Question for coaches: What are box jumps for?

[Kiwi]

My DD's group have to do 100 box jumps during conditioning. DD and some of the others are starting to get very sore feet when they do this. DD tells me it doesn't seem to be working any particular muscles. Can someone tell me what is the purpose of this exercise?

 

[Aussie_coach]

Developing explosive power of the legs. They should be done fast and the kids should be pushing up off the box if they are done correctly. 100 seems excessive but it depends on the size of the box.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

and not every day.

 

[All Chalked Up]

We do them off a folding mat, forwards and backwards and landing on out toes for ankle strength. Not sure if it actually wotks the ankles though...

We also do them off the vault when coach is feeling nasty

 

[BlairBob]

100 in a row is just metabolic conditioning. It just makes them tired. By that point, you are way beyond what is an acceptable range for plyometic work. And a box jump isn't really the worst or best drill for leg plyometrics.

If the height is too low, again it's just metabolic conditioning and not power production.

 

[Kiwi]

It is a high box, I haven't measured it but I would guess around 50cm, and these girls are about 9 years old, roughly 130cm tall. They train 3 days a week, but I don't know if they're doing these every time. From what I've seen, they don't seem to push up when they are at the top, which I imagine would work the quads. It just seems like they are pounding their feet to bits.

 

[Aussie_coach]

It sounds like the gym is going for quantity over quality. Kids this young need to be very closely supervised during conditioning and need to have what they are doing corrected or its value is significantly decreased.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

especially when executing plyometrics. these can be dangerous if not supervised. ^^^