Closed Grip Vaulting

[TeddyVault]

Hi, I'm new to this here forum, but am very impressed with what I've read so far. This is a cool site.
I've a question for you all to ponder, and a cool drill to share.
I am wondering if anyone has tried a closed grip pop-up drill, which is usually done strait pole, with a bend?
I recently was getting bored and frustrated with my vaulting, as I hadn't made any improvement in some time. So I started playing with some different drills and ended up moving up the closed grip on some lighter poles. They started to bend, and I found that it was really, really easy to get inverted, and that I actually got a pretty good finish off the top of the vault.
I'm now closed grip, or very closed to close grip vaulting, (hands within three to five inches of one another) on poles the same size as those I was regularly vaulting on, and I'm vaulting as high or higher.
Any thoughts? If nothing else, I think this can be a great drill for vaulters who are still working on getting locked back into a good inverted position. I started one of our vaulters from club on it last week. He is a lefty with a very wide grip that was preventing him from inverting fully, so I had him doing these for an afternoon and by the end he was fully inverted. You may want to put a tennis ball on the end of the pole though, as running the tip along the ground for more than a few vaults wears the plug down in a hurry.
Let me know what y'all think, and give it a shot if you get bored. Is this something relatively new, or has it been done before. I am thinking that it may have been a common practice when strait polers started to transition to fiberglass poles that bent.
(FYI, I'm 6'3" tall, which might make this sort of drill a bit easier because of the high reach, and the other vaulter I had trying it is just over 6'.)
Cheers,
Joe

[rainbowgirl28]

We did those all fall. I think it is a really old drill that has recently gotten a little more attention.

[vaultfan]

In the video “Vault 2000,â€Â

[TeddyVault]

Thanks Vaultfan, (and RainbowGirl) I've been wondering about this for the last two months. Apparently no one here in Minnesota had seen the drill taken from strait pole to bent pole before.
I agree with the article you linked to, this really is a great drill to exenctuate a tall plant at takeoff, as well as a good drive knee and trail leg. Without these it will not work very well, yet with the progression from short run, (2 step) to longer run it is a pretty safe drill as well. It also takes the lead arm out of the equation for rocking back, which allows those folks who have trouble with the timing of that to feel a good rock back.
Anyway, thank you!
And anyone who has not checked out the article, give it a peek!
Vault On

[tiki man]

I read the article referenced above and it makes a good case for substituting the narrow grip drill instead of the rock back drill with my athletes.
Start them on this tommorow.


Thanks for the web link

[KentVango]

You said something about holding wide on the pole...now this may be similar to what I have been doing....I am wondering of how much of a difference it makes to hold different distance apart from ur hands.......I have tried different ways and have not really seem much of a difference.