately marked
-
are marks placed on the runway safe from being moved/removed
-
are there likely to be people walking/running across the runway
-
is the runway secured in such a way as to make it safe
Vaulter attitude
-
are vaulters prepared to make safe vaults through:
-
appropriate training
-
attitude toward consistency and safety
-
no kamikaze vaulters
-
are vaulters willing to accept coaching and make
appropriate changes
during competition
-
are vaulters using appropriate and legal poles
pole conditions
-
have poles been inspected for legality and safety
-
are pole clearly marked to avoid confusion
-
have poles been checked for cracks and bruises
-
are butt plugs in acceptable condition
-
are poles stored in such a way as to avoid scratches and crushes
-
are poles kept dry and secure at meet
-
are vaulters gripping poles in a safe manner
other safety equipment issues (helmets?)
- helmets - pros and cons
- might help in some situations -
-
beneficial in “roll-off” type injuries (Florida
fatality)
-
pit safety would also have prevented this accident
- bicycle type
helmets are either designed for 1 meter to 2 meter fall
-
are not designed for catastrophic vault accidents
-
do they give a feeling of “invincibility”
-
do they effect mechanics of vault
-
some questions about long term effect of chronic
landings on
neck vertebrae - also
acute hyper extension
- other issues?
goal: to increase
safety by solving problems in vault
standards - vault
deep ALL THE TIME
- gets vaulters in the habit of penetrating
- thinking in terms of storing energy - not simply “going up”
-
gives room for error in case of poor plant
- use of bungee - gives vaulter a
sense of penetration as well as height
- in
competition standard settings are still the same 15 1/2 -31 1/2 ”
- if a vaulter is practicing at 24”
to 30” - then competes at 16”
there is something
wrong
-
check position of left arm at plant (probably collapsing), or
-
look to plant step (probably under), or
-
look to chest drive at plant - leading with hips
-
check “hip drill” to see what happens
problems with pole run
- not maintaining speed to plant
-
Running Mechanics - Pole Carry Mechanics(is pole
behind hip)
-
is athlete running with high knees and erect body posture
-
is pole approaching in a straight line (not angled to box)
-
is all pole motion during run “in line” (not side to side)
- is pole dropping too soon -- too late
-
is vaulter slowing down to plant (move back)
-
is vaulter counting steps (maintaining consistent
run)
- not getting in position to effectively plant
- inconsistency in plant step (midpoint)
-
is vaulter “counting” steps
-
is vaulter using and adjusting to a midpoint
-
is vaulter changing rhythm in competition
-
is vaulter changing pole carry
-
is vaulter injured or otherwise impaired (tired)
- inability to vault “straight”
- vaulting straight is a plant action problem - it is not
controllable
by attempting to control “where you jump from”
- athletes are off-angle in their plant foot because of the
mechanics
of their pole carry and planting action
-
fix the pole carry and plant to fix the off-angle attack
problems with plant
- ineffective planting action - erratic forces in plant action
- plant is too early (vaulter loses
speed, also forces plant to be
horizontal rather than vertical)
- plant is too late (vaulter slows
to put plant up, plant is not complete prior to
takeoff, vaulter tries to “muscle” pole, completes press after
leaving
ground forcing action
down instead of up)
- Plant is “Roundhoused” (vaulter steps to
side on jump step)
-
vaulter jumps from right to
left instead of in straight line
-
Plant is brought down across body instead of in a straight line
-
pole carry is not in line with run
- left to right
rotation of pole creates a right to left rotation of body - plant is on the left side of the runway or
-
vaulter compensates -
crosses last step over to right side
pushing instead of pressing (THIS IS THE BIGGEST CHANGE IN A
DECADE)
- fails to store
maximum energy - shoulders and elbows absorb energy
- pushing - put body “behind” the plant
- will create a lot of
bend - but will leave vaulter short at top of vault
-
vaulter looks great through
plant - but unable to rotate to vertical
or close off
-
tends to block with left arm - body rotates through
left hand and
shoulder instead of right hand
-
creates horizontal energy - but not vertical energy
-
stores energy low in the pole - pole “unbends” early
- failure to convert horizontal to vertical energy
-
check other plant issues first
-
check “attack” angle of vaulter (as measured from
chest angle
to horizontal)
-
check step - if vaulter is
“out” it will create a “push plant”
listen to plant - a “pushed” plant sounds like a “stick” - a
pressed
plant slides in the box to the back
problems with pole selection (use grip height
selection chart)
- grip height
determination (assuming on a legal pole)
- grip height is determined by penetration
-
if the vaulter is
penetrating - grip height can be raised
-
raise no more than one grip (hand grip width) at a time
-
if the vaulter then
over-penetrates (lands too deep)
-
go to a stiffer pole (match or lower grip depending
on how much stiffer)
-
if the vaulter starts to
come up short
-
lower grip height - check plant mechanics
-
grip (top hand position) between 6” and 18” from top
of pole (show pole grip selection chart)
- pole selection determination
-
using grip chart, determine where the vaulter is
-
vaulter must be able to
vault the top grip on a pole at least 10
pounds over body
weight before ready to move to the next
use of “coaching zone” in pit (see diagram)
- Coaching
Zone can determine
- depth of plant (energy storage)
-
erratic forces in plant (off line plants)
- when to make changes in pole selection
- other
problems