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The grip issue is critical, I agree. However, since her primary fear is landing in the box, I have been delaying raising her grip until that issue was resolved. We have been consistently attempting her PR even with the difficulties we have been facing and we can absolutely not afford to go two steps...

Just to clarify what is happening in that jump. She is on a 13' 145. She is 5'7" and weighs 120. Her takeoff is just outside of 10'. We are indeed looking for a home for her. She is not with a team right now and is attending a JUCO here in Oklahoma City. She will have three years of eligibility...

This thread also illustrates how theory and practice can come together. Thank you everyone who contributed to this thread and helped me begin to resolve this issue. The future of a very talented young woman is a lot brighter today and my coaching has improved because of your efforts.

Tim, I know every body on this site will disagree, but did you ever consider leaving her take point where she naturally takes off from and work on improving her general take off mechanics. A point of fact is most elite male vaulters ( 5.80 plus vaulters ) take off under. Both Issy and Suhr take off...

We are definitely going to work on the trail leg. I think her fundamentals are decent now, especially at takeoff, though they can always be improved. Her knees could be higher in the approach and she gets the pole a little low at the start of her plant. I'm reluctant to mess with those aspects becau...

Okay. This isn't slow motion. I'll see if I can get that done in the next day or so. This first video is of her getting stuck on her swing while clearing 12'6" indoor. The second is her jumping 13'1" today. What I did was to get her bottom hand elbow facing more outward which seems to have...

This should probably be in the coaching forum but it might give rise to some more advanced discussion. I'm stumped. I have a very talented athlete who has improved dramatically. I have gotten her step out, her plant high; she looks like she should be on the cover of an instruction manual at takeoff ...

If your idea of a Gopro camera is taping a cell phone to your forehead.

The swing to inversion on a high bar is a good way to think about what the arms should be doing. Imagine hanging and swinging with the arms completely passive, doing no work at all. I have not yet coached a single person who could swing their hips to their hands and hold there with no input from the...

The push plant is, in my opinion a legitimate variation that may limit an athlete's ultimate potential in exchange for considerable early success. I would like to see it called something besides the "push plant" as that is the last phrase I would want in the back of a beginner's mind.

I just now got this news. There are no words adequate. We have lost one of the true scholars and gentlemen of this sport. Though he could be a curmudgeon, his rough edges were always tempered by his love of the sport and his passion to teach. I loved that old man and I loved him all the more for the...

I love the sand pit drills but don't have access to one at the facility I use. Not many home made set ups have a sand pit. There just isn't room. I have found that you can teach the same things at the box, but you have to make sure the vaulter can get a consistent step and are running properly first...