Free Higher (The University of Gatica #3) by Lexy Timms

her leg as if trying to help her jumpers over the bar.
    Jani visualized her run-through and her body position as she would coast over the bar. It was low so she wanted to concentrate on getting her approach spot on. She took a deep breath and forced it out hard as she drove her legs the first two steps of her run. Acceleration kicked up a notch as she leaned into her curve and counted; one… two… three… four-five. She then drove her right knee high, aiming for above the bar and floated over the height.
    It felt like she had loads of time before her shoulders landed on the pink high jump mats and she rolled over into a back summersault.
    “Good drive. I want you to squeeze your glutes tight as you’re over the bar.” Coach Maves used her hands to demonstrate when she wanted Jani to tighten. “At this point, the flexing will pop your hips up and force your back to arch. The bar’s too low so you are being lazy over it.”
    “It felt easy.” Jani tightened her butt and noticed her hips pop out. If she tilted her head back at the same time, it would create even more of an arc over the bar. She would need that at the higher heights when coming down seemed to happen a lot faster than the drive up.
    “I’ll raise the bar up a couple inches.” Maves moved to the standards as Jani walked back to her take-off point.
    “How’s my knee drive?” she asked.
    “Good.” Maves moved to the next standard to level off the bar. “Really good.”
    Jani nodded. Maves only said what needed to be said. She never offered out information unless she wanted her athletes to concentrate on something. When Jani asked why she didn’t say something about each approach, Maves had told her that high jump was fifty percent skill, fifty percent mental. She believed if she filled the brain with too much information it got too confused. It worked great for Jani.
    She stared at the bar and wondered how much higher Maves had set it. It looked ten centimeters higher. About five inches . She still had to translate her metric mind to feet and inches. Canada used the metric system but America refused to change their imperial one.
    After her usual pre-jump routine, she visualized, inhaled a deep breath and took off. Counting as she rounded the curve, she said the rhythm in her head with a quick last two-step and drove into the air again. This time she shot her head back and hips up. She felt her calves brush lightly against the bar and quickly lifted them so they wouldn’t take it down. She landed and got off the mat. “Too far away?” she asked, referring to her take off point.
    Maves nodded and went over to where Jani had planted. She mimicked her knee drive. “You’re a lot faster this year. Even compared to the end of last season.” A starter gun went off at the hurdle area and Maves glanced over. “I think working out in the weight room with your roommate is helping you.” She smiled. “Once you figure out how to control that speed, you are going to fly.” She leaned over to set the bar standard higher. “Again. This time move another show length closer.”
    “Closer?” Jani turned around to double-check with Maves. “You mean away, right? If I’m going faster I need more room.”
    Maves shook her head. “Faster means quicker, shorter strides. You took off too far away because you’re faster. Move a shoe length up. See what happens.”
    Jani did as instructed and pushed out of the back again. She drove her knee high and noticed her hips where almost over the bar before she even began arching. That equalled high jumps. She only noticed that at the lower heights. She flew over the bar with lots of room to spare. She rolled off the pit mats and grinned as she walked over to Maves. “You love it when you’re right, ‘eh?”
    Maves winked. “I love it when a plan comes together. Three weeks till the first meet.” She pointed a finger at Jani. “You’ll make NCAA standard before Christmas.”
    Her eyebrows shot up.