Coaching and Care of Athletes

I I 1 i .... THE POLE VAULT footed and soundless, with a forward roll from the ball to the toes of the foot. The right knee is raised simultaneously with the left– foot take-off, and holds its high position as the vaulter springs on to the pole, which he 'cuddles' against his right breast with arms half flexed. Sefton shows this action admirably in Plate XXXV, Fig. 102. The left knee joins the right at once, thus drawing the left hip round and a little beyond the pole-shaft. The arms continue to hold their original amount of flexion, as shown by Sefton in Plate XXXV, Fig. 103. The pole is now two– thirds of the way towards a vertical position. Note how the left forearm remains practically parallel to the pole-shaft. With the left forearm maintaining its position and the hips rising above the shoulders, the pull is instituted, as shown in Plate XXXVI, Fig. 104, by Bill Graber, U.S.A., former world's record-holder at 14 ft. 4! ins. The ,vaulter remains a single unit with his pole by keeping the shaft well in under his left armpit. The right leg, fully straightened, holds a high position, and the pull is continued to its limit, when the body has been lifted to make contact with the right arm. The right leg comes forward, and the left leg goes back to initiate the turn of the body. Now comes_the most difficult part of the vault, as shown by F. R. Webster in Plate XXXVI, Fig. 105, who, contrary to the other athletes depicted, takes the top hold with his left hand and jumps from his right foot. He is turning on the grip of his hands and the strength of his arms and shoulders as his free leg goes over the bar and the take-off leg, holding a high position, keeps his hips up. The forearm is still in line with the shaft, and the body has not been allowed to fly away from the pole. In Plate XXXVI, Fig. ro6, Webster shows the advantage of the new style, and particularly of 'riding' the pole with the arms partly flexed, for, an instant before the pole reaches the vertical, he is in an admirable position, with hips properly elevated and the pole well into the neck, preparatory to executing the push-up, as already described and illustrated in Plate XXXVI, Fig. 107, and Plate XXXVII, Figs. ro8-r r r. We now come to the question of how and what to teach. First teach the athlete how to hold the pole, concerning which point in technique Comstock and F. R. Webster are enjoying a joke in Plate XXXIII, Fig. g6. Having got your man to hold the pole correctly, as described at p. 324, turn him square to his front, feet together, pole-shaft parallel to the ground, and body 33 1