To the casual observer the long jump would appear to be one of the most basic of all track & field events. Athletes run up to a takeoff board and without going past it jump as far as they can into a sandpit. Many of us have seen the picture of long time world record holder Bob Beamon soaring over 29 feet in the 1968 Olympics. Regardless of the level your athletes are at they will need to 1) Accelerate to maximum controllable speed 2) Transition this approach into a takeoff and 3) Land the jump in as efficient a manner as possible. Acceleration and Maximum Speed In recent years a great deal as been written about these two topics. The ability to accelerate quickly is developed by addressing technique and strength (starting and explosive). In the long jump approach, somewhere between the 4-6 total steps (2 or 3 rights/lefts) are used to accelerate to maximum speed. The slower your athletes are the faster they will get to top speed. Your faster athletes will take longer to achieve maximum speed. The remaining number of steps are done at maximum controllable speed. Maintenance of this speed and the upright posture at the end of the approach is crucial to success. Acceleration Drills Wall series Partner series Teaching the rocking start Coaching cues for acceleration work; Push, lean from the ankle. Tell the athlete to be patient while executing this part of the approach, allowing the foot contact with the ground to gradually stand them up. Maximum Speed Much has been written about this quality. Speed can be worked on with running drills, sprints of various intensities and distances, hill running, over speed towing, approaches with or without a takeoff and other sophisticated methods. The key elements of speed as they relate to the jumps are maintenance of posture and pelvic position through to the end of the approach. The takeoff To effectively set up a takeoff, the cyclic running pattern and heel recovery will be broken on the last two steps of the approach. The penultimate (next to last) step is a full foot contact with a rocking action. This is the longest step of the entire approach. Foot contact will still be underneath the body like the previous steps. The recovery of the heel will be over the ankle or mid calf only. Attempting to run over this step while the foot is still on the ground is a great cue. The takeoff step will be similar to the penultimate in ground contact (full foot, rocking action) and stepping over the ankle instead of heel to butt, but it will be shorter in length. Ground contact will be a little in front of the body. Again continuing to move the body past the takeoff foot while it is on the ground is a good cue. Try to have the athlete anticipate the takeoff steps so they have their ankle and thigh braced and prepared. Takeoff Drills The Landing Often this or technique in the air is the technical focal point for coaches and athletes. Controlling or limiting forward rotation is the goal of all in the air action. Much of the jump distance is already determined by the approach and takeoff actions. There are some drills listed below which address these areas. Landing Drills 2) Knee Landing- Athlete will approach the pit like in Continuous takeoff drill above, but upon takeoff will land in the pit on the takeoff knee and the swing leg foot (lunge position). Gradually get the athlete to move further away and run in faster. Vertical emphasis. 3) Short Approach Jumps- Progress from slow to fast, learning to bring the takeoff leg forward and extended so that both feet are together and the athlete learns how to get their buttocks to where their feet landed. Common Question's How long should the approach be? What the athletes can handle, without slowing down before taking off. As a starting point think 5 lefts or rights or 10 total steps and go up or down from there based on competence. This distance should be measured away from the runway. Have them start at a fixed point on the track, accelerate and run through whatever number of steps you have determined as a starting point (5 or 6 lefts or rights). Mark where the takeoff foot lands on 6 approaches. Use the most frequent spot they hit and measure back to your starting point. A couple of reminders, do not have them takeoff when running these approaches. When you add the penultimate and takeoff step, the approach will be longer, maybe a few inches. The athlete should know the distance of their approach and never have to run it back at a meet; this reflects lack of preparation. It is easier to count lefts or rights than total steps, so count takeoff leg steps. Who would be good candidates for the long jump? Consider your hurdlers and sprinters as well as javelin throwers. If you get other sport athletes, look at athletes who already run and jump in games (soccer midfielders, football defensive backs and wide receivers). What else can my long jumper do? Try hurdles, triple jump, high jump, javelin and sprints. Practice Suggestions Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Changes to above schedule Two meets in a week (assume Tuesday and Saturday meet) Notes " If you compete twice a week, consider looking at two weeks at a time for getting workouts in (ex. Maybe one week on Wed you recover or condition with circuits, etc. the following week you run intervals) " Consider other events your athletes are in for planning, particularly if they work with a different coach References Recommended Track and Field Products
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