U.S. Pole Vault Academy

Common Errors

1. Incorrect step. Have a friend catch your step (tell you where your last left foot lands) and measure it to ensure it is directly under your top hand at the plant. If you have no friends, get your coach to do it, he has to do it.
2. Slowing down just before or at takeoff. Your last 3 steps must be the fastest in your run to achieve maximum height.
3. Late plant. The pole plant should occur during your last 2-3 steps. It MUST be all the way above your head with both arms fully extended BEFORE the pole hits the back of the box.
4. Shoulders not square at takeoff. Your shoulders should be parallel with the back of the box throughout the run, takeoff, penetration, and rock-back. Not until the end of the rock-back do you rotate around into pull position. Often a vaulter will not be squared up because he is trying to jump around the pole. Be a man, shove the pole out of your way.
5. Collapsing the plant at takeoff and pulling. Airspace must be maintained -- this is critical whenever bending the pole, though is difficult (but still possible and advisable) when stick-vaulting (when the pole doesn't bend). By maintaining the airspace, the vaulter can "row" and make his shoulders the axis of rotation and bring his body into a fully rocked back position. If airspace is not maintained, then the vaulter simply hangs from his hands and must try to curl himself up into the rocked back position -- very hard to do.
6. Curling trail leg. The trail leg should swing in the maximum arc to build up maximum momentum to rock back as far as possible. By keeping the trail leg straight, it enables us to use our body like a rubber band - while penetrating into the pole - then snapping back into the rock-back. By curling the trail leg we kill the energy (like moving the "anchor" end of the rubber band back closer to the other end before snapping it), and make it more difficult to rock back.
7. Throwing the head back. This creates the illusion that we are rocked back farther than we are, and causes us to lose awareness of where we are in the vault -- which could lead to injury. The head should be kept in line with the body (as if you were standing up).
8. Locking out the plant too long. The left arm must be brought in eventually to achieve proper rock-back. The arms can stay locked out throughout the row until the left arm becomes parallel with the body, then the left arm travels up the body (bending at the elbow) and stays very close to the body in order to get vertical.
9. Jamming the plant. This is usually caused by the step being under too far, or a late plant - usually coupled with a pole carry too high. If an athlete carries the tip too high, the pole is rotated in mid air and the weight of the pole is directed down into the track which is contrary to the direction the vaulter is trying to go. To correct this, the tip should come all the way down to the track, then the plant goes up in front of the face and extends overhead. This enables the vaulter to have "everything" going up in the air at takeoff.
10. Getting jerked off takeoff from a late plant. The pole must be fully extended overhead before the tip hits the back of the box.