The Highest-Value Correction: How We Decide What to Fix First in Pole Vault

There is a big difference between pointing out what is wrong with a pole vault and coaching an athlete to get better.

Someone can watch a jump, say, “That athlete’s trail leg isn’t straight,” and be correct. But being correct about a technical flaw does not automatically make it the right thing to work on.

Developing an athlete requires another question:

What is the highest-value correction we can make right now?

At RISE Pole Vault, that question guides how we work with athletes, from beginners taking their first jumps to experienced vaulters pursuing their next breakthrough.

A Correct Observation Can Still Be the Wrong Priority

Imagine an athlete who is gripping too high, struggling to get safely into the pit, and bending their trail leg.

Is the observation about the trail leg accurate? It might be.

Is straightening the trail leg the highest-value correction? No.

The immediate priority is addressing the athlete’s setup: the grip, pole, and run, so they can get safely into the pit. A technical detail in the air cannot take priority over that.

This is the difference between deconstructing a vault and developing a vaulter. Deconstructing a vault can produce a long list of things that do not look right. Coaching requires deciding which of those things matters most, what the athlete is ready to change, and what needs to happen first.

A coach’s job is not to point out everything they can see. It is to help the athlete take the most valuable next step.

“Feet, Not Inches”

My dad ran pole vault camps for more than 30 years, helping build the foundation of what eventually became RISE. One thing he used to say has always stuck with me:

“I’m looking to improve you by feet, not inches.”

That is not a promise that every athlete will add a foot to their personal best in one session. It is a way of thinking about coaching priorities.

Before spending a workout on a small technical detail, ask whether something more fundamental is limiting the entire vault.

Are we working on the thing that will make the biggest difference? Or are we focusing on something simply because it is easy to notice or a familiar coaching cue?

Start With the Foundation: Grip, Pole, and Run

When we work with an athlete for the first time, we often need to address their setup before asking for more detailed technical changes.

Three questions come first:

• Is the athlete gripping at an appropriate height?
• Are they using an appropriate pole?
• Is their run set up to support an effective takeoff?

These are individualized coaching decisions, not a blanket instruction for every athlete to lower their grip, change poles, or move their start mark.

The point is to evaluate whether the setup supports what we are asking the athlete to do.

If that foundation is wrong, a technical cue may accomplish very little. We can keep telling an athlete what their vault should look like, but their setup may be making that movement much harder to perform.

At RISE, we have seen athletes make substantial improvements after addressing those foundational issues. Sometimes the biggest change is not a new technical cue. It is finally giving the athlete an appropriate setup from which to vault.

Any safety concern moves to the top of the priority list. It is not something to work around while chasing a better-looking jump.

Then Look at the Run, Plant, and Takeoff

Once the foundation is in place, we ask the same question again:

What is the highest-value correction now?

Often, the answer is still something that happens before the athlete leaves the ground.

It may involve posture during the approach, the timing of the pole drop, the transition into the plant, or the takeoff itself.

These parts of the vault influence what happens afterward. If the approach and takeoff are creating problems, we should be careful about treating every issue in the air as a separate technical flaw.

That does not mean the swing or trail leg never matters. It means those details need to be addressed in the right context and at the right time.

Give the Athlete Time to Keep the Improvement

Finding a useful correction does not mean we need to immediately give the athlete another one.

Sometimes we make a foundational adjustment, the athlete starts moving better, and the most valuable thing we can do is let them repeat it.

Let them experience the difference. Let them build consistency. Let them finish the session feeling confident about what changed.

At the next workout, check that the foundation is still there. Then decide what deserves attention next.

Coaching is not a contest to see how many corrections we can fit into one practice.

The Priority Changes as the Athlete Develops

This approach is not only for beginners.

As an athlete becomes more experienced, the highest-value correction may become harder to identify. The obvious foundational issues may already be addressed, and the next improvement may require a more precise understanding of that individual athlete.

Sometimes the most valuable next step is not another technical adjustment at all. It may be developing the strength or speed needed to support future progress.

The question stays the same, even when the answer changes.

The Skill Worth Developing

For a newer coach, learning to recognize an appropriate grip, pole, and run is enormously valuable. That judgment takes experience, observation, and an understanding of the athlete in front of you.

Video can help. So can watching the whole vault live, at full speed, rather than examining only isolated positions.

But whichever tools you use, do not stop at identifying what looks wrong.

Ask:

Of everything I could address, what would help this athlete most right now?

That is the skill we are trying to develop as coaches. Not simply finding flaws, but choosing the correction that best supports the athlete’s safety, confidence, and long-term progress.