PoleVaultPower.com

This is the best athlete I have ever coached. She is outstanding. I am teaching her the Petrov Model, and I really don't want to mess this up. She has a chance to be very, very good. She is a beginner with only about 20 practices so far. The pole is a 13' 135, and this is obviously a very short run. The bar is on 11'.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=gcy2gWH5LZI

WOW! Tim, she is going to be good. What I noticed (see if you see it as well) her take off step might be a tad long compared to the penult and the rest of her steps. That being said she still has a nice positioned take off posture. It did appear to me that she was getting off the ground before the pole hit the back of the box (free take off) so that's good. Nice figure four leg swing but she'll have to learn to keep it till she gets her hips to her hands therefore allowing her to "get up" the pole and not drop the left leg which flattens her out at the top. She's got a tremendous start, keep her at it. Good work for both of you. Later......Mike

Yeah. She's an athlete. I'd recruit her based on that slow mo video.

I'd work on her pole carry...her bottom hand is out to the side when she starts when it should be in the center of her chest. She'll be able to stay more square and hit her plant better if that's fixed.

Very good athlete indeed. How old is she and what is her previous background?

One thing I noticed right away was her good approach form. Nice coaching, and nice execution. A small problem with sliding though! But jeez, you get her doing swing drills, she'll be doing 13' by the end of the summer!

cdmilton wrote:Very good athlete indeed. How old is she and what is her previous background?

She is 23 and was second in the NCAA heptathlon two years ago. I am also training her in the hep. She wanted to learn to pole vault mostly because there is a good chance that the women will be going to a decathlon between this Olympics and the next. The problem is that I am teaching her a model that is radically different from the one I used and know best. I am certain, however, that this is in her best interest. This is why I am sweating bullets, and asking for any help I can get. Imagine someone who can already score well over 6000 in the hep being able to vault over 15' the first day they go to a decathlon. I know it's a long shot, but I think it's one worth taking.

My next step will be to get her running faster from a longer run. I think she will start to cover the pole better as her grip goes up and the pole starts to break over more. As things stand right now, she can stiff pole 10' and has cleared 11'6" from that baby run we are currently using.

achtungpv wrote:Yeah. She's an athlete. I'd recruit her based on that slow mo video.

I'd work on her pole carry...her bottom hand is out to the side when she starts when it should be in the center of her chest. She'll be able to stay more square and hit her plant better if that's fixed.

Thanks, I didn't see that one.

souleman wrote:WOW! Tim, she is going to be good. What I noticed (see if you see it as well) her take off step might be a tad long compared to the penult and the rest of her steps.

You should have seen it before we started working on it. She was reaching way, way out with that takeoff leg coming off of a weak penultimate. This is also how she long jumped, and she was still going over 20' in practice.

powerplant42 wrote: A small problem with sliding though! But jeez, you get her doing swing drills, she'll be doing 13' by the end of the summer!

What do you mean by "sliding"? I am not sure what you are describing here.

Her hand slips a little bit down the pole, that's all. Wasn't too big of a deal, but something to watch out for, because that can hurt you so badly if you get used to it. Maybe just check the tape to see if it's worn, or just make sure she's holding on tight enough. Actually, it's much less than I thought it was, I just watched it again... It's tough to see, but it definitely looks like there is a small amount of slide there. That's most likely just a problem in that particular vault, I don't know. Maybe I'm just insane...

Tim McMichael wrote:

cdmilton wrote:Very good athlete indeed. How old is she and what is her previous background?

She is 23 and was second in the NCAA heptathlon two years ago. I am also training her in the hep. She wanted to learn to pole vault mostly because there is a good chance that the women will be going to a decathlon between this Olympics and the next. The problem is that I am teaching her a model that is radically different from the one I used and know best. I am certain, however, that this is in her best interest. This is why I am sweating bullets, and asking for any help I can get. Imagine someone who can already score well over 6000 in the hep being able to vault over 15' the first day they go to a decathlon. I know it's a long shot, but I think it's one worth taking.

My next step will be to get her running faster from a longer run. I think she will start to cover the pole better as her grip goes up and the pole starts to break over more. As things stand right now, she can stiff pole 10' and has cleared 11'6" from that baby run we are currently using.

Tim,

She is very talented and can jump very high. The Petrov Model may be the way to go, but keep an open mind do not forget about Vigneron (if you have Mechanics of the Pole Vault read his responses), Joe and your technique. Maybe you could combine the best of both worlds develop the McPetrov Model . I personally think Vigneron was an excellent technician from what I have read, he was not extremely fast nor big and jumped 19’5â€Â

powerplant42 wrote:Her hand slips a little bit down the pole, that's all. Wasn't too big of a deal, but something to watch out for, because that can hurt you so badly if you get used to it. Maybe just check the tape to see if it's worn, or just make sure she's holding on tight enough. Actually, it's much less than I thought it was, I just watched it again... It's tough to see, but it definitely looks like there is a small amount of slide there. That's most likely just a problem in that particular vault, I don't know. Maybe I'm just insane...

She has had a little trouble with this. Its something I think plagues beginners trying to learn Petrov. Because there is no active attempt to bend the pole, if you don't hit it just right the hands can slip. Right now she is in a stage where the pole either bends in easily and she has a good jump or she gets peeled completely. Any thoughts on how to get through this stage?