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Wow 8L in the low 80's and 7L in the low 70's, something is definitely off. Probably a choppy, weak start, among other things. It sounds like he has a lot of potential. Maybe you can post some video of his run/vault.

I will try to post video but my big question is should he be running from 10 or 11 lefts to help the mid and grip height, the run from 7l and 8l really consintant

dracjr wrote:I will try to post video but my big question is should he be running from 10 or 11 lefts to help the mid and grip height, the run from 7l and 8l really consintant

I think anything longer than 7 or 8 lefts is way too long for most high schoolers. My guess is he needs to work on the biomechanics of his running in order to get faster.

If this kid is 5' 5" tall that may explain why the number of steps don't work out with the "typical" approach data. Would it be safe to say that the stride length would not be as long as a 6'0 or 6' 2" vaulter.

grandevaulter wrote:If this kid is 5' 5" tall that may explain why the number of steps don't work out with the "typical" approach data. Would it be safe to say that the stride length would not be as long as a 6'0 or 6' 2" vaulter.

That would be a choppy run for most of the girls I've coached, and he's much faster than a girl. I coached a 5'6 guy the past few years and I think he was at least 82' for 7 lefts... There's always some variations, but anything less than an average of 11'-12' per stride for a reasonably fast HS boy sounds like there are some biomechnical/flexibility issues to me.

good morning,

Leg length is not the determining factor in speed or stride length. The correct application of force is the key factor.
If would be safe to say that when he runs his 4.5 40 yards his strides are longer (approx 2.13m for his 16th stride/30 meters) and in proportion to the speed being run…

Let me give you this comparative data as an example…

M. Greene's 16th stride (30 meters 9.80 100m) was 2.25m Bolt was 2.28 @ 16th (9.58 100m)

You say yes Bolts legs are longer!!! No he pushed harder.. when Greene at 5'8 beat Carl Lewis at 6-2 had a 2.25m stride Carl even though taller had ONLY a 2.24m stride at 16 in his 9.88 sec 100m.

So from some reason.. mentioned by Becca the 40 speed is not getting transferred to the runway…

dj

Thanks for the research and the comparisons dj ! I find that amazing. I read in one of your Mansfield papers about getting your feet down. Could you elaborate ? Thanks.