What does it take to be good at pole vault?

Its somethin i've always wanted to try and thought i might be good at. Also if somebody could give me advice or a good site too that would be very helpful.

Start lifting and do speed work. Go to some clinics as well.

It helps to have a long and limber pole.

I was actually a pole vaulter on the side in high school. I wasn't great, but I think 11 feet isn't bad for a distance runner.

Your main factor is probably just plain athletecism. I've seen decent pole vaulters of many different builds. People who are good at pole vault tend to be the type who pick up sports like golf and tennis pretty easily.

Pole vault requires alot of attenetion. I have never met a decnt vaulter who was really very good at any other event. In my area, most vaulters did no other events....except maybe jump in a relay if their school was shy of sprinters.

To be great you absolutely must have sprinter speed and good upper body strength. Without those you will be very limited.

If you have those qualities, then you'll need to shell out the bucks and probably buy your own pole and go to as many camps as possible. Most schools don't have very good vaulting coaches and rely on their top vaulters who went to camp to teach the younger ones. Hell, most universities don't have very good coaches.

If your curious wheather or not you have what it takes, grab a pole, run, stick it in the box, and see if you can clear 7 feet. I did it on my first try. If you can't manage to clear it after several tries then the event is probably not for you.

The most important attribute you will need if you want to be a good pole vaulter is speed. The physics of the pole vault dictate that the faster you hit the box with the pole, the higher you will go. The world record holder in the pole vault Sergei Bubka could reportedly run a 10.2 100 or something in that range. Another important quality is strength, in order to push and bend a pole you need to have a fair amount of strength coupled with the speed you are taking into the box. A lot of gymnasts turn out to be pretty good pole vaulters because they have the strength and experience with twisting turning and inverting their bodies. Whoever said that Pole Vaulters are usually not good athletes is completely wrong. The NCAA champion in the pole vault Tommy Skipper was also the Pac 10 champion in the Decathlon. So if you have a good amount of speed and strength then you should be able to become a half-decent vaulter. Definately tracks toughest event to learn though.

All of the replies above are good. My son was a polevaulter in high school, could clear 14'. Practice, practice, practice. It takes technique, strength, and speed. Camps and clinics are great.

speed and athleticism (body control)

Just about anyone with fair athletic ability can clear 7 feet. I would not say that that is a good indicator of potential in the vault...especially for men.

I pole vault and know that the two best qualities are speed (in order to get on big poles that will throw you)and gymnastic strength (necessary for the swing, inversion, and turn in the air).

In any case, you need to spend a LONG time on the basics...learning how to run with a pole and plant it. If you don't have these down, you're more likely to get hurt, let alone not jump very high.

1. You have to be an idiot. 2. You have to think that you are really cool. 3. You have to go to big meets and no height.

He didn't say vaulters aren't good athletes, he said they aren't very good at another event.

Lawrence Johnson (collegiate record holder and Olympic silver medalist in the pole vault) was SEC decathlon champ his freshman year at Tennessee, I believe.

If you don't count the decathletes (who obviously get a big scoring boost in the pole vault, which is usually a weak event for non-vaulter decathletes), I'm not sure there are pole vaulters who double with other single events. Again this is probably because vaulting requires such event specific and time consuming practice. I would say that other than a multi-event, the event with the best athletes is pole vault.

1. Exactly why must I be an idiot?

2. No, I do not think that I am really cool.

3. Does this mean that the pv results at big meets have NH next to all of the names?

I've been pole vaulting for two years since I quit gymnastics (12 years). To be a vaulter, you have to have: good speed and acceleration on the runway, upper body and core strength, and decent body awareness (to know where you are in the air so that you don't kill yourself). The main thing with excelling in pole vaulting is your willingness to commit to it. If you want to do well, pv definitely requires time spent in the weight room, running, speed work, and tons and tons of technique work and practice. PV is definitely not an event that you can do well or safely on the side. Try it and see if you enjoy it...if you don't, go back to distance, and if you do, you'll be addicted to it.

Some of the other events that pole vaulters generally do are sprints (like the pv run approach) and long jump (like the pv run and takeoff).

The best polevaulters I know are ex-gymnasts.

polevaultpower is an awesome site!

When you reach the college level apparently you have to develop cankles and a craving for Taco Bell.

Definately click the below link (but if you find your way to the forums there, you may want to read around and do some searches before posting this question)People that answered speed are sort of correct...controlled speed is probably the most important thing to have.You should seek out coaching in your area if possible. if not, look into camps.on your own time, in addition to training like a typical sprinter/jumper type with additional pv specific stuff thrown in, you can never spend too much time working on your run and plant!Also, hang out with other pole vaulters. It is a lifestyle as much as a sport.

cheap wrote:

http://www.polevaultpower.com/index.php

The best polevaulters I know are ex-gymnasts.

it other pole vaulter/decathlon news..

NCAA record holder in the Dec., Trey Hardee, was initially just a pole vaulter...until he was at Mississippi St. and the coach thought he looked like a solid all-around athlete...

It also takes safe equipment. This is not a joke. Pole vault is the most dangerous event in track and field--by far the most serious injuries/fatalities over the years. Never vault on a pole that's rated for a weight lower than yours. Never vault on a pole with a ding in it. Never vault (even, or especially, if you're "just trying it out") into a substandard pit.

Other than that, I would generally try to find the best athlete on my squad and make him a pole vaulter. Speed; strength, both upper- and lower-body; body sense (kinesthesia); and the cojones to handle being upside down, several feet above a strip of asphalt and a metal box, are all important.

I am a high school athlete and compete in just about avert thing for track including pole vault I can clear 7 and 8 but struggle with 9 but I jump sprint do distance and throw you don't have to be specifically a pole vaulter you just have to be able to commit to it and see it through also practice makes perfect that's not a saying for nothing I practice pole vault almost every day and practice any other event for a few minutes it's all about time management.