The Long Jump has come a long way in recent years. Many years ago it was called the Broad Jump. However, the events name slowly evolved into the proper terminology.
At the Junior High and High School level, almost any athlete can participate in the event. When I was in school, all the kids were interested in finding out who could jump the farthest. It is a combination of speed, skill, and muscle explosion.
However, when you get into college or you start to take participating in the event seriously, participants dwindle to only the best.
Here are some helpful hints if you are a coach or a participant.
The first thing that you need to do is cut a green tennis ball in half with a saw. Then with a marker, put your initials in large letters on it. You will use this half of the ball to mark your takeoff point on your approach.
When you arrive at your event, check out the landing area and the runway that you will use. As a coach, I have seen everything from cinder to grass runways. The runway will determine the type of shoes you will wear. The harder the runway, the more smoother type of shoe you will wear. If the runway is damp, you may slip. To avoid this slippage, you need a shoe that will bite into the runway with a good grip. You might want to consider a small type of track spike.
See if the runway is uphill, downhill or level. Check the takeoff board. A good jump area will have a good takeoff board that an entire foot can be place on for the jump. However, don’t be surprised to see a piece of tape or a painted line across the runway. If you are working with Junior High athletes, many times they can’t even reach the landing pit. That is why some have painted lines on them. Some runways will also have Triple Jump lines. This will make it even more confusing for the athlete.
Next, have your jumpers get down their steps to the pit on the runway. This can easily be done by starting with their back to the pit and running down the runway like they would on a normal approach to the pit. On their last step, they mark it with the cut tennis ball. This will be where they begin their start.
Some athletes will measure this distance with a tape measure and use the same distance over and over for other meets. This is find with one exception. Each Long Jump area is different and require minor adjustments.
Athletes have asked me what foot do they start their approach with first. It doesn’t matter. However, what does matter is the takeoff foot. I have always told athletes to take off of their weak foot/leg. They use the stronger leg for the initial explosion. It produces the power needed for the lift of the body. The arms help with the lift also but, it is the strong leg that provides the power.
Good drills to use for long jumpers is 25 to 30 meter wind sprints. The more speed developed on the runway the better. Squats with a weight on your shoulder is also good for developing explosion. Many times I would have my jumpers practice jumping with small two pound free weights in their hands. This would help give them the arm lift that they needed.
For young athletes, 9 attempts in practice is more than enough. In a meet, you usually get 3 attempts only. In a big meet, you might get an extra 3 if you advance to the finals.
Back in the late 70’s, I came across a coach that had built a 8 inch high, 18 wide, 30 inch long wooden box. He would place it over the takeoff board on the runway. His athletes would run and jump from that box in practice. We started using that training idea. We soon were improving in both lift and distance . We would use the box twice a week in practice. The box must be heavy to avoid athletes from slipping with it.
The World Record in the Long Jump is 29 feet 4 inches by Mike Powell.
