Coaching and Care of Athletes

THE BROAD JUMP We will assume that the jumper springs from his right foot. Unless he takes off consistently from the ball of the foot he should have a spike in the heel of the shoe. In any case the heel of the jumping foot should be protected by a small pad of Sorbo rubber placed inside the shoe. The take-off board must be hit fairly by the jumping foot, and the take-off must be made by the athlete's rocking from his heel on to his toes in a forward foot-roll. He will straighten his right leg fully in the take-off, and raise his left knee)· but it must not rise above the level of its own hip. The hips are raised by means of the right-knee lift. In all forms of jumping the knee of the take-off leg must be given the high position. The arms have a slightly Qblique cross-body action, with perfectly loose shoulders . At the take-off some athletes fling up their arms in the way shown by Long (Plate XLVII, Fig. I43) and Etheridge (Plate XLV, Fig. I 35), but, for the sake of balance, it is better to divert the opposite arm to the take-off leg-as Owens is doing in Plate XLVI, Fig. I38. It must not, however, be carried behind the body. Properly balanced arm and leg action, with correct knee– lift and body-angle, are essentials well shown by Owens in Plate XLVI, Fig. I38. The number of running strides the athlete uses in his mid-~ir movement pattern depends upon his speed, spring, and technical ability. There is one main consideration in forming the run-up. It is to have the athlete running at maximum, controlled speed when his foot hits the take-off board. The first essential is that the broad jumper should comme~ce his run-up from a concentrated, well– balanced position. The perfect poise of Owens when upon the point of starting his run-up is shown in Plate XLVI, Fig. I37· To form the run-up some coaches recommend the athlete to stand on the take-off board and run back approximately go ft. Where his foot falls on the fourth stride is marked as Check Mark 2; where his take-off foot falls nearest to go ft. back is marked as Check Mark r. His starting-line is marked IO ft. behind Check Mark I. In the run-up the . take-off foot should hit each check mark and the take-off board, he should travel at increasing speed between Check Marks I and 2, and should coast the last four strides (about 24 ft.) from Check Mark 2 to the take-off · board without decreasing his speed. As in the pole vault, the stride plan to be used in the run-up may be considered in relation to the type of athlete. Broad 365