Jumping Is Big Money

Advice from an expert on preparation for learning the olympic lift (clean and jerk, and the snatch):

10. Correct flexibility problems before attempting to coach the Olympic lifts. 

11. One athletic skill should precede learning the Olympic lifts: jumping. The most important skill an athlete should bring to training is the ability to perform a technically sound vertical jump, preferably out of a full squat.

12. Holding a rack position for the clean should be learned before attempting to perform the squat

clean. The improvement of a rack position for the clean depends on the specific impeding problem. Many people can’t get their shoulders forward to rest the bar on the deltoids.  Others take the wrong grip width. Both of these can be experimented with. Figuring out how to front-squat properly will do much to teach the proper rack position. There are a few people who cannot ever rack for a variety of reasons.

http://library.crossfit.com/premium/pdf/CFJ_Takano_12tips.pdf?e=1317413793&h=b049e53ade564912e5a6a0be19625889

I point this info out because some will use it to get themselves ready to Oly lift, but also to make the point that Oly lifting is great for athleticism mainly because it allows one to jump with a load, which is otherwise difficult to do.  That said, if you are training a youngster, one of the absolute finest methods to use for them is to get them to jump.  Make it a game, vice work.  If you want to set up a way for them to jump to progressively higher levels, that's great too, but mostly kids need play.  Broad jumps, box jumps, rope jumping, drop jumps, speed jumps to low boxes, or repetitive jumps to higher boxes ... it is all fabulous, and relatively low risk (no risk training incurs a high risk of having no benefit at all) training for kids. 

What are the benefits?  Well, one is motor neuron recruitment for power output (there're are few of us who don't need this), bone density, coordination, balance and confidence in moving ourselves through space.  If you kids do any physical activity with an eye on performance, jumping is good training for them.  Make as many jumping games as you can.  Note their interest and when it is high, encourage them to play with jumping and give them mountains of attention for their jumping play.  Record their PRs, video their play, tell their grandparents what they've done lately when they can tell you are bragging on them. 

And whatever you do, don't let them get sucked down the black hole of endurance training until they are over 15 or so ... unless you think the gift of a lifetime of SLOW is good.

Some individuals are not ready to begin Oly lifts due to a lack of range of motion at the shoulders, hips and ankles, or a lack of torso strength or leg strength. Standing presses, flat-footed squats with a straight back and straight-legged, wide-stance good mornings will best remediate these issues before technique training can begin.