Standing Long Jump Progression
Ages 7 and up · Soft grass or a mat strip, a takeoff line, a tape measure or marked distances
The standing long jump is the purest power lesson in youth athletics: one two-foot leap whose distance is decided by the loading swing (arms back, hips back), the violent full-body extension, and the landing thrown forward. It teaches force production and landing mechanics at once, needs a patch of grass and a tape measure, and its measured nature makes it the perfect race-your-own-log drill.
The landing standards matter as much as the leap: two feet together, knees bending deep to absorb, arms sweeping forward for balance. Jump training for kids is landing training wearing a fun costume; hold that line and the drill is both safe and endlessly motivating.
How to run it
- The loading swing alone: standing at the line, swing the arms back as the hips hinge back (the coil), then swing through hard as the body extends tall. Five rhythm reps, no jump.
- Small jumps grading landings only: modest leaps landing two-footed, knees bending deep, stuck like a gymnast. Five reps.
- Full jumps: the loading swing flowing into a full leap (arms hurling forward-up, hips extending completely, knees driving), landing thrown FORWARD (feet reaching ahead, arms sweeping front to avoid sitting back). Five measured jumps.
- Measure from the line to the closest mark (the heels), log the best honestly, and race only the log.
- Two or three sets of five with real rest. Sessions end while landings are still crisp; tired jumping is neither safe nor productive.
What to say
Common faults and fixes
No coil (jumps from a standstill, arms as decoration).
The rhythm reps re-run before jumping: back-swing-and-hinge, then through. The coil is where distance hides; kids gain measurable inches the day the arms join.
Landing stiff-legged or sitting backward (losing distance and the safety standard at once).
The forward-thrown landing drilled at small distances: feet reach, knees fold, arms sweep front. Stuck landings are the permission slip for bigger jumps; grade them every rep.
Volume creep (twenty-plus max jumps chasing the tape).
The set caps and freshness rule: power work is small doses at full quality. The log grows week over week, not rep over rep; say it and enforce it kindly.
Make it easier, make it harder
Small leaps with landing-only grades, jump-and-stick games, no measuring until the pattern is smooth.
Measured weekly bests in the log; jump-jump-jump triples (consecutive bounds, landings held between); lateral and backward variations; box-less depth-free progressions only (drop jumps and boxes belong with coaches and age-appropriate programs).
This page teaches the drill. ParentEdge builds it into a plan for your kid.
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