December 2017 Harvard University Issue of Vaulter Magazine

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Gill Athletics is the official equipment supplier of the NCAA Track & Field Championships.

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r e b CONTENTS m e c e D FROM THE EDITOR

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HARVARD POLE VAULT: A SMALL TEAM READY TO ATTACK A BIG LEAGUE

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ROPE DRILLS FOR RAINY DAYS

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Cover photo by Gil Talbot

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FROM THE EDITOR Holy Thanksgiving stuffing is done and gone! Bring on December full of Christmas cheer!

Pole Vault news, “All in the family: Pole-vault phenom Mondo Duplantis signs with LSU track and field team” (Polevault phenom Mondo Duplantis signs with LSU track and field team (2017). Retrieved from http://www.theadvocate. com/baton_rouge/sports/lsu/ article_181aaa1e-c5ab-11e7bb09-9b3fb87a303f.html)

“Call it a comeback. A 5,130mile comeback, to be exact.

Sondre Guttormsen’s story begins in 1999, when he was born in Davis while his father was spending a year studying abroad at UC Davis, working on an economics Ph.D.” (Look who’s back: Norwegian pole vault prodigy returns to Davis. (2017). Retrieved from http://www.davisenterprise. com/sports/look-whos-backnorwegian-pole-vault-prodigyreturns-to-davis/) On the cover, we have Harvard University with Coach Brenner Abbott, “The Harvard

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pole vaulting team is coached by the great Brenner Abbott.

Originally the Northeastern coach, Abbott made the switch from Boston to Cambridge, and in 2012 dropped the Huskies to become a Crimson.” Have a read and check out his unique approach to pole vaulting and training. “Because Coach Abbott’s training style is so runoriented, the NCAA regulated limit on early season vault practice is no problem.” Samantha Kaplan does her homework with all her articles, and it shows that she puts in the work. Good Job!

Kreager Taber talks about the importance of rope drills throughout all of your pole vault training. “Doing swing up drills on a hanging rope can help the vaulter develop the necessary strength to perform a fast swing while vaulting. The athlete should stand under the rope and jump so that their feet cannot touch the ground in order to begin the drill.” The hips up, shoulders down and pure hard work goes hand in hand with this article. If you want to learn about rope drills, here

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is the article to read! It comes from experience, and this young lady provides some outstanding insight and knowledge from her experience. Good job Kreager!

Bundle up tight, and we will see you for the new year!

Doug Bouma Editor, Vaulter Magazine - Vaulter Club Inc. editor@thevaultermag.com

L-R Tamara Bade, Nicole Silverlake, Brynn Wallander, Kaelyn McCann Stephany Silverlake, Julia Burda, Katrina Meier, Francis Alipranti, Sierra Meier, Taylor Murphy, Mikaylah Kraal, Ashley Davis, Kaleb Meier, Noah Oswald, Center Alexandria Gray, Amanuhel Arreguin

2017 Vaulter Club Fall Travel team

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Marlena Sabatino

Ian West

Trenchard/Abbott

Ian West

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Nicole Trenchard

Nicole Trenchard

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HARVARD POLE VAULT:

A SMALL TEAM READY TO ATTACK A BIG LEAGUE

By Samantha Kaplan

Instagram: @eat_sleep_pv_repeat

Arguably the most famous collegiate sports league in the country is the Ivy League, and at its mention, no school comes to mind before Harvard University. Although it is typically known for its near impossible acceptance rates and outstanding academics, the Ivy League was founded on the principle of athletic excellence, and remains embodying this ideal today.

Harvard University’s athletics are no exception.

Nicole Trenchard, Marlena Sabatino. Coach Brenner Photo by Debra West

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The Harvard pole vaulting team is coached by the great Brenner Abbott. Originally the Northeastern coach, Abbott made the switch from Boston to Cambridge, and in 2012

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dropped the Huskies to become a Crimson. As well as coaching a strong collegiate program, Coach Abbott is also the cofounder of the New England Pole Vault Club. Established in 2004, his club is still going strong and producing top tier vaulters in the Massachusetts area today. Along with the pole vault, Coach Abbott handles the high jump, javelin, and men’s multi. Harvard track and field employs a staff of six full time coaches, so every event gets individualized focus from a specialized coach.

Nicole Trenchard Photo by Brian Panoff

Another factor that helps the vaulters receive personalized coaching is the size of their team. “Our group is smaller than most, but we don’t see that as a negative,” explains Coach Abbott. “As a coach, its nice to have a relatively small group so you can give adequate individual attention to each jumper.” The small crew for the upcoming season consists of only seven vaulters, two of whom are multis. On the women’s side, senior team captain Marlena Sabatino is coming into the season strong.

