Fundamentals of High Jump

Coach Vincent Allen

Intro: Beginners High Jump

I coach Junior High School boys & girls track & field. We generally get over 130 athletes to come out for track each season. I test everyone new to track & field in the high jump, looking for that athlete with potential and good jumping ability.

Most of the exercises we perform in track & field build upon one another. I like the Cherry Picks and bounds to view, trying to identify a potential high jumper.

You can’t create a good high jumper in a day, there are several stages to training up a good high jumper.

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Five main topics to discuss

1. Starting point
2. Approach
3. Take Off
4. Flight
5. Landing

Characteristics of a High Jumper

1. Athleticism
2. Body Control
3. Coordination
4. Flexibility
5. Speed
6. Timing
7. Motivation
8. Coachable

The High Jump Goal

The goal, yes it’s to clear the bar, but another goal is to transfer your horizontal speed from the approach into vertical lift and rotation, getting your center of gravity as high and over the bar as possible.

For beginner high jumpers

1. Determine their takeoff foot (plant foot)
2. Figure out their front foot at the start position
3. Next determine the number of steps needed to jump. If the front foot & take off foot are the same, the # of steps to use would be an even number. If the front foot and take off foot are different, the number of steps to use would be an odd #.
4. We use a J approach, running straight then running a curve
5. The suggested # of steps for beginners are 6 - 8 steps.
6. Depending on the # of steps you will run 3 - 5 straight
7. Then run 3 - 4 steps on the curve

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For beginner high jumpers

8. Run 3-4 steps on the curve leaning inward
9. I use a heel to toe plant/takeoff. Toe should be pointed toward the back opposite corner of the mat
10. Hands should be reaching high above the head
11. Head should be up in line with the spine
12. Once you reach your peak, you should thrust your hips up, your heels should point towards your buttocks & your head should go back to help with the arching over the bar
13. To prepare for landing, tuck your chin to your chest & flip your feet over the bar towards your head
14. You should be landing on the middle top part of your back and the back of your shoulders
15. Your momentum will take you to the mat. (Don’t lean in towards the mat)
16. You also should have a slight rotation going over the crossbar so that your back is parallel to the crossbar

How I got started in the High Jump

My Junior high basketball coach was also one of the track coaches. He took me and another basketball player to the side and encouraged us to do track and said he wanted us to try the pole vault and high jump because of our athleticism.

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In the 70’s he was teaching the Western Roll style of high jumping. Once I saw the Fosbury Flop that’s what I wanted to do but the coach would not let me. I was jumping around 4’ 8 at best using the Western Roll. My brother and I use to go home and practice the flop on our mattresses. I begged the coach for 5 straight days or more to be able to do the flop. He finally allowed me to flop but said I only had one chance to do it. I moved the bar up to 5’ 4”, went back to my mark and cleared the bar. As I was landing on the mat, my coach was walking out of the gym. I asked him where he was going & he said to the library to research more about this Fosbury Flop. I ended up jumping 5’ 11” in Jr. High.

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My high school high jump coach changed my half Circle slow jog approach to a speed J approach and I improved my high jump by 6 inches in a week, which is why I believe and know first hand that speed makes a difference in high jumping.

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*We as coaches need to be open to new ideas and techniques, they could lead to better results but you’ll never know unless you try them out. It's good to have a coach, teacher or staff member in the building encouraging kids to go out for track & field.

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Now let's dive into the 5 main points!

1st Point: Starting Point

1. Be consistent in the place you start each jump. (I notice some jumpers move back as the bar goes up, this will throw off your steps, curve approach, take off and flight)
2. In practice I put a circle with an X in it on each side of the mat about ⅓ of the way from the ends and about 1ft. ½ - 2ft away from the front of the mat to assist the right/left footed jumpers with their take off mark. I have the athlete put their start foot on the X and run back the appropriate number of steps for each athlete to get a general starting point. I will also put a mark on the surface for the athlete to stay within so they will not go out too wide. I will then have them do some practice run thru’s & jumps to come up with a comfortable run & curve for each, making sure they are hitting close to the takeoff mark. Initially to get them use to jumping & landing on the mat I have them use 3 - 4 steps.
3. Measure your steps once you find your starting point. (I like the triangle method of measuring). Measure from the outside of the standard out to the side until you are in line with your starting point, then put a mark down on that spot, noting the measurement. Then measure from that mark back to the starting point, noting the measurement. Next measure from the starting point to the outside of the standard for your third measure in the triangle. (Some measure from the takeoff point) You should end up with three measure, this is on;y an example of the marks (10ftx30ftx35ft)

2nd Point: The Approach

We use the letter J run up approach in the high jump to generate momentum, and it allows for good rotational takeoff to properly go over the crossbar.

