As a junior in high school, I do many events, mainly sprints and relays but the two sand based jumps are my speciality. Recently (actually yesterday) I got 44’ 1 1/2” doing triple Jump at a dual meet. That got me thinking. What do you guys think is a good mark for TJ? I know people don’t pay attention to this event, but I want to know what you guys have to say.
I think 44 is pretty darn good for a HS junior. I've coached at a small high school for the past six years, and we've only had one kid at 44-mid , and another just over 45. Both did that their senior years, hitting 41 and 43 as juniors. Both placed second at our small school state championship meet.
Anything over 56 feet is considered very good.
Had Some Myself wrote:
I think 44 is pretty darn good for a HS junior. I've coached at a small high school for the past six years, and we've only had one kid at 44-mid , and another just over 45. Both did that their senior years, hitting 41 and 43 as juniors. Both placed second at our small school state championship meet.
Will echo the coach's comment that 44 is really good for a high school junior. There don't yet have lists for the top prep outdoor marks but here at the best for indoor:
51-3 Justin Forde (McMahon, Norwalk, Ct)
50-10 Christopher Alexander (Rocky River, Mint Hill, NC)
50-8½ Salif Mane (Taft, Bronx, NY)
50-6 *Jadan Hanson (Uniondale, NY)
50-2½ *Sean Dixon-Bodie (Bloomfield, Ct)
Keyonte Midgett (Highland Springs, Va)
49-10¼ Eric Haddock (Southeast, Raleigh, NC)
49-9 Mason Henry (Glen Allen, Va)
49-7¼ Jeremiah Willis (Cicero-North Syracuse, Cicero, NY)
49-5½ Deandre Stapleton (Lake Ridge, Mansfield, Tx)
You are only 5 feet from making that list which would put you in the top 10 in the country. Since it is still early in the season, I would recommend your goal to improve maybe 2 or 3 feet more this season which would put you at about 46 or 47' which would be superior prep marks. Who knows what you might do next season and beyond.
This video has some tips on improving your technique.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PMDDGoYxcQ45 feet is a pretty good benchmark, but it really depends on how good your technique is. If you have a little short step phase, you would have to be a pretty talented athlete to jump 45 feet. On the other hand, if you have even phases and know how to pull the ground under you when you land your hop and step, even a fairly average athlete will be able to go over 45 feet.
One way to understand how good your triple jump mark is is to compare it with your long jump PR. Triple jump should be around 2 x (your long jump PR + 1 foot ) if it is more than this, you have pretty good triple jump technique, if it is less, you don't. So, under this formula, a triple jumper with good form can go over 45 feet with a long jump PR of 21-6 or even less, but even a 23-6 long jumper will struggle to jump 45 if he has a little short step phase.
utbcw wrote:
45 feet is a pretty good benchmark, but it really depends on how good your technique is. If you have a little short step phase, you would have to be a pretty talented athlete to jump 45 feet. On the other hand, if you have even phases and know how to pull the ground under you when you land your hop and step, even a fairly average athlete will be able to go over 45 feet.
This. 45 feet seems more competitive than it is because there are so few coaches out there with any idea how to coach triple jump. Our school has had 3 girls jump over 41 feet in the past 6 years, for perspective, because we are one of the few schools around who has a coach with any clue how to teach the tj. Meanwhile, most schools in our league cant get a guy to do that.
So if you're jumping 45 feet despite poor coaching, that's pretty impressive. If you're doing it with good coaching, not as impressive.
I think I tripled about 41' even in high school as a 21' long jumper.
My teammate got our school record at 45'7"
Based on that I think 44'+ for a junior isn't bad.
Notatriplejumpcoach wrote: Our school has had 3 girls jump over 41 feet in the past 6 years,
In the US there has been two girls total who have jumped over 41 feet in the past 6 years and they were from different states.
44 in high school is darn good. My son won three state titles in triple jump; twice 45-something and once 47-something.
jumpin jimminy wrote:
Notatriplejumpcoach wrote: Our school has had 3 girls jump over 41 feet in the past 6 years,
In the US there has been two girls total who have jumped over 41 feet in the past 6 years and they were from different states.
Not sure where you are getting your information, but just this indoor season three girls have gone over 41 feet.
44-2½ Jasmine Moore (Lake Ridge, Mansfield, Tx)
41-9¾ *Alissa Braxton (Commack, NY)
*Morgan Smalls (Panther Creek, Cary, NC)
40-11½ Jazlynn Shearer (Silver Creek, San José, Ca)
40-11 Christina Warren (Perkiomen Valley, Collegeville, Pa)
40-5 *Tesia Thomas (West York, York, Pa)
40-3¾ **Riley Ammenhauser (Neuqua Valley, Naperville, Il)
40-3¼ Teresa Myrthil (Robinson, Fairfax, Va)
40-1½(A) Anna Hall (Valor, Highlands Ranch, Co)
Claudine Smith (Atlantic City, NJ)
44' is decent. 45'9" is the indoor nationals qualifier, and while triple jump is weaker than some other events because it's such a specialized event, it's still nationals. I would say 45" is probably a similar level to a 4:30 miler, so pretty good, but not national class. 50" is like a 4:10 guy, and you can fill in the rest. So you'd be somewhere in the 4:33-4:34 range, which isn't bad at all, especially in an event that's so hard to coach.
