You Will Need
- A high Wall or Fence
- A Measuring Tape
- A ‘Tester’ with a Pencil/Chalk or similar to mark the height of your jump
How To Set Up and Record Your Result
Begin standing sideways to the Wall or Fence you will be using, with your dominant arm a few inches from the surface. Your feet should be around shoulder-width apart, arms by your side. With your feet flat on the ground, place your dominant arm only straight up above your head and touch the wall as high as you can. The Tester will put a small mark on the wall right at the end of your fingertips, which will represent your standing reach.
You will then take up your start position again, but this time when you are ready, you will dip down and again using your arms to help you, explode off the ground touching the wall with your dominant hand at the highest point possible.
The Tester will be on hand to place another small mark on the wall at this highest point. (Alternatively, the participant may hold the chalk and mark both their standing reach mark and jumping mark at the top of the jump).
Complete 3 attempts and place a new mark on the wall if you manage to beat your previous effort.
The Tester will then measure the distance between the two marks in centimetres (cm) and let you know your best result.
Once you’ve got your jump height, record it in the Healthy Kidz App under Sports Day>High Jump.
Coaching Tips
- Focus on coordinating your arms throughout the movement to make sure they’re as high as possible when you touch the wall.
- Dip down quickly and not too deep into a squat position before executing your jump.
- Make sure you land in a safe position once you have completed the jump, on two feet with knees slightly bent.
How To Prepare
Practice your jump with and without the chalk in your hand to see how it affects your jump height. If you’re struggling to jump and mark, make sure your Tester is close during your jump to quickly mark your effort. Have a look through some of our Healthy Kidz Workouts (found on the Healthy Kidz YouTube Channel) and pick out your favourite squat/jump exercises to help build your strength and power, like Sumo Squats and Frog Leaps.
Try putting some of these tips on technique into practice away from the wall to start www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wzwf0eDAMCE.