Is a 28-30 inch vertical good for HS?
Backpeddling (running backwards on your toes) is also a good way. As footballguy said, focusing on your calves will help (but don't neglect your thighs). but regarding that 60-inch vertical, maybe your coach was using centimeters. i don't care how you're measuring - no one's getting close to a 60. as the guy above said, M. Jordan's was only 45-48 inches.
Is my vertical jump bad, average, or good?
At your size that vertical jump is fairly above average, probably about 27 inches. This is a good vertical jump and can match up with several NBA athletes(only problem is most are 6'4-7'0). There are several ways you can increase your vertical. Weight lifting is common in vertical jumpers. Begin with squats, deadlifts, hang cleans, and calf raises and work from there. Work on your running ability to, the faster you are before jumping, the more height you will get. There are also several programs that give great results, but nowadays 80% of them are scams and or ripoffs. If you want any help putting together a program increasing it even further feel free to message me.
How much does a running start have to do with vertical leap?
You can jump higher of one foot after running than on two feet from a standing position because your body has momentum. The secret is to convert that momentum from horizontal to vertical. This requires planting the foot which means the momentum has to go somewhere. The secret is finding the proper speed. If you go too fast, your foot will either slide or will take the excess momentum as strain on the ankle. If you watch highjumpers, they have learned the proper speed at which to run that enables them to transfer the most momentum from horizontal to vertical. Find YOUR correct speed to reach your best altitude. It's usaually about 2/3 full speed. Stand under a basketball hoop and jump off two feet. Now go to the foul line and run 2/3 speed and plant your foot beneath the hoop and jump off one foot. When you land almost directly where you took off, you have found the optimum speed for YOUR jump.
How can I increase my vertical jump for basketball?
Increasing vertical leap is an area of sports that truly requires "blood sweat and tears". According to the Jump Manual, anyone can increase their vertical leap to the high forties or low fifties (inches). I'm not certain whether this is true, but I DO know it's true that you can train your muscles to become bigger stronger and faster. The key though is to work mostly on the explosive power of your legs, not just their physical strength. In junior year, my basketball coach had the team do plyometrics every week to improve vertical jump. I didn't really work hard at it because I'm 6' and can jump two feet or so, but a few players improved their jump by around 4 inches in just two months because they really worked hard at it...did them until they were sore for days afterwards and at least 3 times a week. Basically plyometrics is doing series of squats and lunges. You can do regular squats and lunges, then add variation like kicking out to the front, side, and back with each squat or lunge. Finally there are also squat jumps and jumping split lunges where you must jump up between each repetition. These are the most difficult, as doing 40 left my thighs burning. Now, I'm not sure whether this is advisable, but the ultimate challenge with this would be to hold dumbbells in your hands as you do them. The added weight of 20 to 40 lbs should provide extra weight to increase the strength of your legs. And if it makes you feel any better, I can't touch the rim - at 12th grade. I'm 3 inches shy of the basket =( Good luck.
How much vertical does a 5' 11" need to dunk?
Measure your standing reach (max touch with arm in the air flat footed). It should be approximately 7'8 or thereabouts. The rim is 10 feet tall so you need to jump 28 inches to touch it. Depending on your ability to palm the ball you will need somewhere between 34-38 inches vertical at least to dunk. If you can't palm the ball and have to dunk 2 handed your vertical leap needs to be over 38 inches. Vertical leap is actually measured standing but the run up figure is more important for dunking as you will be attacking the basket to dunk in a game. To dunk with good consistency and in a pressure situation you should shoot for a 38 inch vertical for a 1 arm dunk and 42 inches if you have to dunk 2 handed. To increase, do these 2/3 times a week: Ab work like crunches, sit ups, ab curls, planks Upper body exercises like military press, bench press Lower body exercises like squats, jump squats, deadlifts pylometric exercsies such as box jumps off 1 leg and 2, sprints, depth jumps, standing long jump Dunk practise and regular testing of your vertical leap helps you stay on track. If you manage to dunk on 9 feet for example then 12 inches more vertical will be dunking on 10 feet.