1. Run Straight
2. Run the curve leaning in the curve away from the crossbar
3. The 2nd to the last stride in the approach is shorter, flatter, with a quicker foot strike that lowers the body’s center of gravity and converts horizontal speed into powerful vertical lift for takeoff.

If your approach is off, it can throw the mechanics of the jump off.

1. If you cut in too soon, you will come to the bar at too sharp of an angle making it difficult to get the correct rotation over the bar. You will tend to be more long jumping, ending up toward the back of the mat as opposed to the middle.
2. If you cut in too late or what I refer to as going to deep past your curve point, you will tend to float along the length of the crossbar for more chance of an error to knock the crossbar off. Other challenges in curving in too late & floating down the crossbar, you may float into the standard and or fall off the side of the mats.
3. If you take off too early, you tend to hit the crossbar on the way down, or land in front of the mats, rolling off onto the surface.
4. If you take off too late, you tend to hit the crossbar on the way up or do more of a cannon ball over the bar because you had to ball up in order not to hit the crossbar.

3rd Point: The Takeoff Point

1. Hit your takeoff point with a heel to toe plant
2. The toe should be pointed toward the back opposite corner of the mat
3. Your arms will help with vertical height so you should have good arm swing, reaching high above your head
4. You should have good knee drive up over the bar or at least parallel to the crossbar
5. The penultimate step: The 2nd to the last stride in the approach is shorter, flatter, with a quicker foot strike that lowers the body’s center of gravity and converts horizontal speed into a powerful vertical lift for takeoff.
6. You should be leaning away from the bar and slightly back, keeping the foot, knee, leg, hips, torso and arms in line, applying force to the ground

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4th Point: The Flight over the bar

Key Flight steps

1. Drive the knee up
2. Rotate: The speed & force from the curve will create your rotation going over the bar
3. Arch the back viewing the far corner of mat
4. Thrust your hips up
5. Bring your heels up towards your buttocks as your hips rise to maximize extension (arch) and clear the bar with your legs

5th Point: The Landing

1. Chin Tuck: To prepare for and avoid neck injury, simultaneously flip your legs toward head and tuck your chin to your chest as you come down, which helps to bring the legs over
2. You should land on your middle upper back and shoulders
3. Back roll over: When you land, doing a backwards roll over helps prevent neck injury
4. When done properly, you will come up facing your starting point. That’s when you know the rotation was correct. Like a gymnast doing their present or salute to the judges.

Basic Rules

1. You get 3 attempts to clear each height
2. If you miss 3 times at the same height you are out
3. If you approach to jump and break the plane of the crossbar or touch the mats without attempting a jump, it’s considered a miss.
4. You can run up to jump & stop or run by, that is not a miss as long as you do not break the plane of the crossbar.
5. You can pass at any height if you do not want to attempt that height and skip to the next height. If you pass and attempt the next height and miss 3 X’s you are out. Passing a height does not mean you cleared it, If you did not clear any heights you will not place and get a NH (No height) by your name.
6. In competition, once the bar is moved up to the next height, by rule, it should not be moved back down. That’s why you have a pause in the competition when some jumpers are competing in other events.

High Jump drills and stretches to do before Jumping

Back Bends

Back bend pops

Back overs

Bridge

Bridge with hands over head

Bridge with hands over head and lead leg up

2 foot back overs

Circle curve runs

What Events out of all the Sports always end in Defeat?

The High Jump and the Pole Vault are the only events in the whole world of any sport, that always end in defeat.

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Meaning, I can win the meet but it’s not over until I miss the following heights.

Thanks!

Contact:

Vincent Allen

Kingsley Junior High

Normal, IL 61761

1highjump.007@gmail.com

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