With a best of 3.94m last year, she hopes to open at that height by the end of this final year at Harvard. Junior Nicole Trenchard is known to be the most consistent jumper on the team, always pulling through when she’s needed most. As

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Erick Duffy 5.21

for the men, senior Matt Miller is the hardest worker around, looking to improve even more than the foot he already has in his time at Harvard. Junior Ian West’s energy and voice carries the team’s spirits and will carry him above his 5.06m best from last season in the upcoming year. Newcomer freshman Erick Duffy enters with promise to make a national impact. The 2017 New Balance Nationals Outdoor champion has a PR of 5.21m

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and a natural feel for the vault that cannot be trained. All of the men have a shot at the 5.50m school record, and the entire team looks to disrupt the Ivy League. With so many strong vaulters, Coach Abbott stresses that there is really no one leader of the squad. “Every individual brings something unique to the table,” praises Coach Abbott. “They’re like a small group of superheroes, each with their own special power.”

When it comes to training, the type of attention Coach Abbott’s vaulters get is quite unique. Unlike many vault programs nowadays, Coach Abbott keeps his technique training focused on running mechanics. Most of the equipment at the Harvard stadium won’t designed for pole vault, but rather wickets, sleds, and stadium stairs all to train running form and acceleration.

Coach Abbott is a firm believer that “without a solid approach,

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Marlena Sabatino Photo by Brian Panoff

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good technique can only go so far,” so he establishes good running mechanics in all of his athletes, no matter the event.

(A note from the author here; When I was a freshman in high school I went to a camp with Coach Abbott and while all the other groups were vaulting our group was studying running mechanics. That was the first time anyone had taught me the proper way to run and it all just clicked in my mind. It was one of the most beneficial vault sessions of my life, and we never even stepped on the runway.) As far as apparatuses for vault specific training, the Harvard vaulters do just fine with slide boxes for plant posture, bars for swings, jump boxes for top end work, and hopefully a high bar for giants in the near future. “I’m not a huge fan of vault specific training fads,” explains Coach Abbott. “We keep it old school.”

Because Coach Abbott’s training style is so run-oriented, the NCAA regulated limit on early season vault practice is no problem. Beginning in the third week of September, the first month of practice for the Harvard vaulters includes very little vault specific training.

“Our first whole training cycle is devoted primarily to getting fit, fast, and strong,” explains Coach Abbott. Leading up to

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the season, Harvard vaulters are encouraged to take down time over the summer, and use the time to train in ways they don’t during the school year. Coach Abbott needs his vaulters fresh, both mentally Matt Miller Photo by Debra West

and physically, in order to tackle the long season ahead.

Coach Abbott’s approach to training and ability to focus individually on each vaulter makes the Harvard jumpers

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quite competitive in the Ivy League. “The Ivy League has exploded in the last few years,” says Coach Abbott. Usually it has taken a jump of about 5.05m to score on the men’s side, but this season, about

seven men in the league are expected to jump well over 5.20m. The competition on the women’s side is just as tough, seeing five women over 4.00m last season, and more predicted to join them this

year. “We couldn’t be happier with how the competition is increasing,” says Coach Abbott, and with the women’s team going into the season defending eight consecutive league championships, Harvard is up for the challenge. Along with the stiff league competition, the Crimson track and field team has a full schedule of travel lined up. The team travels all over the country and even abroad to compete. Despite the infamous Harvard/Yale feud, the track teams combine every two years in a meet against Oxford and Cambridge, which means competition often occurs in Great Britain. Every four years, this elite meet allows for a weeklong training trip to Ireland, ending in the meet of all meets, the oldest running track meet in the world, including the modern day Olympics.

The Harvard track season is rigorous, and the academics are second to none, so every athlete has to be fully dedicated to both their academics and their sport. Anyone looking to pole vault for Harvard has to be great in the classroom and on the track. Typically, Coach Abbott recruits vaulters who have a shot at making an impact at the league level based on their high school performances.

But above ability, Coach Abbott needs

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athletes that can contribute to the tight knit team atmosphere.

“The most important thing in my eyes is recruiting people that are team-driven,” says Coach Abbott.

“I want to people that aren’t only going to contribute to the program points-wise, but who are going to make everybody around them better due to a team-first attitude and positivity.” Being Ian West Photo by Brian Panoff

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a skilled vaulter is always a factor in Division I recruiting, but to stand out as a potential Harvard athlete, personality rises above all other factors.

Clearly Coach Abbott thinks highly of his vaulters, and only selects to coach athletes he can respect as much as they respect him. This makes for an extremely close group of

individuals, and a good group dynamic can add a lot to a team’s performance. “I am truly the luckiest coach in the world,” admits Coach Abbott.

“I couldn’t be more proud of who my vaulters are as people let alone student-athletes. I can only hope that they learn as much from me as I learn from them.”

