Back In The Swing Of Things

     Well after a long summer break I got back to vaulting in the late fall. This year I made my goal to work on technique instead of chasing qualifying marks. So far it has been going well. I have been able to take more jumps and stay healthy thanks to my friends at the Sports Reaction Center in Bellevue. They have been keeping my back and lower leg injuries at bay. For the first time in my career, my opening meet seemed to arrive too quickly. I felt like I didn't have time to work on my takeoff as much as I wanted to. So instead of rushing into full approach I jumped from 7 lefts in the UW Indoor Preview and cleared 5.17m (16'11.5").
     My next meet was the Reno Pole Vault Summit and it was a lot of fun. It is one of the few times a year I get to see nearly all of my vaulter friends and jump in front of an enthusiastic crowd. I jumped from full approach which is 9 lefts for me and I did reasonably well. I made 5.35m (17'6.5") and my technique wasn't terrible. I still had some problems with my jump, but I could tell my practices were starting to pay off.
     This weekend was the UW Invitational and I was able to stay more controlled and execute better technique, resulting in a clearance of 5.40m (17'8.5") with good attempts at 5.50m (18'0.5"). Of course I still see quite a few areas of my vault that could use improvement, but I am getting better every week. I am encouraged for the rest of the indoor season and have my sights set on USA Outdoor Nationals. Now I will get a 2 week break in competition to hone my skills and then I will jump in the Husky Classic on February 8-9. Here is a video of my jumps so far this season:
(set video quality higher if blurry)