I mean, I'd say its a pretty good mark for a girl. Probably get a partial scholarships in a mid-major somewhere. If you keep improving, you might score some points for your school at nationals someday. Keep up the good work!
44 is pretty good for a junior in high school, but depending on what state you’re in, you may not make it to the state meet. In fact you need one more foot to even qualify for states in the highest classification in some states. You might win or place at some meets, yes, but you are not strong enough to compete routinely on a statewide level.
However, if this is the first meet (I’m assuming it is) then in the next few meets you could see an improvement of a couple feet or more. My philosophy is that you have your mark for this year, and plus or minus 2-3 feet and that’s your range. If you practice diligently, work on your form and don’t tire your legs, you could possibly get 47, which is good enough to place at state meets.
I would also echo Sally Vix’s video in her response in the way that you should work on standing, 3 step, and 5 step. Another workout I recommend is bounds, (Right, Right, Left, Left, R, R, L, L). Also be sure to work on your second phase because any good triple jumper in high school can execute a good first and third phase, but it’s in the 2nd phase in which you make up distance. You should be shorter on the first phase so you can maintain your speed through the second and third phases. Kids nowadays make the mistake of jumping too far on the first phase and then their last two are below average.
One more thing is to set a goal for yourself. If the school record is within reach this year, make that your first step, then it’s qualifying for your conference, qualifying for states, then peaking around 1 to two weeks before the state meet. If you knock those goals out of the way early, rest your legs for the meets that matter (AKA the conference meet, the state meet, the meet everyone talks about).
What’s your competition level like? Are you the best in the area or are you lagging behind?
Some dude from NC wrote:
44 is pretty good for a junior in high school, but depending on what state you’re in, you may not make it to the state meet. In fact you need one more foot to even qualify for states in the highest classification in some states. You might win or place at some meets, yes, but you are not strong enough to compete routinely on a statewide level.
However, if this is the first meet (I’m assuming it is) then in the next few meets you could see an improvement of a couple feet or more. My philosophy is that you have your mark for this year, and plus or minus 2-3 feet and that’s your range. If you practice diligently, work on your form and don’t tire your legs, you could possibly get 47, which is good enough to place at state meets.
I would also echo Sally Vix’s video in her response in the way that you should work on standing, 3 step, and 5 step. Another workout I recommend is bounds, (Right, Right, Left, Left, R, R, L, L). Also be sure to work on your second phase because any good triple jumper in high school can execute a good first and third phase, but it’s in the 2nd phase in which you make up distance. You should be shorter on the first phase so you can maintain your speed through the second and third phases. Kids nowadays make the mistake of jumping too far on the first phase and then their last two are below average.
One more thing is to set a goal for yourself. If the school record is within reach this year, make that your first step, then it’s qualifying for your conference, qualifying for states, then peaking around 1 to two weeks before the state meet. If you knock those goals out of the way early, rest your legs for the meets that matter (AKA the conference meet, the state meet, the meet everyone talks about).
What’s your competition level like? Are you the best in the area or are you lagging behind?
I’m either first or second. If I keep improving like you say, I’ll definitely get first in the conference. The only guy that is higher then me jumped a 45 9 I believe at an indoor meet, but idk what he’s doing this year. So my focus is breaking the school record (44 7) and then getting 45 for the state meet and getting it out of the way early. If I get both on one jump that would be fantastic. Hopefully at an invitational in the next week or so or the one after.
utbcw wrote:
One way to understand how good your triple jump mark is is to compare it with your long jump PR. Triple jump should be around 2 x (your long jump PR + 1 foot ) if it is more than this, you have pretty good triple jump technique, if it is less, you don't.
Where did you pull this out of? In 24 years of coaching collegiate jumpers, I have never heard this. I had a kid jump 54' who couldn't long jump 22' to save his life. I had a girl that jumped 43'4 who was about an 18 foot long jumper. That analogy most certainly is nothing I have ever found to be true...but maybe I am just not the norm. Interesting nonetheless.
I would think mostknowledgable coaches would agree that the general notion that a triple jump should be more than double, but less than triple the distance of a long jump is intuitively reasonable.
Take the women's world record in the long jump ( about 24.5 feet). add 1 foot and double it and you get about 51 feet - which is the world record for the women's triple jump.
Take the mens world record in the long jump ( a little over 29 feet) add a foot and double it and you get a little over 60 feet, which is the world record for the men's triple jump.
My own LJ and TJ PR's (24'2" and 50'4") happen to fit the formula exactly, though it could all just be coincidence.
My point was that if an athlete's PR's were not in line with this ratio, they were likely better developed in one event than in the other.
jumpin jimminy wrote:
Notatriplejumpcoach wrote: Our school has had 3 girls jump over 41 feet in the past 6 years,
In the US there has been two girls total who have jumped over 41 feet in the past 6 years and they were from different states.
No.... not true...
Anything under 60ft is hobby hopping.
you’re crazy? Where on earth have you seen a high school girl jumping 45? If you can break 45 you can go to nationals as a boy, girls don’t even have to break 40! And nationals aren’t competed as schools? They’re individual USATF competitions? You have no idea what you’re talking about
What would you say is a good mark for a freshman? I currently jump 32 10 3/4, which I'm told is pretty good for my age (14), and where should I aim to be for sophomore year?