Thanks a lot, that's what i'm gonna do! Any tips on the technique after the jump, mid-air and landing, something that I can exercise quickly.
Do you have a springboard? Jumping off a springboard can be really helpful for training mid-air techniques, whether it's hitch-kick or hang the springboard will allow you to get the time in the air to really drill technique. You can many reps with a short run in to a springboard that replicate the air time you would experience in an all out long jump (which of course you can't get a lot of reps out of in a practice session).
As far as the technique you choose it's pretty much up to you if you take to the hitch kick stick to it, if it frustrates you then abandon it. I just pubished a little article regarding the long jump and how largely it's affected by the environment, second link down:
http://iacss.org/index.php?id=116btw, great to see you attempting long jump! It's one of my favorite events (despite the fact I had little success at it) and I hope you success!
