Brampton's Jared Kerr proving a great leap forward in Canadian long jump

Jared Kerr's long jump career began as a friendly bet between four friends.

They called themselves the "Amigos," all either sprinters or hurdlers in their Grade 12 year at St. Edmund Campion high school in Brampton, Ont.

"We were all really close, and in our last year, we said we're choosing an event that none of us do, and whoever does the best in it gets $20 from each person," Kerr said. "I ended up jumping pretty far."

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The 22-year-old won the pot with a jump of 7.11 metres, and a couple weeks later, with only his second jump of his career, captured bronze at the Canadian indoor championships.

The University of Houston junior recently soared 8.14 metres to become the first Canadian in 16 years to surpass the eight-metre mark. And suddenly his friendly wager as a high schooler has launched him onto the global stage.

If Kerr, who will compete at this week's NCAA West Preliminary Championships in Sacramento, Calif., can consistently jump eight metres, coach Jeff Huntoon says it's enough to open Diamond League doors when he turns pro after college. He's also right around the qualifying mark for next summer's world championships in Doha.

'Could be life-changing'

Huntoon, who's the head coach of Athletics Canada's East Hub in Toronto, said the lack of an eight-metre jumper in Canada has been frustrating "when you've got these other countries that have three, four, five of them."

"It doesn't surprise me that (Kerr) was the guy to get it done," Huntoon added. "He's a super hard worker, and a crazy talented kid. Super stoked about his success. And yeah, this could potentially be life-changing."

Another life-changing moment was a phone call from nine-time Olympic gold medallist Carl Lewis.

Kerr was back home in Brampton training with Huntoon at the time. He'd spent two seasons at Maryland Eastern Shore, and wasn't happy at the small Div. 1 school. He was working overnight shifts at a Gap warehouse in Bolton, Ont., and had sent some feelers out to other NCAA Div. 1 programs.

"One day I got a call, and the person said 'It's Carl Lewis, I heard about you.' I was like 'No way, this is a prank call or something, it's not real,"' Kerr said with a laugh.

Lewis is in his fourth season as an assistant coach at Houston, in charge of the team's sprinters and jumpers. One of the world's greatest athletes in history, Kerr knew exactly who he was.

"He was a legend of his time," Kerr said. "I'd equate him to Michael Jordan."

On the day Kerr jumped 8.14, which was a conference record and the fourth best jump in Canadian history, Lewis tweeted about Kerr: "@JaROuge is on pace to be the best ever. I'm so proud to be his coach."

Kerr credits Lewis's coaching, and a light switch that finally went on recently, for his big breakthrough.

"I was watching videos (of Lewis) all the time," Kerr said of his coach, whose best long jump was 8.87 metres in 1991. "That's what he's been trying to model, how he ran and how he jumped, and the past two meets, I feel it now, I feel what he's talking about."

The 56-year-old Lewis had repeatedly told Kerr: "Put the foot down." Finally, Kerr got it.

"A lot of jumpers you'll see when they're about to take off, they slightly lean back and that counteracts, and then their leg will kind of kick out," Kerr said. "But (Lewis) just means get the feet under you, so it's more about you pushing on the ground and taking off, rather than reaching out and pulling, and then pushing."

The five-foot-nine Kerr took up track at the age of 10, and was a sprinter and hurdler before his accidental introduction to long jump. One of seven kids, his older sister Naomi was first interested in the sport after spotting an article in the local newspaper. Kerr said at one time all his siblings ran track. He didn't play any other sports growing up.

"It's always been track, and I thank my dad (Steve Kerr) now that he didn't let me do other sports," Jared said. "I wanted to, but he always instilled in us that if you're going to do something, focus on it. It's hard to be great in two things."

Dance in midair

Kerr's "Amigos" — Rashad Glasgow, Dwayne March and Daniel Palmer — are all out of track now.

Kerr said to the naked eye, long jump appears to happen in a split second. But the way he describes it, it's like an intricate dance in midair.

"My mind is racing and thinking about all these little things," he said. "At the board, I'm thinking about driving my elbows back, and my hands up, and then putting my feet down, and driving my knee . . . and circling my arms, keeping my eyes at ground level, getting my feet up, getting my legs up, holding it, and then landing in the sand and trying not to crash."

While Kerr hadn't intended on competing this summer because of the toll the NCAA season takes, his recent success has him considering the Canadian championships next month in Ottawa, and then the NACAC championships, Aug. 10-12 in Toronto.

Also on his to-do list: he'd love to break the Canadian record of 8.20 set by Edrick Floreal in 2001.