14' on a 13'7"

[Branko720]

Hey I was just wondering what the best jump anyone's ever had on a 13'7". I just had one of my athletes clear 14' on his 13'7" 170 and was wondering what the best possible hight I could expect from a 13'7" pole.

I am asking this because I have a bit of a dilema.
This athlete has had trouble jumping on bigger poles in practice and therefore has had issues with transitioning to a 14' pole. Specifically he has had trouble jumping on a 13' pole or bigger in practice. The last two months he has only vaulted in practice with a 12' pole. And now he runs through during warm ups with his 13' and 13'7" poles. However, when the cross bar goes up, he jumps.

I would like to know how some other coaches would deal with this situation. I won't lie I get nervous before I actually see him take off. And it's not that he is dangerous. He vaults with the standards at 24 or further back (60cm +). I just wonder whether or not he'll actually take off. What should I be doing in practice to help him through this. Any help would be much apreciated.

[AVC Coach]

As for your pole length question, I think 14' is a good jump on that length of a pole. I like for my boys to be able to jump 14+ gripping between 12-6 and 13-0 as they are developing.

I also have a young man that runs through a lot. I've come to realize that it's more of a confidence problem and if I bring him up to a shorter run on smaller poles, he gets a great technical training session with few or no run-throughs. Once in a meet, when people are watching, he has no problem planting those larger poles.

I wouldn't worry about him not getting on big poles in practice. You really get less accomplished when your kids do get on their big poles because now, all of the sudden, everything has to be just right to even finish a jump. How is that making them better?

[Branko720]

I know what you mean. With the exception of a few practices I usually stick to short runs on short poles working technique exclusivly. But with the vaulter in mind I feel like the 12' pole is almost too short. He jumps with it from three lefts and it has gotten to a point where he blows through it so badly that it's difficult for him to even do the long swing drills. Is it possible for a pole to be too short for a particular athlete to get much work done with it? And, when should i transition to the 14' poles?

Thanks for the help.

[htheodore]

As my vaulters transition from a 13 to a 14, I keep the grip the same and sometimes they plant sometimes they run through. If they run through 3 times in a row, I move them back down and try to get their confidence back. If they blow through with proper mechanics, then we try to transition again. Just be patient with them. The pole sizes and grip will come.

[Branko720]

He jumps on a 13'7" pole not a 13'. What I am saying though is that at practice he can only jump on a 12' pole. At this point at a meet he can't even use 13' poles because he blows through them and is jumping on 13' 7" poles at meets now, but I am having issues of having productive practices because the 12' pole seems like it is too short and soft. Is that possible or is there always a way to make a pole work? Should I order a 12' 180 pole?

Also I am still wondering what the best clearance anyone has gotten on a 13'7" pole. On a 13'7" a vaulter's grip is about 13'1" and acourding to DJ's chart the bar clearance should be 13'6". I know that athletes can clear more that what the chart shows, but I was wondering how much more, specifically with a 13'7" pole.

Thanks again.

[Rhino]

Brian Hancock of Missouri cleared 15' or better on 13' or 13'7" poles (I think). That's really standing on the end of it.

[Robert schmitt]

I've jumped 14'7" several times wtih plenty of room to spare on a 13'9" at my body wieght. Some times I'm girpping down 6-9" on it even.

[Barto]

Unless he is pretty short, I would say ~14'6" is maxing out a 13'7" pole. Higher heights can be achieved, but only with learning some poor techniques that will hurt him in the long run.

[ec1vaulter]

I have the same thing with many of my vaulters (concerning not being able to jump on competition poles during practice). It is not a bad thing, like other have said. It is a great way to work on the mechanics of the vault and can only help them. If they are reaching the upper end of what they can clear on the competition pole then my suggestion would be the following:
They are confident on the pole once the crossbar is placed. Try moving them to a slightly larger pole (i.e. a 14' pole) during competition. Being able to transition poles during competition in a huge mental block for some vaulters, but if overcome can greatly increase their odds of performing well in some situations. This will in turn have an effect on the poles used during practice as they are able to use a 12'6" or 13' pole during practice if using a 14' pole for competition. This may mean that your vaulter will be forced to use a 5 or 6 step approach, but it is still a short approach so should be fine for technique work and not allow they to blow through the pole.

Basically, use their strength (in this case, competition vaulting) to work on pole transition) as opposed to practice.