Ladies, this is how to high jump.

A little less than a year ago I posted a video of ladies high jump, and some thoughts about it. At a new school with some new athletes I thought a little repost was in order. For some people, all you need to do is see it, to understand it a little better. It is my fortune to have some good athletes to work with, but are new to the event and need to learn from the best now. With that in mind, enjoy, even if it is a repeat for some of you.



Here are some of my thoughts from the original post:

• Notice the speed that is gained (for example, the very first jumper--Chaunte Howard Lowe...find some more of her on you tube. You will not be disappointed.)
• Notice the lean in the curve (see all)
• Notice how close these ladies are to knocking the bar off on each jump. (example: the still frame in the video above--looking at that would you guess she makes that jump) Ridiculous! The thing is, they know where it is, and they know they are close, but they do not let that deter them. They do not give up. And in the end they help us redefine what we think is possible.

My thoughts have really not changed. I do, however, learn something new every time I watch this. This time I was reminded that there are many different ways to high jump. Many of the ladies in the video, who are the best in the world, look very different at times. We, meaning you the athlete and me the coach, have to evaluate what may or may not work, implement appropriate changes, and stick with them even though your performance dips down because we know it will eventually coem back up.

Hope you learned a little something.

Coach Nack

High Jump: For the Ladies

So I was going to have my first follow up post about nutrition and protein tonight, but that is bound to take a while and I must do grad school work. However, I did want to post something, and maaaann did I find a good one.

I did not think I was going to watch the following video all the way through, but once started I could not stop early. I love this video. I love it for different reasons: I'm a sucker for the piano (I wish more than anything for a team state championship, secondly I wish I could play the piano), I love the different techniques you see, I love the history, and I love the progression. Enjoy:

To my jumpers:

• Notice the speed that is gained (for example, the very first jumper--Chaunte Howard Lowe...find some more of her on you tube. You will not be disappointed.)
• Notice the lean in the curve (see all)
• Notice how close these ladies are to knocking the bar off on each jump. (example: the still frame in the video above--looking at that would you guess she makes that jump) Ridiculous! The thing is, they know where it is, and they know they are close, but they do not let that deter them. They do not give up. And in the end they help us redefine what we think is possible.

Hope you enjoyed and learned a little,

Coach Nack

Guest coach on Monday 3.22.10

This is not Coach Lozier, but you have to think that height is close

On Monday we had an awesome guest coach stop by our high jump practice, Jeff Lozier (spelling?). Jeff is one of our athletes' uncles and was able to provide some much needed insight that I could never adequately provide, and that is that he actually competed at this event. As a matter of fact, he did so very well. With a PR of 7'6" how could we not listen and learn.

Coach Lozier pretty much took over the practice from the beginning and introduced the athletes to some new warm-ups that involved medicine balls, cones, and speed ladders. The focus of the warm-up was on preparing the athletes for the explosiveness that comes with jumping. The progression:

• Med ball underhand forward throw
• Med ball overhead throw
• Butt kicks for reps over ten meters
• High knees with hamstring kick over cones
• Fall in runs through a progressively sized ladder (loved this drill, esp. for LJers & TJers)

From there we went to the jump apron and worked on circle runs. We started at 17' of radius in the circle, and we ran inside the circle, which was new to me and I loved it. Total of 4 circle runs.

Then came the heart of the practice--approaches and full jumps. Coach Lozier gave all the athletes detailed evaluation of their approaches, specifically in the curve. He was amazingly patient given the recent changes all of the athletes have made to their marks, and as a result their starting marks (the athletes were also patient, bravo!). Takeaways from this:

• We. Must. Jump. Up. (not into the pit)
• The curves significance- this should sound familiar
  
• Measuring your mark- confirm your measurements at all meets with measuring the three sides of the triangle
• Curve initiation mark- I usually wait a few more weeks to introduce this, but it is good to hear it now

Coach Lozier provided personal experience with what it takes to reach high heights and go beyond what we think we can. It is not easy, and nothing is guaranteed, but attention, hard work, and dedication will take you further than you may think. Remember, talent is overrated.