PoleVaultPower.com

Hello, I'm a current high school vaulter. At the beginning of the season, I weighed 163 lbs at 5'11" so I used my 165 lbs pole. I've been lifting weights with the sprinters because I'm also a sprinter and now I'm 173 lbs. My coach isn't letting me use my 165 lbs pole anymore, which I'm very used to. Now he's making me use this humongous 170 lbs pole and I hate this pole with a passion. I don't eat too bad, and I haven't seen much improvement muscle wise and I haven't grown taller. What could have lead to this sudden weight gain? I need some tips to get back down to 163 lbs too, I miss my old pole.

You don't want to lose weight, you are heavier because you are stronger and faster. How long was your old pole and how long is the new one?

I want to say that my old pole is 12ft....but my new one is 16ft. Nobody in my school has ever used this pole, we actually didn't start vaulting at my school until this year. Nobody's been willing to coach it until now.

If you're school is unwilling to buy you poles, and you can't afford to buy or rent them yourself, you're just not going to get very far. The weight ratings mean nothing when you switch from a very short to a very long pole.

http://www.skyjumpers.com/articles/pvpr ... table.html
Please print that out and give it to your coach.

I was using this pole today and actually did very well. I got up to 12' today, but I couldn't get my step right at all. I'm coming from 6 lefts, and as soon as I plant I either have to leap or studder step. Because of that, I landed in the box like six times today. Any advice on that? Hah