Improving the Vertical Jump

There are a few ways you can improve your athletes vertical jump. There are various exercises, plyometrics, and platform drills you can do to add those extra inches onto your athlete's vertical jump. The most important (and most over-looked) skill is the ability for your athlete to perform the vertical jump in the most efficient way possible.

The following is a guideline that can be used to help your athlete achieve his/her in the vertical jump goals.

1. INITIAL STANCE

• Feet shoulder width apart
• Arms straight into the air
• Athlete should be on ball of his/her feet
• Head straight forward, looking forward

2. Downward Acceleration Phase

• Swing the arms down and behind you as fast as possible while squatting down. (remember athlete should be bent at the hips rather than the knees. Athlete should learn to be hip dominate)
• A couple things to remember for this phase. Make sure your athlete has their head up looking forward, not up. Also, make sure the athlete maintains a nice straight back.

3. Re-acceleration Phase (Amortization Phase)

• The main focus here is on EXPLOSION!
• Remember, amortization in the vertical jump is the ability to go from the eccentric motion (downward acceleration phase), to stop, then right back into a concentric motion (jumping up). Encourage your athlete to spend as little time as possible at the end of the downward acceleration phase (eccentric motion). The longer the athlete stays in the stop position, the more potential energy that could be turned into kinetic/mechanical energy is lost.
• There should be full extension at the low back, hip, knee, and ankle
• Take off from BOTH feet, not just one.

4. Landing

• The landing is crucial to preventing injury
• Make sure athlete lands on both feet!
• Allow hip and knees to bend. This allows the absorption of the force onto the body as a whole, rather than just the knees and ankles. This motion is similar to the squatting down action of the downward acceleration phase.

Final thought to consider. When performing the vertical jump, encourage your athletes to focus on using their arms. 15-20 percent of the vertical jump height is determined by the athlete's arm movement or swing. With this in mind, when you are conducting drills for the vertical jump, do not just focus on lower body work... Core work must also be done to help stabilize the body on landing to prevent injury, along with upper body (mostly rear delt/delt) work to establish a base on the arm swing.