Pole Vault INTRODUCING THE POLE VAULT

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1 Pole Vault INTRODUCING THE POLE VAULT By Alan Richardson, UKA National Event Coach, Pole Vault Originally published in Athletics Weekly ( Pole Vault is known and widely accepted across the athletics coaching community as one of the most complex events in the track and field programme, however when we initially wish to teach the event the aim is to keep to simple principles that teach the most key elements of the event to the young athlete. In most languages across the world the pole vault is known as a jump with a pole or pole high jump in German. We should always emphasize the Pole Vault as a jumping event when teaching to young people beginning the event. The athlete has two main aims in the event and they are to rotate the pole around the box (or point of contact to the ground) until it reaches the vertical and also to rotate the body around the point of contact with the pole. These two pendulums are why the event is known as a double pendular event. The event can be broken down into a number of phases but we must remember that each element has a knock on effect to the next phase and therefore as much as possible we should see the event as one whole continuous movement. To simplify the teaching process this article will look at the key phases as 1) The Approach Run 2) The Take Off 3) The Swing 4) The Turn and bar clearance To compete in the Pole Vault we need a pole vault mat, runway and uprights but we can teach the event with much. Many clubs have the simple equipment required to deliver pole vault coaching at a basic level year round and still teach basic skills to be completed at an extraordinarily high level. For many clubs that is simply a sandpit and so this article will start with those exercises that can be completed with only a sandpit before exploring how they can be transferred to the full pole vault equipment. We will know look at teaching the pole vault in a simple stage by stage process. The following descriptions will be based on an assumption of the right handed pole vaulter. For a left handed pole vaulter simply reverse the hands and feet (please see accompanying pictures which are taken of a left handed vaulter. Page 1 of 16

2 Holding the Pole The right hand should be placed higher on the pole than the left and is therefore known as the top hand in the event. Grip width should be approximately shoulder width apart. If the pole is held across the body to monitor shoulder width then the palm of the right and and the knuckles of the left hand will be facing away from the body. When the athlete places the pole tip on the floor and rests the pole on their shoulder then both palms will be facing forwards. Measuring the Height of the Grip When coaching beginner pole vaulters we will measure and change grips by hand measurements. To do this the first is to reach up as high on the pole as the athlete can with the pole standing vertically next to them. Throughout the next series of drills the article will give some very rough guides of grip heights but the coach must only increase grip when the pole is moving to the vertical quickly and continues to move past the vertical. Page 2 of 16

3 Exercise 1 Swinging into a Sandpit This is where the coach must remember three golden rules, 1) always keep the pole moving 2) the athlete should always be aiming to drive the pole upwards and forwards with the top hand at take-off and 3) Keep the pole in front of the athlete as long as possible This refers to the point on the pole the top hand holds and keeping the athletes hips behind this point. The right-handed athlete will take off on their left foot and swing on the right hand side of the pole. The athlete should begin by placing the tip of the pole in the sand and take a small step backwards. The grip should be around the height the athlete can reach to begin with and increased as the athlete swings past the pole too fast. When the grip is raised it should be raised on both hands at the same time by the same amount. The athlete should then take a small step onto the left foot and jump onto the pole pushing it upwards and forwards towards a vertical position via an active jumping take off showing a vigorous right knee drive, full extension of the take off leg and an active right hand. The athlete should land in control with both feet together with small flexion of the knees upon landing to absorb forces upon landing. Page 3 of 16

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5 The athlete should be encouraged to push the pole to the vertical at all times and we should never see a pulling action which would be shown by a flexed top arm. During this exercise the coach should emphasise 1. A big jump at take off, seeing the right knee driven to parallel and full extension of the take off leg 2. Swinging on the pole with long arms 3. The athlete landing deep into the sandpit. Spotting the Athlete Beginner athletes may need spotting from time to time in order to build confidence and this can be used for the first couple of jumps. In order to do this the coach should stand at the side of the runway between the take off point and the sandpit. The coach should have one hand on the pole and pull it towards the sandpit after take-off and can place the other hand on the athlete s back as they swing past the coach towards the pit. It should be noted that the coach should not push the athlete towards the pit while the athlete is on the ground. Adding an Approach Run In aiming to break down the event to manageable teaching portions we teach the event by reducing the complexity and allowing the athlete to develop the key skills of an active jumping take off, an effective take off position and feeling the swinging action of the pole. To do this we initially take away the complex and difficult task of carrying and planting the pole. Page 5 of 16

