When it comes to basketball this is what everyone seems to want to improve upon the most.  The vertical jump.  So if we want to help our athletes improve their vertical jump what should we focus on with them to help them achieve it?  First work on improving their strength.  If athletes want to jump higher then strength needs to be one of the first things they focus on.  The reason is we need to be able to create a base and force.  

The next area we need to focus on is teaching the athlete how to land.  This is one area where most people think they do this correctly but all is takes is one improper landing and a injury can occur that might sideline an athlete for a couple days or even up to a year.  Being able to set the body up for the next move is key because the game of basketball is such a quick paced game that getting the body prepared for what comes next is important to a player’s success.

After the landing is taught we then must focus on the take off.  This needs to be taught to maximize the ability of each athlete.  We need to focus on helping the athletes get in the right position to jump.

The final phase I like to focus on with my athletes to improve their vertical jump is Force.  The more I work with athletes and see the great one jump high one thing stands out to me and that is the amount of force they apply.  While this is not the easiest area to teach or get an athlete to understand it is very important.  To keep it simple the force I am referring to is the interaction of two objects.  So when it comes to a vertical jump the interaction is between the jumper and the ground.  Physics taught us that if we push on an object the object is going to push back with equal and opposite re-action.  If we can get our athletes to apply more force into the ground we can help them improve their vertical jump.  We can achieve this by doing the things mentioned here:

Strength

Landing

Take Off

Applying Force

If we address these areas with athletes we can help improve their Vertical jumping ability.

Let me know what you think?  Question/Comments?

P.S. Grab this great resource on helping kids improve their acceleration, deceleration and re-acceleration.  This Special Report “Run Like Barry” is available for FREE just go here to download you copy www.coachbrix.com   Also April 9th come and get certified as an agility specialist.  Go here to learn more.  Why Become Certified     

P.S.S. Be on the lookout for Coach Brix Jump program.  A program designed for athletes to improve their 2 feet, 1 foot, running, and basketball moves jumping.  Raising the bar and taking it to the next level of training athletes. teaching an athlete to land has 2 benefits.  First help mitigate the chance of injury.  Second set up the bo