Evaluating and Comparing your Broad Jump

The broadjump is a drill used to measure how far an athlete can jump from a standing position. The NFL has potential players perform this exercise during its annual combine, and uses the results as one of the many ways to evaluate the athletes' power. Below we have synchronized two athletes' broadjump trials. We've also slowed down the side-by-side video to help with the comparisons. And beneath the video window, we've included stillshot images of each athlete during key positions of their trials.


1. Loading Phase
During the loading phase, the athletes swing their arms back, in preparation to swing them forward. They will use this forward momentum to help them jump as far as possible. Also, notice their hips, knees, and ankles are all flexed (sometimes referred to as "triple flexion"). By flexing at these joints, the athletes are building up potential energy that will be released during the liftoff phase. From these two images, we see that the second subject has a slightly deeper knee bend than the first subject.




2. Liftoff Phase
During the liftoff phase, the subjects swing their arms forward and upward, and use this momentum to help propel their bodies forward. We see that the first subject extends his arms all the way, while the second subject has his arms flexed at the elbows. The second subject can definitely improve his form by extending his arms fully. Driving your arms forward as far as possible will allow you to use all the energy your arm swing can provide.

Also worth noting, their lower bodies also go through "triple extension" now (hips, knees, ankles), converting the potential energy into kinetic energy. We see that both subjects take off at about the same angle relative to the ground.




3. Maximum Height
In the pictures below, we see the key positions showing the subjects' centers of mass (COM) at their maximum heights, and at what distance from the start their maximum heights occurred. An athlete's COM during a jump follows a path similar to that of a ball flying through the air - in other words, it follows a parabolic arc. It will reach its highest point midway between the distance it is thrown. By driving your arms upward and forward you can get your COM higher and further forward. By then driving the arms down and bending your hips and knees forward at the top of the jump, you keep your COM elevated allowing you to gain added distance before touching down. Lifting your arms arms/knees and bending hips raises your COM. We see that the first subject reaches his maximum height at a further distance than the second subject.For the second subject, it's difficult to anticipate whether he will land closer or farther than the first subject though, as his maximum height is a few inches higher.

Both subject 1 and subject 2 have not remained fully extended through the peak of their jumps and have started to rotate for the landing. Subject 1 has begun to lift his chest, while subject 2 has already dropped his arms and brought his knees forward. Keeping yourself extended, as long as possible, through the peak height of your jump will allow you to jump further. A body position midway between that of subject 1 and 2 would probably be ideal.

At the peak of the jump it is now time to start rotating your body to get your legs out in front of you. The distance of the broadjump is measured where your toes land, so upon reaching the top of the jump, you should get your legs out in front of you. To make this happen, drive your arms downward and bend your hips and knees up toward your chest. Do not lean back as subject one has began to do; it is better to bring your hips and knees up to your chest.




4. Landing
In order to land safely and get the most distance out of the jump, our subjects flex their hips and extend their legs, landing on their heels with their toes pointed upwards. The second subject lands with his torso bent forward a bit more; but besides this and the placement of their arms, the subjects' landing techniques look quite similar.




5. Finish
The broadjump distances were measured from the subjects’ starting toe positions to their final toe positions. In order to absorb the shock of their landings, it’s important that the subjects bend their knees through impact. We see that the first subject doesn’t flex his knees as much as the second subject, and as a result ends up falling forward a bit at the end of the trial. This shouldn’t matter much though, as the jump distance has already been measured and the purpose of the drill isn’t to work on the landing. However, if someone was performing additional movements at the end of the broadjump (some training camps have the athletes do three consecutive broadjumps and measure the overall distance), it’s recommended to have more of a controlled landing at the end of each jump.




We hope you’ve enjoyed this article, and that you’re getting out there and filming great videos of yourselves and your athletes for detailed analysis!

Football Quarterback Throws - The Long and Short Pass

The NFL is becoming a very offensive game, with quarterbacks like Peyton Manning, Tom Brady and Phillip Rivers airing out long passes regularly and using short quick passes to their running backs more often than the hand off.

The reasons for the increased amount of passing in the NFL are still up for debate. The simple fact is that the teams whose quarterbacks are throwing more are winning more. If throwing is the winning formula then all teams are going to try it.

All this throwing makes for exciting football. Hail Mary passes for touch downs, miraculous interceptions and numerous spectacular catches have all been part of the 2009 season. The wide receivers have to be on their game and the quarterbacks have to throw accurate passes with the right amount of force , often under pressure.

The quarterback has two basic options when throwing a pass. He can either step into it and air it out for distance, or he can throw a short accurate pass.
In both cases it is important to use proper mechanics to achieve the results and also to prevent any injury to the shoulder or elbow.
In general the best mechanics for all throws can be described as:

1. Aim your non throwing shoulder at your target.
2. Step forward with the opposite foot to your throwing arm to counterbalance the throwing action.
3. Rotate your hips toward your target followed by your shoulders and finally your throwing arm.
4. Follow through with your throwing arm, so that you put speed on the ball and prevent injury.

