Top 10 Drills

Top 10 Drills

Written by Jacob Flores

Edited by Scott Powers 

1.                3-step swing up - going from a short run, normally around a three step, gripping fairly low, or higher if you can, running, getting a nice big plant, and swinging up to be parallel with the pole, making sure your bottom elbow collapses in past the pole.

2.                Cone runs - set up cones on the track or runway, setting each cone 5, 5 and half, 6 feet apart from each other, or how ever long you stride length is.  This is good practice to get the knees up, and help lengthen out your stride.  make sure to measure them out, and start small, and gradually increase the distance in between each cone.  Can be done with or without a pole.

3.                Bubka swing up drills - on a high bar, preferably one you can hang from where your feet don’t touch the ground, get a good swing going, and have a drive knee if you want to practice good form, then swing your trail leg through to get completely inverted, like in a vault.

4.                Handstands - Though handstands are difficult for some people, they are very beneficial to pole vault training.  While practicing handstands, you are developing a sense of balance, proprioception, and all of the muscles in your traps, back, shoulders, and abs.

5.                Extensions - done a high bar or gymnastic rings, these help with core strength.  You start in the ending position of a bubka, being fully inverted, holding yourself up.  Then you want to slowly lower the bottom half of your body until your legs make about a 90 degree angle with the rest of your body, then shoot back up to be fully inverted.  This takes a lot of practice, and if you are starting out, assistance is more than ok.

6.                Straight pole drills - going from a short run, anywhere from 3 to 5 lefts (or rights) and holding a little lower than normal on a big, stiff pole is a very useful drill.  When using a pole that you cannot bend to vault with, the height of the jump solely relies on you and your form.  Great to fix mistakes in technique.

7.                Pole throws - These are done standing in the field, or a grassy area.  Hold the pole upright, like you are about to start your run.  Start to drop your pole, pull your bottom arm away, and shoot your top hand straight up above your head, launching the pole forward and up.  If done well, your pole will fully rotate in the air, with the buttplug facing back towards you.  If you need help, ask a coach, or search videos on youtube.

8.                Inversions on full jumps - Many people do this in warm ups for meets, as well as practice.  Going from a full run, or even shorter, you’ll go through the vault like normal, with you run, plant, and swing up, but when you swing up, just try to get inverted as possible, and hold the position all the way down to the pit.  Practicing your inversion will help your vault tremendously.

9.                Slide box take-off drills - Using a slide box, mark up your runway with tape or chalk to simulate a runway leading up to the slide box.  You can go from any step you wish, however a full run would probably be best.  Slide box drills are great for improving your take off and building confidence, because you can put up a huge plant, and you will move the slide box.

10.            Just plain vaulting at practice -  Actively vaulting and practicing is one of the best ways to improve.  Make sure you always vault with a coach, or someone who is well trained and knows what they are doing to ensure maximum safety.

Written by Jacob Flores