The Case for Counting Backward

In an ideal world, pole vaulters would be able to step on a runway, raise their pole, and begin their approach on autopilot - building speed slowly, confident in their steps, lowering the pole at the perfect time, and hitting their absolute top speed at take-off. Perhaps some elite athletes are able to do precisely that, however, most athletes resort to counting steps.

In the pursuance of confidence and consistency, many coaches have their athletes count the number of times their take-off foot strikes the ground as they proceed down the runway. For instance, a right-handed pole vaulter will place their left foot at the start make of their approach. The athlete will then take the first step with their right foot and begin counting each and every time their left foot touches the runway all the way through take-off.

A typical 9-stride approach might be to build speed consistently on strides 1,2,3, accelerate through 4,5,6, start lowering the pole on 7, last burst of speed on 8, followed by the plant and take-off on 9.

The only problem with that scenario is vaulters vary their approach length depending on conditions or poles used. For instance, a typical 7-stride approach might be to build speed consistently on strides 1, 2, 3, accelerated through 4, 5 (start lowering pole on 5), last burst of speed on 6, followed by the plant and take-off on 7.

Unfortunately, counting forward may give athletes a reason to pause. This first became evident to me when my oldest son lengthened his approach and was confused about when to start lowering the pole, not to mention being out of control on take-off due to reaching his top speed too early.

Enter the role of counting backward.

If an athlete is counting backward they will always start their approach by building speed consistently, accelerating through strides 6, 5, 4, start lowering the pole on 3, add their remaining speed on 2, followed by a pre-launch and take-off on 1. An athlete can shorten or lengthen their approach and these variables will always be the same - every time, the same action invariably on the same stride number. As an added bonus, an athlete will mentally repeat the length of their run-up with their very first stride, making it virtually impossible to forget their approach length halfway down the runway (don’t laugh, we have all done it).

A few coaches may feel it takes more mental effort to count backward - or even count at all. However, I will argue that vaulters can do the math and maybe even chew gum at the same time. Some elite athletes have automated their entire approach and do not need to count their steps, but if you do, you might consider counting them backward instead of forward. Counting may not be like autopilot, but it will simplify your run-up and keep it consistent through any approach length.

Note: This article appeared in Vaulter Magazine in October 2016 and was written by David Brannan