The Broad Jump
Here, we measure horizontal power — your ability to send force forward, the direction sport actually travels. Acceleration, first steps, and open-field speed all draw on it.
What this looks like
You stand with both feet behind a line, swing your arms, and jump forward as far as you can — landing on both feet, under control. Best of three. That's it.
Every athlete already knows this test — most have been doing it since elementary school, which means no learning curve gets between you and an honest measurement.
Why we test it
Because this is one of the clearest ways to see whether you can take the force you create and send it somewhere useful.
Plenty of athletes train strength, and some train jumping — but very few ever find out how much of that work actually turns into distance, into force moving forward, which is the direction sport happens. Your first step, your acceleration, your break on the ball are all horizontal. The broad jump asks the question all of those depend on.
What we're really looking for
The tape measure gets a number. We're watching how the number gets made.
- Do you load smoothly, or rush and collapse into the movement?
- Do you project forward, or just pop up and land close?
- Do your arms and legs work together — or fight each other?
- Can you land what you produced, or does the landing take the distance back?
Strength, coordination, timing, and control all show up in one jump — which is why two athletes can hit the same distance in completely different ways, and leave with completely different training plans.
What good looks like
A smooth, unhurried load. Real forward projection instead of vertical pop. Arms and legs on the same schedule. A landing that's balanced and quiet.
And if you want numbers — here's the published range, from a study of 2,140 kids across seven countries using the same protocol we test with.
| Age | Middle of the pack | Top 10% |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | 4'8" | 5'8" |
| 11 | 5'0" | 5'10" |
| 12 | 5'5" | 6'4" |
| 13 | 5'6" | 6'2" |
| 14 | 5'5" | 6'9" |
| 15 | 5'7" | 6'6" |
| 16 | 5'11" | 7'4" |
| 17 | 6'5" | 7'6" |
| Age | Middle of the pack | Top 10% |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | 4'6" | 5'9" |
| 11 | 5'0" | 5'9" |
| 12 | 4'11" | 5'9" |
| 13 | 4'8" | 5'10" |
| 14 | 4'6" | 5'6" |
| 15 | 4'7" | 5'9" |
| 16 | 4'4" | 5'5" |
| 17 | 4'2" | 5'7" |
Worth knowing: these are everyday kids, not athletes — training athletes usually sit well above the middle column. And growth spurts move these numbers around, which is why your trend beats any single reading. (Source: Thomas et al. 2020, ages 6–18.)
For a far-end reference: NFL Combine athletes commonly clear 10 feet, and the record is over 12 — the same simple test, years of development later.
When the number and the ability don't match
This is where the broad jump earns its place. Sometimes an athlete jumps shorter than their strength says they should — and the reason is visible:
- Distance that doesn't match how strong you feel → the force is there; the direction isn't yet.
- Collapsing on takeoff → the jump is leaking through positions you can't hold.
- Arms out of sync → a timing pattern, very trainable.
- A crashing landing → force you can produce but not yet absorb.
You've probably felt the sport version of this: slow first steps despite strong legs, takeoffs that feel muscled instead of springy, the sense that you have more but can't get it out. Sometimes the opportunity isn't more power — it's how your power is being used.
What we do about it
Your jump — the distance and the way you produced it — tells us whether the next gains come from force, timing, loading mechanics, or landing control. Then we train that, specifically. Improving your broad jump usually isn't about jumping more; it's about clearing the path your power travels through.
What's underneath this number
Forward power runs through the whole chain: ankle stiffness at takeoff, hip drive in the air, trunk control at landing. When the jump plateaus, the next gain is usually a layer down.