Jump and stick
Transcript
Before any jump training, learn to land. Here's how. Warm up first, with an adult watching. You need flat grass and a line. Watch. A small jump, then land on the balls of your feet, knees over your laces, hips back, chest up. First, land without a sound. Then, stick it like a statue for three seconds. Not this, stiff legs. Now jump sideways over the line, onto the other foot, and freeze. Two rounds of ten, five each leg. Two or three days a week, not in a row. If your knees or heels hurt, stop and tell an adult. Then take the free test at footballreach.com.
What it trains
Learn to land before you add jump training: land softly on the balls of your feet, hips and knees bent, and hold it still. The one-foot version is the skating jump from FIFA 11+ Kids, FIFA's warm-up for ages 7-13.
Set up
- Warm up first
- An adult watching
- Flat grass
- A line on the ground
How it works
- Warm up first, every time: the FIFA 11+ Kids warm-up (ages 7-13) or FIFA 11+ from 14 (episode 2 shows it), or your club warm-up, with a coach or parent watching.
- Two feet: on flat grass, dip and do a small jump straight up. Land in the same place on the balls of your feet, hips and knees bent, and freeze for 3 seconds. Do 5.
- One foot: stand on one foot beside a line. Jump sideways over it, land on the other foot and freeze for 3 seconds, then jump back. The video is side-on, so the sideways jump looks like a jump on the spot.
- Do 10 jumps (5 landings on each leg), rest, then 10 more. 2-3 times a week, never two days in a row.
- Check the landing knee front-on in a mirror or phone video: it should point where your laces point, never caving inwards.
Coaching points
- Land without a sound. Let your hips and knees bend as your feet touch: knees over your laces, hips back, chest up. Then let your heels settle.
- Stick it like a statue. Freeze in the landing for 3 seconds, balanced over your feet, before you stand up or jump again.
Not this
Landing on stiff, straight legs. The landing is loud and jolting, and you cannot freeze in it. Bend your hips and knees as your feet touch instead.
Dose
- 2 rounds of 10, 5 each leg
- 2-3x a week, not in a row
Our target: 5 two-foot landings (our pick), then FIFA 11+ Kids skating jumps: 2 rounds of 10, 5 a leg, each landing held 3 s.
Harder / Easier
Harder
Jump a little further sideways, still sticking every landing for 3 seconds. Add more jumping only when every landing is quiet and still.
Easier
Step sideways onto one foot and hold it for 3 seconds, with no jump. Or stay with the two-foot version until every landing is quiet.
Safety
- Do this with a coach or parent watching. Bodyweight only.
- Flat grass or another soft, non-slip surface with space around you: never a road, or a rug on a smooth floor.
- Keep the number of jumps low: injury risk rises when jump volume is more than you are ready for.
- Under 16: if your knees or heels hurt when you run or jump, stop and tell an adult. Knee and heel pain is common while you are growing, and a GP or physio can help. 16 and over: stop rather than train through pain, and get it checked by a GP or physio.
Sources
- FIFA 11+ Kids trial manual (skating jumps, level 1) (opens in a new tab)
- FIFA - 11+ injury prevention poster (landing) (opens in a new tab)
- PubMed - FIFA 11+ Kids trial (Rossler 2018) (opens in a new tab)
- NSCA - Youth resistance training (2009) (opens in a new tab)
- NHS - Knee pain (opens in a new tab)
- NHS - Heel pain (opens in a new tab)
Not sure which skill to work on first? The free Football Reach test gives you a Player Development Score and shows which of the four corners of your game to work on next, in about two minutes.
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