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Pole Vault Technique
When Bill Ford invented the Rick Attig SI Device, it was to provide coaches with a tool that would teach the correct pole vault technique during the most dangerous phase of the pole vault, the aerial phase. The key safety feature of the machine is the ground-level replication of the aerial phase. Ford has safety in mind as a primary concern. Since a perfect runway is required to even attempt proper swing up, inversion, and launch, he wanted a machine that would teach proper pole vault technique while making practice safe and versatile for the entire vaulting team.
The SI Device's height is easily accessible so that a qualified coach can spot the student while they perform multiple repetitions of the needed muscle movements at a height that is just above the athlete's clearance of the safety mat. Repetition of the movements teaches proper pole vault technique while training the muscles. It promotes proper muscle firing and correct timing that will convert into correctly programmed and retrievable muscle memory. With proper spotting and consistent training with the pole vault simulator, an athlete will convert created speed on the runway into a strong aerial phase of the pole vault. The athlete's pole vault technique will improve and create a more successful completed aerial phase.
Bill Ford and his wife have attended countless pole vaulting seminars, lectures, demonstrations and camps since their high school head track coach asked them is they would assume the responsibility for coaching the pole vault in 1997. Their son Michael was a freshman in high school at the time and he was struggling to improve his pole vault technique. Bill and his wife learned everything they could about the many phases of the event since it would also benefit Michael. Through Michaels' feedback and his own brainstorming, Bill began to understand what was needed to help athletes improve their pole vault technique.
The aerial phase of the pole vault requires the inclusion of three critical segments including the swing up, the close off, and the launch. Although there are pieces of equipment and drills used to teach the individual pole vault technique for each part of this phase, there was no single piece of equipment that allowed athletes to simultaneously and sequentially practice the aerial phase all in one fluid succession of correct movements. While drills did facilitate him in his efforts to help his high school pole vaulters develop various segments of the correct muscle memory for the air-born phase of the pole vault, he wanted a single piece of equipment that would train the proper pole vault technique for the entire move.
The SI Device teaches the right pole vault technique by allowing athlete to correctly and successfully feel the appropriate body positions and timing necessary to utilize their speed, jumping ability and the pole's recoil for the highest and safest vault possible. After many attempts, much welding and cutting, and trial after trial by Michael, the Rick Attig Swing Up and Invert Device was invented! To learn more about how the SI Device can be used to improve your student's pole vault technique, go to www.swingupinvert.com.
