How to Teach the Pole Vault Hold

The pole vault is a great sport to try, and a great sport to coach. Unfortunately, it asks the vaulters to do things that other sports don't. It actually asks them to run full speed at a box, and then jump in the air as they are riding a pole that is going to slingshot them 14-20 feet in the air. Not only that, they have to hold this huge pole, and who knows who you can go about doing that. Teaching someone to hold a pole vault pole is one of the hardest things to do in the pole vault coaching experience.

Get a long piece of bamboo and sharpen one end like it is a large spear. If you have more than one person you are teaching you might want to get a few. If you know someone who has a bamboo bush or tree, these are the best people to ask because they are always wanting to get rid of their excess bamboo. Now, give your students the piece of bamboo. Try to stop them from sword fighting or jabbing each other with it.

Now ask them to jab their bamboo into the ground as hard as they can. It is a contest to see who can push it into the ground the farthest. But, when they are done, they have to keep holding onto the bamboo. It is the natural tendency of people to hold a stick they jab down by taking their right hand (writing hand) and holding onto it at the end with their thumb pointing off to the left. Then they will use their left hand, and hold onto it a little less than a shoulder's width apart, with the thumb pointing right. Now these directions are int he direction of the person holding the bamboo. Interesting enough, this is the exact hand hold of the pole vault.

Now ask your students to take it out, keeping the same hand hold so that you may measure their bamboo markings. Ask them to hold the bamboo in front of them with the bamboo facing to their left. As you measure, you state they are holding the bamboo in the exact way they are suppose to hold a pole.Technicaly, "a grip area from 6" to 18" (inches) from the top of the pole is the range the pole is made to bend and respond efficiently." (http://www.brianmac.co.uk/polevault/)Congratulate the person who won, toss them a candy, and give them all poles. Correct the people who do it slightly wrong, their hands "should be approximately shoulder width apart" (http://www.brianmac.co.uk/polevault/) You have successfully coached some one how to hold a pole vault pole.