Running and jumping into a sand-pit doesn’t seem that hard, but when you put form into a jump and try to get your farther it gets harder. This is an event on the Woodland track team called Long Jump.
Long jump starts with raking and smoothing the sand pit, which is done to ensure a safer landing for a jumper. A good jumps starts with a proper marking from the jumping line. For girls, this line is eight feet, while boys start farther, at twelve feet. A proper mark comes from a jumper counting seven sprint steps from the line and marking there, but also must check this line to make sure it will not lead to a foul.
After a jumper gets the correct mark, they start the jump. In NVL meets, each jumper gets three chances to attempt their long jump. Each time, they try to increase the distance of the previous jump for the best final mark. This can also be achieved through the several different types of jumps.
Most commonly jump, a jumper will use the “hang-sailing” method. According to greatestsportingnation.com. The “hanging sailing” is right after the jumper leaves the ground from the right line. The jumper lifts their legs into a toe-touching position and extend as far as they can. This helps the body “sail in the air.” The hanging part is lengthening the body and having the athlete snap their legs forward so they could land properly. Another form is hitch-kick. The hitch-kick is a more advanced and harder type of jump than hang-sailing. Hitch-Kicking is when you cycle/run through the air.
Coach Schultes, the jumping coach for the Woodland boys’ and girls’ team, has set up a series of drills to improve jumps. Some drills that the jumpers do are perfect sprinting which is sprinting as hard as you can sprint while maintaining great form. Jumps for height which means jumping as high as the jumper can while sprinting. A step, B step and C step are all similar. A step is a skips where your foot hits the ground having your knee bend at 90 degrees but your don’t jump as much as a regular skip. B step is like the same as A step but you extend your leg out after you bend it at 90 degrees. C step is like A step also but you just put your knee out to the side of your body instead of infront.
Gianna Polletta, Long Jumper for Woodland Track, says she likes it because it’s different than other events. Long jump is also good to help set goals for yourself and challenge yourself. With hard work and doing the drills correctly you can definitely improve in long jump.
