Track & Field Jumping Practice Plan for 9 and 10 Year Olds
At 9 and 10, jumping gets its discoveries: the TAKEOFF LEG announces itself (found by feel through comparative leaping, never assigned), short RUN-UP jumps arrive (three-to-five step approaches, the future long jump's embryo), and landings graduate to STICK standards (two-second holds, knees tracking straight). The chalk keeps all of it a carnival with slightly better bookkeeping.
This session runs about 45 minutes on grass with chalk. Bounding makes its first appearance as giant-steps play, the jump-and-reach gets its monthly chalk line, and rest stays real between max efforts. The frame for the age: jumping is sprinting that leaves the ground, and every jump session quietly banks both.
This plan was written for every 9 and 10 year old. ParentEdge writes one for yours.
Built around their game, their goals, and what they’re working on.
How is the takeoff leg found, and does it match handedness?
By comparative feel: a few leaps off each foot, and the body votes clearly for most kids (often, but not reliably, opposite the writing hand). It gets a title, not a monopoly: both legs keep bounding and hopping, because ambidextrous springs serve every sport the kid will ever play.
What is bounding and why start it as giant steps?
Exaggerated flying strides (each step a mini-jump): the fundamental jumps-and-sprint power drill. As giant-steps play (fewest steps across a stretch), it self-teaches the drive and rhythm with zero technical burden. Formal bounding volume waits for older tendons; the giant's walk is the right dose now.
When do real long jump pits and high jump mats enter?
With track programs and coaches: sand pits, runways, and scissor/flop technique are facility skills. The home curriculum (takeoff leg, short approaches, stick landings, springs) is exactly what makes a kid pit-ready: coaches inherit the athlete and add the venue.