[bhesp]

bhesp on May 4, 2005 at 7:35 am #10816

I’ve got a High Jumper on my team, but we don’t have a Jumps coach…He has been having a problem jumping “into” the bar. I’m not real sure what his problem is as I’m not very well-learned in the HJ. He has some real potential though as he’s gone 6-5 this year, but consistently only jumps 6-0 to 6-2. In fact this past week he’s been struggling at 5-10 which tells me something has to be mechanically wrong because that is a dramatic drop-off and 5-10 should not be difficult. He usually reaches the apex of his jump about a foot or two after he passes the bar, which we’ve tried correcting by changing where he takes off from, but he’s really struggling. If anyone has any suggestions I’d appreciate them as the end of the season is nearing.

[flash]

flash on May 4, 2005 at 5:38 pm #45125

ive found that when most people jump into the bar it is because of their lean. try having him drop his shoulder on the curve and keep it drop all the way through take off. this should help him jump more straight up instead of into the bar.

for a better explanation on the lean click here

i hope this helps

[Mike Young]

Mike Young on May 5, 2005 at 9:27 pm #45126

As flash said, jumping into the bar is almost always an approach problem. During the second half of the approach the jumper should feel outward foot pressure and lean from the ankle into the curve. This position should be maintained through the takeoff foot touchdown, at which point the athlete should attempt to jump STRAIGHT UP. The effect of a correctly executed lean will cause the athlete to rotate towards the bar at takeoff and will make jumping into the bar unnecessary.

ELITETRACK Founder