How can i get better on high jump?

i'm in track and my event is high jump. i want to jump higher but i don't know how. my coach says that i need to jump straight up and then arch... but what does that technically mean? i'm only 5ft 4 but i am the only 8th grade girl for our team and i need to get points for the team. help!|||I high jump too, and to get the arched form, do bridges on the ground and hold that position, so when you jump over the bar you want to be in that position. And when you first jump, do almost a supermario jump (see below). When you jump over the bar, lift up both of your arms as if you are trying to throw yourself over it.





Some drills you can do are dolphin kicks, hurdling the bar, and scissor kicks.





To do a dolphin kick, stand on a box next to the mat, jump up, arch your back, and kick you legs up. If you want, you can lower the bar a bit, and if you have a bungee cord, use that instead of the bar so you don't have to keep readjusting it.





Hurdling the bar mostly strengthens your leg that you jump off of. Lower the bar to maybe about 3'2"-3'4" (lower if you want) and stand as far away as your steps, but directly in front of it. The run and jump as if you were hurdling it, but use your jumping leg.





Scissor kicks also help your leg. Keep the bar at the same height as mentioned above but stand off to the side of the mat. Run and lift the leg closest to the mat up then push up with the other leg (which should be the leg you jump off of). When you are doing this, it is like you are pretending to be a giant pair of scissors.





Oh, and a fourth drill you can do are jumps for height. It is kind of like a super mario jump. Push off with your jumping leg and raise the opposite arm, but keep it at a 90 degree angle. (Although when you really jump you will be lifting both arms).





The fourth drill is good because it is as if you are about to jump the actual bar, but there is nothing there at all. I personally think this is the best drill.





So for form, do bridges and try to get your body to arch that way when you jump the bar. Over time, you'll get used to it and you will be able to jump higher heights.





Hope this helps :)|||Start with calf raises, squats, clean jerks, and jump rope. That will increase your vertical. Then watch videos online of actually technique to high jump from the pros. They will break down every aspect of the jump and what you should be doing at what exact moment. This is just the first video I found, I'm sure there are loads more to help you...





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CuTSkO06l鈥?/a>





http://www.wikihow.com/High-Jump-(Track-鈥?/a>