Putting his best foot forward

Ronnie Black started off on the right foot on his high jump attempts this season at Virginia Commonwealth University.

An ankle injury showed that he really was getting off on the wrong foot.

The 6-4½ rising sophomore is scheduled to compete in the USA Junior National Track and Field championships this weekend in Eugene, Ore. He'll be jumping off his left -- and more natural -- foot while trying to exceed the 6-10¾ mark he cleared during the season.

Most high jumpers are right-handed. They approach from the right side and jump off their left foot before flopping over the bar.

"If you took 100 jumpers, maybe 20 would come from the left side," said VCU assistant track coach Ron Jones, who works with the Rams' jumpers.

Black is right-handed, too. But when he first tried jumping as a junior at Menchville High School in Newport News, the line to practice was shorter on the left side. So Black approached from that way and went airborne off his right foot.

"I guess they just assumed I was left-handed," Black said. "Nobody really asked."

Probably because Black was doing just fine. He finished second in the state Group AAA meet as a senior with a leap of 6-4. He was in the 6-6, 6-7 range this year before spraining his right ankle in midseason.

When the ankle was slow to regain strength, Jones suggested that Black jump off his left foot.

"I noticed in drills that he had a lot more pop and explosion off that foot," Jones said.

The switch to the opposite side also meant a complete overhaul of his run to the bar and his technique. The process is ongoing as he gets comfortable, but Black has gone from 6-6 in his initial attempts to the 6-10¾ that qualified him for the NCAA East Regional.

Now he's eyeing 7 feet. The winning jump at the NCAA championships was 7-5.

"By next year, I want to go 7-3," said Black, a chemistry major with a 3.47 GPA who intends to pursue pharmacy.

Black tried distance running, hurdles and the pole vault in high school. A coach saw him dunk a basketball in gym class and suggested he try the high jump.

Black just chose the wrong line.

"Now, he looks normal," Jones said with a laugh. "It's been a pretty good transformation. He's getting comfortable with it, and that's a good sign of things to come."

Contact Tim Pearrell at (804) 649-6965 or .