My firsthand exposure to "pole vault camps" is thoroughly documented. June of 1991, my son, I and two friends of his, attended "Coach Don Hood's World Class Pole Vault Camp" held in Rancho Cordova, California. Previously, in the 1980s, Don Hood, had coached 11-time indoor pole vault world record setter, Billy Olson, which seemed very impressive at the time. My own video clips showing the good, the bad and the ugly of the June, 1991, WRONG-WAY "World Class Pole Vault Camp" that I personally attended, are exhibited below.
Every "wrong-way" pole vault "expert" TALKS A GREAT CON GAME while thoroughly INCAPABLE of providing practical, logical and constructive pole vault instructions. In 1991, when my son and I identified the ineptitude of so-called pole vault "experts," we chose to approach the event from a fresh, safer and intelligent perspective. Within a year, we developed "HORIZONTAL FLEXED POLE ROTATION" along with many other AIR STRIKE pole vault innovations. The video evidence below is from "Coach Don Hood's World Class Pole Vault Camp" in June of 1991. You will see befuddled expressions on the faces of students who are completely mystified by what they're TOLD TO DO while NOT being provided any practical instructions to apply.
In 2014, more than two decades after my initial experiences, I attended the UCS POLE VAULT SUMMIT in Reno, Nevada, which was simply a glorified regurgitation of 1980s Don Hood and Jan Johnson (Sky Jumpers) "camps" we paid for and attended. ALL "POLE VAULT CAMP" presenters, of whom I have paid thousands of dollars, endlessly parrot the same wrong-way lethal pole vault teachings.
Please, think about this: If you've ever attended a "pole vault camp," how much practical knowledge did you actually gather?
Every "pole vault camp" I've witnessed is nothing more than a redundant unproductive wrong-way pole vault exhibition that culminates with a "vaulting contest" in which the majority of paid attendees either do not participate or, if they do partake, they are quickly eliminated. My experiences at the UCS 2014 POLE VAULT SUMMIT simply further reinforced the FACTS regarding WRONG-WAY POLE VAULT ABSURDITY.
The most recent deadly pole vault "GURU" and "UCS PROMOTER" to pop up espousing lethal wrong-way "traditional" absurdity is Coach Shawn Michael Francis. From this coach's mouth comes continuous negligent advice, such as his many irresponsible statements proclaimed in just the single video below in which Francis states:
"I look at a pole-break as a graduation, ah, to being even more awesome!" (Shawn Francis-YouTube-F8J4ytXaVu0)
Shawn Michael Francis' lethal wrong-way pole vault "coaching" idiocy is being religiously followed by thousands of his gullible minions. The lethal "traditional" methods of full-speed approach runs and forcing bending poles forward are being promoted by Shawn Francis and other negligent participants clearly for their own profit at the expense of their ignorant naive followers.
Please, judge for yourself. The last video above, published on July 9, 2009, is titled "Dustin Cornell with Olympic Pole Vault Coach Don Hood at Abilene Christian University." This video is simply further confirmation as to the results of the unabated lethal stupidy being perpetuated by deadly "TRADITIONAL" pole vault coaching. The inherent danger that "traditional" abject coaching stupidity poses is self-evident to anyone who chooses to objectively observe the obvious deadly negligence. The lethal "SHOVE" method you see in the "Don Hood" coaching repertoire is also mindlessly parroted in pole vault instructions published by Coach Shawn Michael Francis.
The video evidence in the next five animated images is from "Coach Don Hood's World Class Pole Vault Camp" in June of 1991. All of these "traditional" methods have proven themselves lethal over the past decades. I can only sound the alarm. You must look at the data for yourself to understand why THIS LETHAL STUPIDITY MUST BE STOPPED!
These video clips show how "SPEED KILLS" in pole vault and makes it exponentially more dangerous when negligent WRONG-WAY coaches ignore the significance of SLOWLY mastering POLE-CONTROL fundamentals FIRST!
NEVER, NEVER, NEVER SHOVE ANY VAULTER! THIS IS A DEADLY FOOLISH THING TO DO!
DO YOU NOW UNDERSTAND WHY FULL-SPEED RUNS AND FORCING FLEXIBLE POLES FORWARD FOSTER LETHALITY?
CAN YOU NOW COMPREHEND HOW HORRIBLY CONTEMPTUOUS THE "TRADITIONAL" POLE VAULT "ESTABLISHMENT" IS?
HURTING PEOPLE IN ORDER TO PROFIT FROM THEIR VICTIMIZATION IS WRONG, DOING IT ON PURPOSE IS CRIMINAL!
Within 12 MONTHS, we accomplished MORE to IMPROVE this event than “TRADITIONAL” pole vault “EXPERTS” have throughout entire careers!
FLEXING POLES CORRECTLY TO VAULT SAFER, HIGHER & PROPERLY, DOES NOT REQUIRE "SPEED"!!!
ATHLETES MUST FIRST THOROUGHLY MASTER PROPER APPLICATION OF "RIGID" VAULTING POLES BEFORE EVER ATTEMPTING "FLEXIBLE" POLE VAULT AND NEVER USE IDIOTIC "TRADITIONAL" METHODS!