Lets take a look at two different types of passes, by our two quarterbacks. These quarterbacks (myself and Dennis) are weekend flag football quarterbacks and do not have the best mechanics. Although we will comment on their mechanics (good and bad) we are focused on the differences between the two throws.

The first throw shows QB1 stepping into a throw and attempting to follow the mechanics described above. He is attempting a long throw to his wide receiver way down the field.

• QB1 starts by taking a few steps back. Most quarterbacks do this to create some room to step into a throw. This is not always possible, but it is usually necessary if you are trying to throw to a wide receiver way down field.
• He then does a little skip hop to position his back foot at right angles to the direction he wants to throw. He does this so that his hips also remain closed to the target (at right angles).
• His lead shoulder (left) is also pointing toward the target. This also keeps his shoulders closed to the target.
• The red arrow shows how QB1's hips will rotate toward the target, while the blue arrow shows his shoulders. Rotating first his hips followed by his shoulders toward the target will create a kinematic sequence which will allow QB1 to put more speed into his throw and therefore get more distance. The kinematic sequence was first described in golf but it can and should be used to create power in any throwing or hitting sport. The idea is that by first accelerating your hips, then shoulders then arm toward the target in the throw you will create the most energy for the throw with the most efficiency and least effort.
• Our QB1 does not make best use of the kinematic sequence as his hips and shoulders rotate toward the target almost simultaneously, but he is still using his rotational energy to create throwing speed.
• Finally he follows through with his arm across his body to obtain maximum speed until ball release and allowing his arm to decelerate after the throw.

Now lets look at QB2 , who is also stepping into a throw, but he is keeping his hips and shoulders open to the target and using mostly his arm to make the pass. With this technique it is very difficult to throw a long pass and is usually used in rushed situations and for short passes.

• QB2 also takes a few steps back to create space. This is not necessary to throw a pass like this but it may give the quarterback some time to make a decision.
• He also takes a skip hop but lands with his back foot facing toward the target. This keeps his hips open to the target.
• His lead shoulder turns a little toward the target, but he cannot turn as much because he has kept his hips facing the target. Turning his front shoulder toward the target a little, allows QB2 to get a bit of rotation of the shoulders into his throw.
• The red arrow describes the direction of QB2's hips moving forward and the blue arrow the direction of his shoulders. He is not using the kinematic sequence to create arm speed in this case. Although by turning his front shoulder a little toward the target, he is getting some of the energy of rotation that the kinematic sequence gives a thrower.
• Unlike QB1, QB2 needs to use much more strength in his throwing shoulder and arm to throw his pass. For this reason it is very difficult to throw a long pass using this technique. If QB2 attempts to throw as hard as he can with this technique he could cause shoulder or elbow injuries, because of the extra stresses and forces on his muscles.
• QB2 is meant to be throwing a short accurate pass, but he does release the ball a little early, so we will assume he was just trying to lob it over the defenders head.
• Finally QB2 follows through across his body, allowing his arm to decelerate without injury.

Watch the quarterbacks in the NFL and notice when they throw with an open hip and shoulder technique and when they rotate toward the target. In most instances you will see that they use the kinematic sequence and rotate their hips and shoulders into the throw to create good accurate passes, even for short passes.

Once in a while however, usually when they are under pressure, you will see them launch a pass with hips and shoulder facing their receiver and using mostly their arm power and little rotation.

Enjoy the rest of the NFL season. We hope to see many more games with more than 300 yards passing. Get out your video camera and film your throwing mechanics to compare to the pros.

Which Sport Has Bigger Hits, Rugby or Football?

Most of us who have watched or played both Rugby and Football know that the tackles are often hard and dangerous. We also regularly try to compare the hits. Is it worse to be hit hard in a rugby tackle or in football?

On the football field the force of the hits look more spectacular. Players can be tackled in numerous ways, even with the head. The aim of the tackle is to stop forward progression and bring the player down to stop the play. In a great tackle the player is also trying to make the receiver or ball handler fumble. In getting hit there is the added concern for the wide receivers who have to watch the ball and often jump for the catch. They can get hit while still in the air and without expecting it. Of course the athletes are also wearing padding and helmets and therefore have some form of protection.

In rugby the tackle is meant to stop forward progress of the ball handler and to simultaneously bring him to the ground so that he can not pass the rugby ball out quickly. Tackles in rugby often need to be lower (around the knees or waist) to ensure the player goes down. The tackle also does not stop play and players need to be ready to get up and tackle again almost immediately. Of course in rugby there are no helmets or pads, so there is little protections for a big hit.

OK so which tackle is harder on the player? We could measure the speed of the players as they run into each other and weight that against the benefits of the padding. In the end both sports have big hits and there are too many differences in the rules of the game and the equipment to truly compare them. So take a look at these two videos, the first of big hits in rugby and the second of some big hits in football and make up your own mind.





Hope you enjoyed watching those big hits. The Tri-Nations Rugby Tournament between South Africa, Australia and New Zealand is nearing an end as South Africa continue to dominate World Rugby. Meanwhile the NFL preseason is in full swing and starts proper in mid September. So enjoy the big hits from the upcoming Tri-Nations games and NFL season.

Let us know which sport you think has the bigger hits and why.