Hey Lance, it's spring again, so I started for over a month now training for the long jump besides strength training and dunks/basketball , I trained as I always do with acceleration work, a few 70% runs (>100 m), bounds, pen drill, some hurdles, pogos ,broad jumps and of course long jumping itself.
After starting with some 5 step approaches, I used what you taught me (start from the take off point and sprint backwards and mark where I can jump from) and did 35 meter approaches for the first time, also doing some PR jumps (around 23 feet), and I want to get comfortable with these longer runs and go as close as I can towards 26 feet (seems very far right now). I'm using the sail technique right now, and have no landing what so ever, I land like in the broad jump.
The question I have, besides what I already do right now, what drills would you recommend me so I can transition more easily into a longer approach, and what drills do you think can help me with the take off and flight phase. After I will get all of these I'll ask about landings too, but it doesn't make any sense to think about that right now.