How to Build Confidence For Pole Vaulting Higher

Confidence is crucial to pole vaulting higher.

Athletic confidence, such as that required to leap off the ground at great velocity to potentially great heights, comes with proper training. Pole vaulters routinely face risks unlike those faced by other athletes; after all, losing contact with the ground is one of the diciest moves known to mankind. Athletic confidence is critical to jumping higher.

Things You'll Need

• Pole vaulting equipment
• Landing mats
• Athletic clothing
• Track shoes

Instructions

1. 

   You and your equipment should both be in excellent shape.

   Check your equipment. Confidence in your poles and landing mats allows you to concentrate on proper technique. The pole must be extremely flexible and resilient to propel you upward and over a bar. Well-padded mats, too, are great confidence boosters, arranged around the pole-plant box and especially in the landing area, thick matting can significantly reduce fear. American Track & Field provides a thorough checklist for equipment safety.

2. 

   Physical laws enable energy transfers during a vault.

   Educate yourself. Developing the confidence to jump higher than a house might mean learning the laws of energy transfer. University of Virginia physics professor Louis Bloomfield explains the sequence: when you stand with the pole, your legs store chemical energy; as you run toward the pole-plant box, chemical energy becomes kinetic energy; when you plant and bend the pole, kinetic energy turns into elastic potential energy, hurling you skyward; then gravitational energy takes over, and you fly over the bar. Understanding these energy transfers can be reassuring.

3. 

   Your jumping fitness can improve with good coaching.

   Find an experienced coach. A coach who can explain technique, build trust and help a fearful athlete undertake increasing risk is a huge confidence booster. Coaches can correct faulty biomechanics. A good coach can assess an athlete's physical weakness and mental vulnerability and devise a training program that does not overwhelm the jumper's skills.

4. Practice the take-off. Mark Strawderman, former three-time All-American champion in the pole vault and current director of MF's Everything Track & Field division, emphasizes that your pole-plant and take-off are the most important confidence builders. A great drill is to take three "running" steps, very slowly plant the pole and bend it. Once you perfect this, gradually introduce more running steps, and always execute the pole-plant in slow motion to ensure proper technique.

5. 

   Olympic pole vaulters develop confidence in their abilities.

   Learn from the pros. In 2003, USAToday featured Olympian Stacy Dragila discussing the fears of pole vaulting. So much risk is involved, Dragila notes, that trusting your coach and equipment is critical. Even panic can set in, sometimes at the worst possible moment: the pole-plant. This is where trusting physical laws can instill enough confidence for the athlete to commit to a dangerous act.

Tips & Warnings

• Start small and practice consistently. Study the physics of jumping, consult experienced coaches and explore professional vaulters' stories. Good preparation assures you that you are educated, well trained and capable of deciding how to proceed.

• Jumping incurs the risk of life-threatening injury. You might seek greater confidence, but never completely ignore your own instinct. You are the only one who can "feel" whether you have enough confidence to execute a jump properly. Most importantly, get medical clearance to train; never pole vault without proper preparation.

References

• American Track & Field: Pole Vault Safety
• Your Penn Trafford: Launch Of Faith: Pole Vaulters Learn To Trust Coaches, Equipment
• USAToday: Pole Vaulting -- Doing the Seemingly Impossible
• American College of Sports Medicine: Psychological Issues Related to Injury in Athletes and the Team Physician, A Consensus Statement

Resources

• Everything Track and Field: Pole Vaulting
• Motivation Expert: Sports Psychology Training To Build Motivation
• North American Pole Vaulting Association