HIGH SCHOOL STANDARD PLACEMENT

The Pole Vault: The art of running down the runway, vaulting your body over a crossbar, and landing safely in the middle of the pit! The high school vaulter sometimes forgets that landing in the middle of the pit is part of the equation. With the new high school pits getting bigger, this is a great time to think about where the standards should be set. The standards should be placed in a location that promotes landing in the middle of the pit. Placing the standards in a consistent location without too much flexibility will force the young vaulter to improve their fundamentals, i.e. having a high take off and moving the pole to vertical. When the fundamentals improve, so does enjoyment and safety.

Young vaulters can learn a lot from watching elite vaulters. The experienced vaulters generally place the standards in a consistent spot and do not move the standards from that place throughout the competition. The reason for this is because they understand that the position of the cross bar needs to be in a spot that promotes good fundamentals and allows the vaulter to land safely in the middle of the pit. Moving the standards simply adds another thing to think about during competition.

A good range for high school standard placement should be between 24" (60cm) to 30" (70cm) behind the box. This range allows little flexibility, but promotes safety. When a vaulter clears a bar, within this range, the vaulter usually will land in the middle of the pit.

The high school vaulter should keep it simple. The standard should be placed between 24" (60cm) to 30" (70cm) with as little movement as possible. A young vaulter should concentrate on fundamentals that promote making the bar and landing in the middle of the pit.

Article by: Tom Hays - University of Arizona.

• Back To Top •
• Back to "Coaches Special" •