Modern approaches to the selection and orientation of athletes for the running high jump

Background and Study Aim. Selection and orientation are important and relevant issues in various sports, including high jump, as they aim to identify an athlete's suitability for a particular sport, reveal their abilities, ensure the effectiveness of the training process, and achieve high results. This issue is of interest in sports science and practice, primarily regarding the identification of the most talented children and their orientation toward further sports specialization. The purpose of the study is to investigate modern approaches to the selection and orientation of athletes for high jump training in the early stages of training. Materials and Methods. The study involved 35 children who expressed a desire to engage in running high jump. The experimental group included 23 children (average age 10.4±2.24 years) who best met the specified selection criteria. To conduct the pedagogical experiment, the physical fitness of the study participants was tested and their anthropometric indicators (body length, body weight) were measured. The study used the following methods: analysis of scientific and methodological literature and Internet resources, generalization of the experience of leading coaches and our own experimental research, surveys, pedagogical observation, pedagogical experiment, testing, expert evaluation, medical and biological methods, and mathematical and statistical analysis. Results. In the course of solving the research tasks, it was established that the selection of athletes can be successfully carried out on the basis of the comprehensive use of relevant indicators, the most important of which are anthropometric measurements, indicators of physical development, and the rate of their growth in the initial stages of training. Analysis of the data obtained during the pedagogical experiment shows a a high correlation with athletic performance at a reliable level (p ≤ 0.05) for three control exercises: 20 m sprint (r = 0.707), standing long jump (r = 0.642), and standing vertical jump (r = 0.691), confirming their particular importance for achieving high athletic performance in the running high jump. Conclusions. The results of the study prove the need for a comprehensive approach to athletic selection and orientation in high jump based on the most informative parameters of special physical fitness, anthropometric indicators, and the formation of psychological preparedness through the introduction of modern methodological approaches, which ensures the improvement of the training process and and enhances the effectiveness of predicting athletic performance.