![]() In my opinion, the king of games to play during this time for a jumper is basketball. Off-season track athletes not in a fall or winter sports should play games as much as possible, says Click To Tweet Each of these activities incorporates multi-directional movement, change of direction, and “organic” plyometrics, which enhance robustness. Some options are basketball, flag/touch football, ultimate Frisbee, handball, and trashball. I think the only reason I ended up with a smidge of athletic ability is because I played pickup games of any sport imaginable as often as possible. State champions can come from different backgrounds in sport, and testing speed and jumping ability can help decipher “who” should do what. Coaches need to know the difference between power jumpers and speed jumpers and train accordingly. Give full rest between reps (~1 minute for every 10-meter run) so each rep signifies your maximum capability. Keep the total volume between 100 and 120 meters. Get creative with your starting position (kneeling, prone/supine, 2/3/4 point, facing different directions, etc.), and spike up if possible.Ī simple system would be to start with sprints of 10 meters and increase 5 meters per week, capping out at 40 meters. I advise sprinting two times per week on nonconsecutive days. I could write another article about these two points, but the emphasis here is that speed must be a year-round priority for horizontal and vertical jumpers. Faster and fresh athletes jump further.I have two general tenets I follow in-season: It is valuable for an athlete to learn how to thrive in various environments. Different coaches have different sets of rules and expectations. It is beneficial for athletes to be coached by other people.If you do not think adaptability is an important skill for a jumper, ponder this: We expect the jumper to take off from the same spot every attempt, but no approach is EVER the same from start to finish. The greater a jumper’s athleticism, the more adaptable the jumper. This gives them greater resources to draw from when faced with a task. The coordinative pool of a young athlete should be broad and shallow, not narrow and deep.Studies indicate higher injury rates for athletes who participate in one sport. It is healthy for athletes with a young training age to get exposure to a wide variety of activities.Here are some other advantages for a jumper involved in multiple sports: Any fall or winter program that prioritizes (or makes exceptions for) developing explosive athletes is a welcoming home for a track and field jumper. Many coaches would scoff at this idea, but the way some field/court coaches run their sports is not all that different from cross-country training. The greater a jumper’s athleticism, the more adaptable the jumper, says Click To Tweet I would even say that cross country could be an option if the coach runs a progressive program and is willing to train the athlete like a sprinter. Football, soccer, volleyball, and basketball all translate very well to the off-season work needed for jumpers. I would be a hypocrite if I did not note that track and field jumpers should participate in other school sports. Therefore, the focus here is to provide options that high school jumpers can complete on their own. At the high school level, however, this is often not an option in the off-season due to conditions set by governing bodies. In a perfect scenario, the degree to which each of the qualities is addressed would be individualized with a coach monitoring progress and adjusting programming as needed. This, along with the addition of progressive variation as time goes on, will lead to a more robust athlete when the season starts. The off-season is also an ideal time to enhance work capacity. Qualities that address this objective are increased speed, strength, elasticity, and coordination. Programming for any athlete involved in a power sport should revolve around improving their ability to move faster by applying greater force in less time. A colleague recently asked me what would be the ideal off-season program for high school jumpers (long/triple/high).
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