6 As the athlete has become competent and confident at the first exercise the approach run can be lengthened until the athlete reaches 8 steps. With beginner athletes the run up should not exceed this distance at this point and always use even number approach lengths (2/4/6 or 8 running steps). The vaulter starts on their left foot with the first step being the right foot contact. This is important later as the athlete learns to carry the pole as starting the other way and using an odd number of approach steps causes problems with the pole carry. The pole tip should be rested on the floor and the hands just above and in front of the forehead. The athlete slides the pole as they move towards the take off. On all approach runs the athlete should be aiming to have the hands up and arms extended on heel contact of the final step. This means on this drill they move the hands from the in front of face position to the extended position from the final right step to the final left foot contact. For each 2 steps that the athlete adds to the approach run they should add one hand of grip height, which will likely need to be increased subsequently from that approach run. Page 6 of 16

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9 Swinging into the Pit All that precedes this point remains executed exactly the same but as we teach the athlete to swing on the pole we can teach the athlete to add more energy into the jump via a dynamic swing. We should teach the athlete to swing around the top hand which helps to maintain the speed of the pole rotating around the planted point in the sand. On completion of the take off the left leg should remain straight and begin to be brought forward by the athlete as quickly as possible, at the same time the athlete should apply pressure with the top hand forwards to the pole. The athlete should aim to swing as fast as possible keeping a long left leg and long top arm and only now swing past the pole on the right hand side. In order to make sure that the athlete fully completes the take off before they initiate the swing you should encourage them to think of the timing as take off, hold, and then swing. It is key here that we are encouraging the athlete to think length and not height and we can measure these and add a small length competitive exercise to challenge how far they can land into the sandpit. During this exercise the coach should emphasize 1) Achieving the same take-off position and adding energy into the take-off 2) Maintaining a long left leg and right knee staying high during the swing 3) Maintain top arm pressure helping to keep the pole moving forwards at all times 4) Landing deep in the sand and an emphasis on length. Page 9 of 16

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12 Adding a Half Turn and Clearing a Bar We can now build the final part of the event by teaching the athlete to turn, which will then enable the athlete to clear a bar safely. The athlete follows the same process as swinging towards the sand in the previous drill but can now add a half turn and face back down the runway looking at where they began their approach. The coach should be looking for and encouraging the athlete to stay in line of the line of the lanes in which they ran. The athlete takes off, swings and then turns first their feet and then the hip and shoulder before landing. The feet are always the point of initiating the turn. The athlete can then be encouraged to swing their feet higher before turning. Once this has been achieved and completed the coach can add an elastic bar for the athlete to clear, held between two points or people. The placement in the sandpit of the bar as well as the height can be determined by the coach as to how high the athlete is swinging as well as how far into the sandpit the athlete is landing. Page 12 of 16

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15 The athlete should still be encouraged to maintain the same rhythm at take off into the swing. Take off, hold, swing, turn. During this drill the coach should emphasize - 1) Achieving the same take-off position and adding energy into the take-off 2) Maintaining a long left leg and right knee staying high during the swing 3) Maintain top arm pressure helping to keep the pole moving forwards at all times 4) Initiating the turn by turning the right over the top of the left foot. Taking it to the Pole Vault Pit Once these activities have been made stable and consistent then the athlete can be taken to jump into the pole vault mat. I would always encourage a quick revision of the previous activities in each session with the young vaulter to re-visit and ingrain correct movements. When moving from the sand pit to the pole vault pit we must remember the depth of the box when selecting pole grips. By now the coach and athlete will know the grips heights that have been used in the sandpit. A good rule of thumb is to use the same grip plus two hands to account for the depth of the box. To make the switch smoother and take away the hit of the metal box the coach can add some sand into the box to soften the moment the pole hits the back of the box. Due to the box and height of the mat which the athlete must now swing high enough onto the athlete should begin from four approach steps due to the need for a little speed to give the athlete the ability to grip high enough to swing easily onto the height of the mat (the coach will now have realized that as the athlete increases approach speed their grip will increase in height). Due to this we will now begin by encouraging the athlete not to land on their feet but by landing on their bottom. Once the take-off has been completed the left leg will swing through straight and land on mat out in front of the athlete. The coach can build this drill as the approach run and speed increases by allowing the athlete to swing onto their backs. In both of these drills the coach should again be looking for the athlete to land a long way down the pole vault mat and can set the challenge of depth of landing. Now the coach can add the half turn to the vault and then add clearing an elastic bar. The coach should always teach young vaulters to jump with the stands set deeply (+80) to encourage this safe and deep landing. It also re-enforces the key points of a dynamic jumping take-off, a long swinging action and an emphasis on moving the pole to the vertical position. During this drill the coach should emphasize - 1) Encourage the young athlete to vault safely and deeply by placing the stands deeply. +80 is the preferred option. Page 15 of 16

16 Conclusion This article has outlined a number of key progressions to teach to the young athlete as they begin their journey into the Pole Vault. They would next learn how to carry and plant the pole but up to this point the actions of running onto a take-off positively, achieving the correct take-off and swinging mechanics are key. For more information on developing the young pole vaulter I would recommend the coach reading the book From Beginner to Bubka written by Alan Launder, an excellent book that illustrates how to further develop the young vaulter. Page 16 of 16