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Trenchard/Abbott

Caption text

Ian West

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Matt Miller

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Ian West

Matt Miller

Ian West/Abbott

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ROPE DRILLS for RAINY DAYS

By Kreager Taber

When a vaulter can’t actually pole vault outdoors due to inclement weather, they risk losing valuable time to improve. Particularly for high school vaulters who may not have direct access to an indoor track, rainy days can put a huge damper on training schedules. However, the same progress made by doing straight pole drills outdoors can be performed on a hanging rope in a gym with a mat underneath for safety. Drills

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done on a hanging rope can provide a helpful alternative to simulate the motion of vaulting when the athlete can’t get outside due to poor weather, or to strengthen their swing, grip, and top phase during the off season.

Doing swing up drills on a hanging rope can help the vaulter develop the necessary strength to perform a fast swing while vaulting. The athlete should stand under the

rope and jump so that their feet cannot touch the ground in order to begin the drill.

To focus on developing the strength needed for a strong swing, the hands should be kept close together. With their hands stacked on top of each other or slightly separated, the vaulter should swing their hips to meet their hands, similarly to how a swing up on the rings or a horizontal bar is performed.

When performing a double leg swing up holding onto the

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Tamara Bader 10th Grade

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rope, the vaulter’s shoulders and abdominal muscles are worked. If the athlete doesn’t have the core and shoulder strength to perform the full swing up, they can adjust the movement by bringing their toes to their hands first. Once that portion of the drill is Katrina Meier Vaulter Club

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mastered, they can extend their feet up the rope and drop their shoulders. The vaulter could also begin with their feet on the ground, and kick one leg up to gain momentum for the drill.

The athlete should repeat the motion with their other hand on top to prevent muscular

imbalances from forming.

Although the strength gained from this variation of the drills helps the vaulter quicken their swing, more can be gained by incorporating hanging rope drills into training routines.

Vaulters can use hanging rope drills in order to simulate a dynamic swing. Imitating the swing itself helps the athlete practice their shoulder drop, knee drive, and extension during the end of the swing. In order to perform this variation of the hanging rope drill, the vaulter should hold the rope like they grip the pole, with a similarly spaced hand grip. Once again, they should jump so that their feet cannot touch the ground, and then swing up on the rope like they would perform a powerful swing up on a horizontal bar.

Emphasis should be put on making sure the vaulter’s feet are behind the rope for as much of the drill as possible, an early shoulder drop, and the extension at the end of the swing. When the hips are level with the top hand and the vaulter’s body is vertical, the final extension of using just the arms to pull the athlete’s body farther up the rope can mimic the beginning of the pushoff phase of the vault. This allows the vaulter to develop the timing and strength for a

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powerful top phase. Coaches should also make sure that the athlete keeps their head neutral as opposed to looking at their feet or throwing their head back to speed up the shoulder drop. The vaulter should repeat the swing ups with their other hand on top to prevent abdominal imbalances from developing. Performing swing-up drills on the rope to mimic actually vaulting helps develop strength, practice technique, and the form learned easily transfers over to normal vaults.

Hanging rope drills can also be utilized to practice the vaulter’s push off phase.

The athlete should hold the rope like they grip the pole, with their feet remaining on the ground. Then, they should take one or two steps to gain momentum before swinging up on the rope. The coach can set up a bungee for the athlete to jump over to give them something to aim for, which helps the vaulter push off of the rope at the top and still focus on their swing. This drill also helps coaches identify potential weak spots in the swing and top phases before the season begins. Once the vaulter is able to execute a full swing and top phase from one or two steps, they can move

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their step back and run from longer approaches to generate more power. Running from longer steps can help the athlete learn how to use their top arm during the takeoff, and translate horizontal momentum into vertical height. Once again, it can also help coaches identify weak points in the vault that need to be fixed before the season is in full swing. By running from a longer approach, the athlete is basically simulating all of the bodily aspects of the vault, and mimics the basic biomechanics of the plant, swing, and push off, all without actually pole vaulting.

By incorporating rope drills into a vaulter’s training regimen, their grip strength will also improve. This will help the athlete not only while their actually pole vaulting, but also during weightlifting sessions to help them grip barbells and hang onto horizontal bars. The rope drills force the vaulter to be constantly vigilant about gripping the rope, and the constant constriction helps develop the muscles in the fingers and forearms.

This strength development may not be as evident in the vault as strength gained in the abdominals, back, or shoulders, but it will help

the vaulter lay a more solid foundation for their lifts and rudimentary drills.

Rope drills help to mimic the biomechanics of the pole vault, making them a perfect rainy day alternative to jump days if the athletes don’t have access to an indoor pit.

By finding ways to mimic the vault instead of substituting jump days with other rainy day activities, coaches can help keep the athletes on track for their conference, state, and national meets instead of falling victims to unfortunate weather.

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Rotaion Drills Starting

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Nicole Silverlake Vaulter Club

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