High Jump Fundamentals Danielle Dobias OPRF

High Jump Highlights

Jumping Styles Prior to The Fosbury Flop, the technique used to get over the bar was a straddle or scissor technique. This revolutionary style of jumping was showcased when Dick Fosbury used it to win the gold medal at the 1968 Olympics. The biggest difference between the two jumping styles was that with the flop, the jumper goes over the bar upside down, facing the sky. This allows the jumper to bend their back which lowers the center of mass. The straddle technique can be quite useful as a training tool which I will touch on later.

Identifying a High Jumper Tall and thin Ability to dunk; preferably off one foot Fearless Good body control Body awareness

Two types of jumpers Speed jumper Long legs Over 6 feet tall Thin; low muscle tone Fast Stays tall at take-off Power jumper Under 6 feet tall Muscular Powerful Slow Gets low at take-off

Take-off foot Tell the athlete to stand with feet together and close their eyes. Walk behind them and push them forward in between their shoulder blades. The foot that they step forward with will be the stronger foot therefore determining the take-off foot.

Elements of the Jump Part 1: Straightaway Shorter approach for power jumpers/Short sprinters (8 steps) Longer approach for speed jumpers/slower athletes (13 steps) The jumper should be very tall during the straightaway Determine the number of steps by having the athlete pick an arbitrary mark between BLANK AND BLANK feet away from the bar Watch several run-thru’s and make adjustments You will see things the athletes can not and they will feel things you can not so make sure to talk through each potential mark before making changes Pay close attention to the penultimate step This is the step before the plant and it is more telling than the plant step

Problems with Straightaway - Jumper stands tall at their mark and as soon as they begin their approach they hunch over Solution #1 - Add slight backbends to jumpers pre-jump routine - If jumper hunches during approach work blow a whistle and have them start approach over Problem #2 - In the last step of the straightaway the jumper crosses the outside foot over the inside foot which leads them cut straight into the bar Solution #2 Work on softening the curve; may need to move it out or in depending on how the jumper is starting the turn a Consider starting with opposite foot taking the first step and adding/removing a step Problem #3 The jumper stares at the bar for the entire approach and takes off in the middle of the bar Solution Jumper should look straight ahead during the straightaway and the farthest end of the bar during the curve

Problems with Curve Problem #1

Training Plyometrics Core Yoga Spin workouts Pool workouts Basketball 50 meter sprints Towel runs Box jumps Hurdle Work