The High Jump by Joey DiCarlo

Event: High Jump
World Record: 2.54 m. (set in 1993 by J. Sotomayor - Cuba)
DRD Record: 1.67 m. (set in 2000 by J. DiCarlo - Finland)For several years after I set the DRD high-jump record, adoring fans would come up and ask me what the secret to my success was? Although I admit that I had given the question a great deal of thought & I desperately wanted to bestow some great nugget of high-jumping wisdom upon them: quite frankly - I couldn't answer them.

Was it the adrenaline from the so-called 'heat of competition'? Was it my rigorous training regimen? Was it the three bowls of Lucky Charms I had for lunch that day? Maybe it was the fact that I am freakishly tall (well...Isaac put that one to rest), or maybe it was just simply the natural inclination of persons with a first initial "J" to set high jump records?

I honestly did not know.

But that was then and this is now. I have had nearly 8 years to reflect on my success and that is why I was thrilled when the 2008 DRD Planning Commission asked me to share these three simple high-jump training tips with you.

1. Diet - Before each workout and / or competition I recommend a performance enhancing beverage known as 'Fizzy Lifting Drink'. If there was one thing that I have come away with from all the time I spent in Germany with Charlie & Grandpa Joe, it is that this stuff works wonders for your "ups". (Just watch out for the industrial ventilator fans above & don't sign any legal documents without reading them first)

2. Video Tape - Sure we all know what the great Football coaches are doing on Sunday or Monday night, but what are they doing on Tuesday afternoon? Answer: Video Tape. Yes, well as long as they don't have to be bailing their sons out of jail (i.e Andy Reid) anyway... they try to find some time to review footage of future opponents and then, by identifying patterns, they tailor their play book to best counter the other team's strategy. Now the same can be done while training for the DRD high-jump. Want to improve that lift off? Trying to get more flip out of that 'Fosbury Flop'*?

Well, then I recommend:
1. watching U2's 'Elevation' music video - it's very inspiring!!!
2. a screening of the Disney classic 'Son of Flubber', and of course...
3. the movie that has practically become synonyms with the high-jump event: 'Les Cousins Dangereux.' It's a little slow at first and the dialogue is sometimes hard to follow but this is a French masterpiece. (I love the way they think)

3. Jumping High - one of my favorite track coaches once said "if you want to run fast, you have to... run fast." (wait, wait, wait just a sec...now that I think about it, this is the same coach who once entertained the idea of having me stand very close to his office window with the hopes that said window might close in a guillotine-like manner and I would then be transformed into his team's best female distance runner...okay you know what, on second thought... you know what - let's scratch the "favorite coach" part) but all that aside - what I think he meant was, 'don't just train for distance races with 6 days of LSD and a couple of 200 m repeats on Thursday before dinner'. 'Train fast, run hard & teach your muscles what it feels like to run fast'. When race day comes, you will, guaranteed, run fast(er).
Wise words indeed, and I have been able to apply that principle to my high-jump training as well.
I still hit the bunk bed pretty hard every now and then but now that I am married that is usually reserved for nights when me and the Mrs. are on the outs. Now-a-days I make my way out to the local "hood" for some old fashion high-jumping; colloquially known as bass-et-ball or "ball'n" in that particular part of the city. (see picture below). There is really nothing like crunk'n, dunk'n and hittn' nutt'n but net...

I highly recommend it for the Distance Runners Decathlete approaching 30 years of age.

* the 'Fosbury Flop' is closely related to the 'Rockefeller Skank' and in Sub-Saharan Africa the terms are used interchangeably