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The approach is done in three phases: the start, the continuation, and the transition. I will go over the continuation and transition phases. To be consistent, an athlete must understand how to approach the pit properly or all their hard work will be for nothing.
The Continuation Phase
This phase of the approach is all about CONTINUING the momentum an athlete creates when doing a proper start (refer to the start page for more info). The phase itself is simply a fancy word for "sprinting." Unfortunately for many high school athletes, the understanding of HOW to run has never been taught to them. They don't understand the proper limb motions and mechanics to create the most force/speed while running. To assist with this (which will ultimately help them as long/triple jumpers as well) is the wicket drill. I included a video of an athlete of mine working with the wickets, and have included a phenomenal article below for additional support.
The Transition Phase
This phase is all about TRANSITIONING from being a runner to a jumper.
For long jump, this means performing a "penultimate step". The athlete's last two steps should be flat and should be done very quickly.
For triple jumpers, this means continuing their sprinting mechanics while not driving their knee like a long jumper.
For the best support, I highly encourage you to check out my book "Long Jump & Triple Jump: From the Ground Up". I have an entire chapter dedicated to the various "takeoffs" in the long and triple jumps and provide countless videos to assist with all that readers will need.
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