Wait for the Ground to Come to the Foot When Performing the Triple Jump

Field Events: Coaching Cue for the Triple Jump Step Phase

Dick Moss, Editor, PE Update.com

When performing the triple jump, many beginners rush the step phase, hurrying the foot to the ground in an effort to maintain their speed and produce maximum power for the final jump. This premature dropping of the foot reduces the length of the step and total distance.

In fact your jumpers should “ride” the step phase as long as they can, pulling their foot back and under only at the last moment.

Coaching Cue
A coaching cue you can use to communicate this concept is to instruct your jumpers to “wait for the ground to come to their foot.”

This cue will give them the feeling of extending their step phase as long as possible before driving backwards with the foot.

Reference:
1. Ed Jacoby & Bob Fraley, Complete Book of Jumps, Human Kinetics Publishers, 1995.
2. Beatriz Scaglia, Pole Vault the Javelin: The Book of Track and Field (Sprint, Triple Jump, Shot Put, Discus Throw, and More), Webster's Digital Services, 2011.

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