Easier Swing Up Drill

  By Alan Roark, Vault Coach, Amherst Steele H.S., Amherst, Ohio

This one is a little trickier than most to get.  However, if your vaulter gets it, things will work a lot better in a critical part of the vault that eludes many - getting totally inverted and tight to the pole on the way up.

The purpose of this drill it to demonstrate to the vaulters WHY they want to keep both arms straight all the way to the pull turn phase of the vault.  When they understand why and feel why, they have a lot better chance of doing it.

Swinging the trail leg through the follow through and swing up phases is certainly the way a vaulter gets inverted.  However, the swing, the pole movement, and the ability to get totally inverted up against the pole can be greatly helped by the hands moving forward.  Some call it “rowing”, some call it “keeping the pole moving forward”, I call it “moving your center of gravity to your waist”.

Here’s the drill:

Have you vaulter lay on the ground with both arms straight up.  Have them press their hands forward lightly against your arm and explain to them that in relation to their hands, their center of gravity from their head to their toes is at their shoulders and they have a lot of weight from their shoulders to their toes and very little weight in their upper shoulders and head.   They are heavy on the bottom end.

Now have them press their hands firmly against your arm down by their waist and they will feel that their center of gravity in relation to their hands is now down at their waist.  Now they have LESS weight from their waist to their toes and MORE weight from their waist up to their head.  They are lighter on the bottom end.

Here’s the great thing that has just occurred, with less effort, their body will more easily, more naturally, rotate further up to be fully inverted before they pull turn! 

If during the swing up, they press their arms forward to move their center of gravity down to their waist, they will keep the pole moving, be a able to rotate easier, AND be able to finish off the swing easier than if they don’t press their arms forward.

Next, have them press their hands firmly against your arm at their waist and then bend their elbows and they will now feel what happens when they try to pull themselves up during the swing.  Their center of gravity, in relation to their hands, moves right back up their body as soon as they bend their arms and they get bottom heavy again.  They will understand this concept when they feel it happen.  By keeping the arms long and the pole away from their body, they can swing up easier.

Here’s the order of things, jump, travel, swing, rotate, press your center of gravity to your waist, rotate farther, close off against the pole, get shot off of the end of the pole!

The next part of the drill is to have them lay on the ground with their arms up, holding on to a short piece of pole held by two people at their sides. Have them swing up and then press their hands forward to make it easier to go upside down.

                                                                     

Now it’s time to get a short, soft pole, with a short run and have them try to do swing ups and feel the forward press. Then, try to add this piece of the puzzle to a full vault.  It’s a timing thing, so be patient and work on it until you get it. 

Major Note:  The pressing of the hands forward isn’t a killer jamming force.  It’s a smooth pressure that flows with the swing up to allow the swing to rotate easier and farther up.