High Jump

High Jump: I couldn't have picked a better field event to start our shift into the field side of track, AKA the more enjoyable part. High Jump is pretty self-explanatory, you jump. The main point is to run at the bar which is placed in front of some mats and jump off of one foot and make it over the bar and and to the mats without knocking the bar off the standers. It seems fairly easy, but the concept and the actual jumping technique are two very different things.

When first doing high jump you must measure yourself some steps. These steps help form a curve that you run on your approach to the bar. To find your steps you use trial and error and try a different starting place each time until you find a place that's comfortable. Once you have this spot you immediately use a tape measure to measure your distance, from the standers, how far out your steps are and how long they stretch down the apron( Apron: the no circle part of the track where kids are found to be most happy.) of the track. When you get these measurements recorded its best to calculate the angle that you create by doing the mathematical formula known as the Pythagorean Theorem. Basically you just take your two measurements and square them, add them together, and square root the sum to get your final measurement or the hypotenuse of our triangle(see figure 2.4). 

Alright so now that we've done the math portion, and obviously marked you down for your work, we're ready to jump! On your run at the bar you wan to keep a tall posture and don't hunch while also increasing your speed. When you in front of the bar and parallel to it that's when you make your giant leap and go flying over into the soft mats. Sometimes, however, you may find yourself brushing your rear end on the bar and thinking to yourself, "Ohh crap Ohh crap!" In this small window of time one will usually find themselves getting out the way of the bar because if you land on it you get a nice big bruise and somehow a tear in our skin. To this day I still am clueless on how landing on a bar can tear your skin off but hey it's about the victories not the failures. 

Now hopefully from what I've described you aren't thinking you jump and you magically appear on the other side because if you are you might as well go do long jump like everyone else. After the jump comes the hardest part of high jump which is arching your back and holding it for the right amount of time. If you hold for the whole jump your legs will it it on the way down but if you snap out of your arch too soon your butt will come down on the bar. 

All this stuff going on at once is very overwhelming but the best advice I've ever gotten is, "Just Jump!!" - Todd Baker. Another good thing to remember is before you take of at the bar just flow forward and backward a few time and scan the area. Maybe even say a little prayer to yourself? That never hurts. Every kid I've seen do all of these usually does pretty good, like 6 Ft. good.

figure 2.4