PoleVaultPower.com

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It just depends a ton on how quickly they learn and what kind of body control they have.

good morning

could happen in a year......... teach the petrov method (by petrov) grip/body/pole position from the first step, use a lot of long run (check with ladyvolscoach he's in knox).. and B..

contact guy kochel in jonesboro.. and ask him how to get him to ............Run Fast..Hold High And use a big stick! ; )

sounds like a fun project..

dj

[u]Not to sound rude[/u] to Becca or the other poster, but I believe that the guys vault coach who asked the question (being a athlete who cleared over 18'6"). And coaching all those jumpers, he obviously knows how to take someone to those heights, and knows that a quick learner and athleticism is required.

The question he asked was for stories of 0-5.20+ at a fast rate, and I am curious for tales of quick learners also?

Does anyone have any stories?

Most of the vaulters that I know who had success very quickly were gymnasts. I would think a gymnast with the right attributes could get to 17' in two years. A non-gymnast, even if they are a very good athlete, would probably take longer... three or four years.

Geoff Fairbanks went...

HS Jr 15'0"
HS Sr 16'8 3/4"
Univ Fr 16'2 3/4"
Univ So 18'1 1/2"

I've always heard that Billy Olson didn't vault until his senior year of HS. If that's accurate then he went:

HS Sr 16'0"
Univ Fr ~18'0"

vtcoach wrote:Most of the vaulters that I know who had success very quickly were gymnasts. I would think a gymnast with the right attributes could get to 17' in two years. A non-gymnast, even if they are a very good athlete, would probably take longer... three or four years.

why would a male gymnast be able to do it? Give me a good long jumper or hurdler instead. I understand that they do well for girls because they are more coordinated than most girls. I dont want a short slow overflexible athlete. lol

KYLE ELLIS wrote:

vtcoach wrote:Most of the vaulters that I know who had success very quickly were gymnasts. I would think a gymnast with the right attributes could get to 17' in two years. A non-gymnast, even if they are a very good athlete, would probably take longer... three or four years.

why would a male gymnast be able to do it? Give me a good long jumper or hurdler instead. I understand that they do well for girls because they are more coordinated than most girls. I dont want a short slow overflexible athlete. lol

I assure you, an elite male gymnast would be a bad @$$ at the vault. Not all of them are short and slow...

KYLE ELLIS wrote:

vtcoach wrote:Most of the vaulters that I know who had success very quickly were gymnasts. I would think a gymnast with the right attributes could get to 17' in two years. A non-gymnast, even if they are a very good athlete, would probably take longer... three or four years.

why would a male gymnast be able to do it? Give me a good long jumper or hurdler instead. I understand that they do well for girls because they are more coordinated than most girls. I dont want a short slow overflexible athlete. lol

Ha Ha. I agree that there are many gymnasts that you would not want, but I will take the Russ Bullers of the world any day.

11'6" senior in h.s.
End of Year 1 = 15'3.5" (college freshman)
End of Year 2 = 17'.75"

Previously a high jumper/basketball player/all-around athlete.
Straight poled the first year and started bending poles in college.

KYLE ELLIS wrote:why would a male gymnast be able to do it? Give me a good long jumper or hurdler instead. I understand that they do well for girls because they are more coordinated than most girls. I dont want a short slow overflexible athlete. lol

The most difficult elements of the vault to learn are the ones gymnasts will pick up the faster than anyone else. It's easier to teach a gymnast how to run than it is to teach a runningback to swing on and invert and extend up a moving support. This applies to male and female vaulters.

The problem with a lot of gymnasts is that the nature of the sport in North America is overly-competitive and seems bent on producing Olympians. There are far too few low level and recreational gymnasts. By the time a lot of athletes are no longer competitive they are burnt out and flat out quit, rather than scale back their participation while pursuing other sports. Unfortunately due to the demands of the sport when they are in it they don't usually have time to pick up skills like running and jumping from other sports along the way.

I've often thought about what the ideal vault recruit would look like. I think their athletic background would be about equal portions of track (sprinting, LJ, maybe HJ), gymnastics (emphasis on bar events plus floor tumbling for agility and vault for connecting agility to a run) and some kind of disciplined and kicking-heavy martial art (like tae kwon do or kung fu) from a very young age. This combination would give them the base speed and and takeoff to jump high, the gymnastic strength and agility to add energy off the ground, the psychological fortitude to compete, and the discipline to build and cultivate all these skills. I bet a tall and physically gifted athlete with these experiences could go 5.20m in a season or two depending on the age when they start pole vaulting.