A surprising success in the long jump

Jackie Cole wanted to get more exercise. She’d been a sprinter, so she thought about the long jump, and her mother encouraged her to try out. That turned out to be good advice because she recently broke a nearly 50-year-old school record – in a sport she’d been competing in for only a few weeks.
Cole, a freshman at Medford High School, just decided to try out for the long jump this spring. One never knows how a new sport will go. But the long jump has gone better than anyone could have possibly imagined.
She credits her speed most of all for helping her fly past the previous Medford record holder. Her record-breaking long jump, which was 16 feet and 9.5 inches, was captured at the Tiger Invite. Cole jumped 3.5 inches further than Pam Ambler, who set the previous school record back in 1973.
“I thought maybe I could get to 16 feet,” said Cole. “But I thought my teammates would be better than me. I didn’t really think I could do that. I was shocked and surprised (to hear about the school record).”
Her head coach, Kevin Werk, said he’s been surprised by Cole for some time. “She started with us when she was in seventh grade, sprinting. I’m glad she had that experience. At her first long-jump practice, she jumped over 16 feet. It's just unheard of that someone jumps that far so early in their time as a long jumper.”
Cole credits her speed most of all for helping her in this sport. “And my mindset,” she added. “The mindset you have at the start of a jump is really important.”
Werk agrees that Cole has speed on her side.
“She’s naturally really fast. Either you have that, or you don’t. There are ways to get faster, and she can do that. Her technique is where we need to focus now. Technique is things like a person’s height (during the jump) and getting their feet out,” he said. “She’s only been doing this for about two weeks, and she’s getting better and better. Practice will help her too.”
Cole says her goal now is to go to state.
“I really want to get to 18 feet, 5 inches,” she said. “I only have a couple of weeks to practice this jump, but that’s my goal.”
Her coach adds, “Anything over 17 feet is a good jump for Class A girls, and she’s in that ballpark. She’s the longest jumper in the section now. But people can come out of the woodwork and surprise you, so we don’t know who her competition would be. Seventeen feet is the automatic qualifier for state, and she’ll have to do that at the section meet. If she could get to 18 or 19 feet, that should make her safe. It should be a guarantee to go to state.”
Cole adds, “I know I need more practices and some more drills. It takes a lot of effort, so that’s what I’m doing now, giving it more effort.”
She also runs the 100-meter dash, the 200-meter dash, and the 4x100 relay. But her greatest focus right now is the long jump. “When I stay after practice sometimes, that’s what I’m working on.” That’s the kind of extra effort Cole believes will help her reach her state goal.