Progressions for Teaching and Coaching the Pole Vault

with Tom Hays, University of Kansas Assistant Head Coach/Vertical Jumps Coach; 2011 National Collegiate Pole Vault Coach of the Year; under Hays' direction, a Kansas athlete has won a Big 12 title in the pole vault in 7 of the last 8 years (2008-15)

University of Kansas vertical jumps coach, Tom Hays, takes you 'to school' in the art of learning to fly. With the help of three All-Americans and one Olympic athlete, Coach Hays will show you over 30 drills and exercises that have driven these world class athletes to maximize their abilities.

Coach Hays goes in-depth sharing overlooked strategies, both at the pit and away from the pit, to develop the complete vaulter. Watch and learn as he takes you through specific things you should look for to create taller takeoffs, improve hand and feet involvement, and connect the sprint pattern with the pole, leading to a more aggressive approach, takeoff, and follow through.

Warm-up Drills

The warm-up phase works on basic sprint mechanics that emphasize the approach. Hays covers six essential drills to improve heel lift and recovery, as well as knee and thigh lift for more effective sprint development.

Plant Drills

Developing control at the 'pivot point' is key to successful vaulting. You'll see two drills that will help your athletes improve their hand and feet involvement, which will create taller takeoffs.

Sand Progressions

You will learn a series of six drills that emphasize the objective of plant mechanics using sand progressions. With these drills, you'll also discover how to teach speed through sprint form drills, how to move the pole to vertical, and how to add a dynamic take-off.

Coach Hays takes the athlete into the 2-, 4- and 6-step drills that demonstrate how to make sure your steps are big and aggressive during the approach and take-off. He shows four drills that emphasize riding the pole into the pit. The drills cover in detail:

• How to get the arms fully extended
• How to step into the take-off
• How to stay active
• How to get hands tall and up

Connection Drills

Coach Hays uses a series of 13 drills in his connection phase to explain how the run, take-off, and movement of the pole determine success for the vault. These drills are used to work on the approach, take-off, follow through, swing technique and taking off from the ground.

Strength Development

Discover why strength work away from the pit will help with pole vaulting skills. Coach Hays uses a series of drills for core and shoulder development - the key to the success of the vaulter.

Finally, you will see it all put together by watching former University of Kansas vaulters perform full approach vaults. Coach Hays will explain how his drills are used in the five steps needed for a successful full vault:

• How tall athletes run on the runway
• Rhythm coming into the box
• How stretched athletes are at take-off
• How fast athletes swing their trail leg
• Flexion over the bar with the knees

Gain a comprehensive understanding of the basic learning progressions of the vault. Coach Hays gives you all the information you need to become a better vaulter and better coach in an easy-to-follow, proven formula for success.

50 minutes. 2015