The experiment
Every high jumper learns the Fosbury flop. But most never fully understand why the approach curves. They run the J because that's what everyone does, without realizing the curve is the secret weapon that separates a technical jump from a glorified hop.
When you run a curved path, your body must lean inward - like a cyclist banking into a turn. That lean comes from the ankles, not the waist. Your body stays as a straight line from ankles to shoulders, tilted toward the center of the arc.
This inward lean stores angular momentum. When your plant foot strikes the ground at the end of the curve, that stored momentum converts into rotation over the bar. The curve does the turning for you. A straight approach forces you to manufacture rotation at takeoff - which kills your vertical lift. The curve gives you rotation for free.
The curve radius matters. Most high school athletes work best with a 25-35 foot radius. Tighter curves generate more rotation but are harder to control at speed. Wider curves are easier to run but don't store enough angular momentum. Your experiment: find the radius where you can run fast while holding a consistent lean.
By the penultimate step - that second-to-last step before takeoff - elite jumpers show 34-45 degrees of lean. You should feel like you're "falling" toward the center of the curve. If you're running upright through the curve, you're leaving rotation on the table.
The penultimate step is where the magic happens. It's slightly longer than your other strides. Your hips drop 2-4 inches as your foot rolls heel-to-toe. Think "Long-Short-Takeoff" or "Down-Up-Go." That lowering loads your leg like a spring. The final short step snaps you into position. Then the plant foot strikes at roughly 35 degrees to the bar - not parallel, not perpendicular.
The plant position determines everything. If your foot plants parallel to the bar, you'll jump into it. If it plants perpendicular, you'll jump across the pit. The target is that 35-degree angle, foot dorsiflexed (toe up), full-foot contact on the ground.
Try this at practice
Drill 1: Tape line curve runs
Setup: Lay athletic tape on the apron in the exact J-curve path your athlete will use in competition. The visual feedback is immediate.
Execution: Run directly on the tape, focusing on foot placement under the center of mass. 5-8 reps.
Coaching cues: "Stay on the line." "No wide steps." "Hold the curve."
What you're watching for: Feet landing on or inside the line. The moment an athlete steps wide - especially on the penultimate - you'll see it immediately. The tape doesn't lie.
Drill 2: Penultimate lowering drill
Setup: 5-step approach on the curve. No bar, no mat jump. This isolates the last three steps.
Execution: Over-exaggerate the heel-to-toe roll on the penultimate step. Feel the hips drop. Execute the rhythm but don't jump - just run through. 5-8 reps.
Coaching cues: "Long step." "Roll through." "Feel the drop."
What you're watching for: Hips visibly lower on the penultimate. Athletes who rush this step stay high and flat, killing their stored energy. Make them feel the loading.
Coach's clipboard
Error: Flattening the curve
The athlete runs a curved approach but straightens out in the final steps, planting nearly parallel to the bar. You'll see them falling on the bar instead of over it.
Fix: "Hold the curve." "Run deep into the plant." Use tape line curve runs until the pattern sticks.
Error: Looking at the bar
Eyes go to the bar during the approach, causing the athlete to decelerate and lose lean. The curve falls apart.
Fix: "Eyes forward through the plant." "You know where the bar is - trust your mark." Some coaches put a target cone at the plant point for visual focus.
Error: Planting too close
The takeoff foot lands directly next to the standard, leaving no room for vertical lift. The athlete jumps into the bar.
Fix: "Take off 3 feet from the near standard." Walk the approach and mark the ideal plant position. Most high school athletes plant too close because they're afraid of running past the bar.
Error: Planting too far
The takeoff foot lands too far from the bar. The athlete clears vertically but drifts past the bar horizontally.
Fix: "Attack the bar." "Run deeper into the pit." This is often a fear response - they're creating distance. Build confidence with bungee work before addressing the mark.
Multi-event alert
High jumpers who also long jump or sprint share a common training benefit: approach speed work. Flying 30s and rhythm sprints improve both events. The controlled acceleration you need for the high jump curve translates directly to long jump consistency.
But save your max-effort jumps for one event per practice. The single-leg landing stress of long jump and the eccentric plant of high jump both tax the same systems. If you're practicing both events in one session, do technical work (short approach drills, mark work) for the second event - not full-approach competition jumps.
Your nervous system doesn't know which event caused the fatigue. It just knows you're depleted. Manage the load or watch performance drop in both.
Go deeper
The High Jump Coaching Handbook covers the complete progression - from first-year athletes learning to land on their backs to advanced bar clearance drills. Full drill library, error correction matrix, and competition management strategies.
The High Jump handbook is one of the eleven Track and Field Lab Handbooks coming to the store. The Complete Lab will bundle all eleven.
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