Coach ,

With indoor season approaching we are always on the lookout for fresh drills that we can add to get a competitive edge. 

We’ve taken three drills that renowned track and field coaches with decades of high-level experience employ with their own teams, and are sharing them with you. 

Ajamu Olaniyan - Skip Flat-Flat Drill

Ajamu Olaniyan - Skip Flat-Flat Drill

Ajamu Olaniyan is a three-time National Champion and a seven-time All-American in the triple jump. 

During his noteworthy coaching career, Olaniyan has worked with numerous state qualifiers and athletes who have competed at the collegiate level. 

In Coach Olaniyan’s ‘Key Drills for Successful Long Jump Performance’ course, he explains the Skip Flat-Flat Drill, which focuses on the transfer of horizontal momentum to vertical lift. 

This drill begins with the jumper taking one leap forward on their dominant leg (emphasizing getting vertical), landing on that same dominant foot, and then transferring their weight to the other foot before exploding into a one-footed long jump. 

Coaches will want to keep an eye on whether their athlete is driving both knees up on each jump, driving their arms up on the final long jump, whether their toes stay pointed outward and their heel pointed outward, and if they’re applying force into the ground after their initial jump, which will build horizontal momentum.

Justin Kinseth - The Chair

Justin Kinseth - The Chair

Justin Kinseth is entering his sixth season as head coach of the UW-Oshkosh men's and women's track & field teams in 2022-23.

Justin Kinseth’s ‘Horizontal Jumps Development - Justin Kinseth’ clinic discloses a favorite long jump drill of his, which he calls the chair drill. 

The chair drill begins with an athlete sitting on the edge of the chair with their knees already bent at a 90-degree angle. 

They will then lift their legs up before getting into their “plucking” position, which requires reaching and extending down through their legs, and will finally touch the ground with their hands at the end of each rep. 

Another version of this drill can come with the chair being placed either on or right in front of the sand. The athlete will go through the same motion, and then when the ‘plucking position” arrives the player can push themselves out of their seat and onto the sand. 

Rob Assise - Galloping Single Arm Drill

Rob Assise - Galloping Single Arm Drill

Rob Assise has 17 years of experience teaching mathematics and coaching track and field at Homewood-Flossmoor High School. 

Coach Assise’s ‘Feeding the Cats with Jump Drills by Rob Assise’ course includes a Galloping Single Arm drill. 

The drill requires the athlete to gallop on a flat surface, working to swing the arm that’s opposite their jump leg. 

Coach Assise explains that he likes to have his athletes imagine “doing the biggest windmill dunk of all time” or “wiping a huge circle on an imaginary wall”. 

Coaches are looking for a big arm circle while keeping an eye on the knee’s height on the swing side and the jump side as they work their way through the drill. These should stay below parallel to the ground, so as to not compromise the posture of the pelvis and torso. 

Never get out coached, 

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