Expert: Matt - 3/4/2004

Question
I am in highschool. I am 16, and a sophmore. I am about 5'7 130 lbs, not very muscular, I don't work out much. I really just started to do the triple jump last year as a freshman and I started out good for a beginner. My first jump was 32+, but then after that every jump was less and less and I don't know why. I took the advice of my father and my coach and I worked on my sprinting which they say will help me jump farther but it hasn't shown much results. I haven't done very much weight training, but I do have a full gym at my exposel pretty much whenever I want it so I can do whatever training would be good for me. As of right now I can only jump about 26 feet, and I measured my hop, the first jump and I only get like 9 feet. I think that is my problem I can't get my hop down.  I really think that I need to work on my technique and my approach, but I was never really shown or tought how my body should be possitioned when I am going threw the different phases of the jump.

Answer
Bryan,

No need to worry.  You are still young and a lot of improvement will come simply from growing.  Furthermore it is not uncommon for performance to decline as you learn an event.  Often when we first do something that we are unfamiliar with we are drawing on instinct and using motions and skills that are second nature to us.  That will only bring someone so far and that is why we practice proper technique.  Proper technique takes a long time to learn, and in the learning process we do not perform as well because we are not as familiar with the motions.  In the long run things will get better.  Your father and your coach are right to encourage you to work on your sprinting.  The most important part of the Triple Jump is horizontal velocity.  At your age your greatest gains are going to come from developing speed, strength and sprinting technique.  Now when they say to work on your sprinting, that is not something you do for a couple weeks and then move on to jumping, it is a continual process of developing throughout your career.  
  As far as your hop is concerned that is not bad.  I can't say without seeing you whether it is you limiting factor but I can tell you that at this point in your development the three phases should be of equal length.  Here are some specifics about the first phase that may help you.  First let me say that these are guidelines and they are not things you should be thinking about on the runway, they are things the coach should be looking for.  Your actual takeoff angle should be about 20 degrees.  Your upper body is upright, hips high, and driving both arms.  Your takeoff leg should be fully extended and you should drive the other knee till your thigh is parallel to the ground.  Then you bring your takeoff leg through to recover for the next phase.  This should be executed by bringing your heel to you butt as it comes back in front of you.  You make the transition into the next phase with a “pawing/clawing” action.  Your foot should be flexed and should strike the ground at the midfoot, then you pull it through and take off your toe.  The transition from the step to the jump is also performed by “pawing”.  
  Now in order to practice these you need to slow things down so you can focus on specific skills.  Start with standing one-leg hop repetitions, making a circle with your foot by fully extending the leg, then bringing the heel up through your but, and then driving knee before landing back on the same foot.  Next do the drill while walking.  You are not trying to cover distance, your focus should be on executing the motion.  To work on the step phase you can do consecutive bounds.  You are going for maximum controllable distance with each stride.  Drive your knee to get a longer stride; do not reach with your foot.  You should land full footed, not on your toes.  Also drive both arms with each bound.  After these drills you can do standing triple jumps.  Again you are going for distance but your primary focus is executing the techniques correctly.  Once you become proficient executing the techniques in these drills you can begin doing 3-5 stride jumps.  This is a progression so start with three and only go as fast as you can while performing perfect technique.  Gradually add speed and intensity as you become better.  Don't rush things, for younger jumpers 90% of work should be drills and conditioning.  Starting right off doing full jumps will be reinforcing bad habits, that is why we slow things down, break the jumps up and do drills.  Keep working on your sprinting and the approach.  There is much more but hopefully this is a start.  I would recommend buying a Jumps book.  There you can find more drills, weight lifting programs, running workouts, and technical tips.  As far as lifting goes, you should be training for general full body strength.  Ask your coach for a lifting program.  Don't forget your abs!  Ab strength is vital to maintaining proper posture through each phase of the TJ.  Good luck and remember to be patient.

Matt