There is a simple principle in the high jump – whenever the athlete starts wrong, they will ultimately finish wrong.
The high jump starts with the approach. The approach is unique to each athlete, with a variety of factors to consider.
In the video below, Jeremy Fischer, who works with the United States Olympic Training Center and is on the USA Track and Field San Diego Imperial Board as the Track and Field Chair, shows how he teaches the approach.
He helps to alleviate the guesswork by establishing guidelines on how to measure the approach and create a radius that will allow each athlete to run more smoothly and turn effectively. He breaks down the specifics on how to determine proper start marks and jump marks.
The YouTube video below has sound, so please make sure that your volume is turned up and that you have access to the site. Note that some schools block access to YouTube.