I'm from The Netherlands and not everyone starts with als hop. Some people just start running.
No. I mean that you start with a little jump in the air. Like this video.
A year ago, I was very bad at vault. Since I learned myself to start the run with a hop ( you can start at one leg or two legs idk ) I am always first on vault.
Ik don't know if you do this already or if you coach don't like it... it's only a tip.