Coaching in the Pole-Vault

By: Kris Wood

By: Kris Wood

Coaching in any sport is one of the most important aspects to an athletes success. The coach is the one to teach everything that there is about the sport to the athlete. Pole-vault is an extremely difficult event where technique is very difficult but is every important. I have luckily been blessed to have an amazing coach, Rick Attig, to help me through college. Pole-vaulting is at its core, against human nature. Just think about it, the goal of the event is to run as fast as you can and then use a pole to jump as high as possible. The poles that an athlete uses can either make or break the jump. An inexperienced athlete never knows what pole that they should use. Because of this, it can be very dangerous for someone that does not know what they are doing to just hop right in, injuries could easily happen. This is where a coach comes into play, if you have a good coach, they will be able to guide you to what is the right pole to use. There is a lot more that a coach helps with but this is a major aspect that they help with.