Game version
Landing zone: set a landing zone and take your approach to it, landing softly. The pair cheers each soft landing.
Pop-Up Jumps
Short-run take-offs where you hold the knee-up flight shape before landing.
By Coach Evan Waechtler Youth coach (U11, Cache Valley, Utah) and founder of SSTracker Updated October 30, 2026
Set up
Run in 4 to 6 steps.
Core: Usual. Beat your own softest landing.
- Ages
- 11 and up
- Time
- 12 min
- Players
- Just you
- Space
- Yard or field
- Bring
- Sand pit or soft grass
- Level · skill
- Developing · Jumps
The steps
How it works
- Run in 4 to 6 steps.
- Take off and hold your free knee high, opposite arm up.
- Land on two feet in the sand.
- Do 10 jumps.
Coaching point
Pop and hold.
Safety: Only with a coach, on a full-size landing mat or a raked sand pit. Land on your feet or seat, never your head. If you fall and hit your head, stop and see a doctor.
Make it fun
Play it, don't drill it
Challenge
Pick a level: Less (a short approach), Core (usual), More (your full approach with your coach watching). Beat your own softest landing.
Story
You are a kangaroo hopping across the plain.
My best
Beat your own count
Beat your own softest landing. Only your own number counts: today against last time.
Practice makes progress
Print it now, or save it free
Free for families and teams
Save this drill to your child or team, free
Sign up and the free track and field week for this age opens in your child's planner, kept to healthy limits. A coach can send this drill to the whole team as homework, and parents see every session logged.
14 days free for a family, no card · Running a team is always free
Does your child's coach know about this?
An email from you to the coach, with the words ready. Nothing is tracked and nobody is rewarded.