Gwen Wentland is a former world-class high jumper, Olympic coach, and college coach. In the video below she shares 8 High Jump Specific Drills that you can utilize to effectively train your high jumpers.
Here are the 8 High Jump Specific Drills demonstrated in the video:
Circle Drill
- Athletes run in a circle (males radius 30-50ft and females radius 22-30 ft)
- Shoulders back
- The inside foot should come across the midline of the body
- Run both directions
Figure 8 Drill
- Allows athletes to feel the transition on each curve
- Aids in maintaining balance on each side
Circle Drills with Pop Offs
- Athletes run in a circle with the same fundamentals as the circle drill
- Every 5 steps they will execute a pop off
- The last two steps should be really quick
- Emphasize vertical drive
Pop Off Between Hurdles
- Small hurdles placed approximately 3ft apart
- Athletes will execute a pop off between each hurdle
- Emphasize being quick off the ground
Rhythm Drill
- Run 10 steps with a pop off at the end
- Be sure that the last two steps are really quick
Skipping Take-Off Drill
- Emphasize bringing the take-off leg directly under the center of mass
- The athlete should drive their take-of foot down into the track
- The drive knee should come up and block
Galloping Drill
- Push off the back foot
- Pull with the front foot
Running the Curve
- Run 100 meters on the curve of the track
- 4x is a typical workout
The video below was taken from Coach Wentland’s complete high jump training course. For more information about that course click the following link: Effective Practice Drills for the High Jump