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Due to the this weekend's poor weather our plans have changed. Originally I would have worked on approaches today with a meet planned for tomorrow, but with the many inches of snow we got and the meet being cancelled tomorrow we changed things up (again).
I started my day with the triple jumpers. I realized after watching a great deal of their meet film that a great deal of them have been having serious "issues" with their hop phases. Check out the two videos below:
In this video, the athlete has a wonderful hop phase but is unable to properly complete the step phase as desired and doesn't finish the jump with a proper landing. What I want to bring your attention to is the hop phase! This jumper had WONDERFUL mechanics in his hop phase - watch it closely to see the proper mechanics/rotations/etc. If he learns how to go just a few feet less in the hop, he could potentially add as much as 5-6 feet in the step phase. Instead of going 16 feet in the hop, and 5 feet in the step phase (like in this video) he could go 14 in the hop phase and go a minimum of 10 feet in his step. That would add 3 feet RIGHT NOW in the first two phases alone. If he learns how to land that could add another 3 feet, and this athlete (as a sophomore) could easily go 40 feet!
In this jump, you'll see the opposite from the jump above. This athlete doesn't rotate her jump leg well during the hop. She leaves it below her at all times which makes her contact the ground sooner. If she learns how to properly rotate the jump leg, she will add a great deal of distance! Her jumps ranged from 30-31 feet total during this meet, but this athlete has a much higher ceiling if she understands the hop phase, and becomes more comfortable with the overall jump!!
Our session today in triple was to help the athletes practice this rotation and to get comfortable with the hop phase in general. They responded well! I'm very excited to see what they'll do in their next competition(s) - whenever that may be...
After triple was done we had pool sessions with our sprinters/jumpers today. We worked on explosive plyometrics and sprint mechanics and the kids had a blast.
TOMORROW
We had a meet planned tomorrow - but it has already been cancelled. Instead, we are taking our entire team to the local bowling alley and are having a team-bonding outing together. I am REALLY looking forward to this!!!