Session Eleven

Combining phases:

Over the past ten sessions I have been working on each different phase in which makes up the overall fundamental movements of the basketball free throw shot. In this session I am aiming to combine all of these movements together to see whether or not I have mastered each phase. If I have then my overall free throw shot would have improved dramatically.

Fig 1: Above shows a video of me combining all of the phases together to try an attempt the basketball free throw skill as a whole, I was aiming to get all the correct angles.

Design of session:

1.     Practice first phases, combine preliminary movements with backswing-attempting to run through these phases

2.     Practice the force producing movement phases with arch of shot and follow through phase, shooting 30 hoops but not recording data

3.     Combine all of the phases together and have a practice 20 shots not recording data

4.     After the practice shots attempt 4 sets of 10 shots at the hoop combining all the phases together

Results of session:

·      I was successfully able to break down the different phases and try to work on them as a whole

·      Felt quite odd combining all the movements together but after a few practice shots I got the hang of it

·      I managed to get 35 out of 40 shots in the hoop

Reflection:

This session helped me to release that by combining all of the sessions together I was able to attempt a much better free throw shot that when I started! I enjoyed this session a lot as much shot rate was improved so much more than in the first couple of sessions. 

Session Ten

Phase Six: Follow through

The final phase of the six main fundamental movements that are required to perform a free throw shot is the Follow through phase. This is where all the joints continue to move through to the end of their full range of motion following the release of the ball (Alexander & Way, 2014). In the skilled follow through the shooting shoulder is in at least 140-150 degrees of shoulder flexion.

The movement of the joints to the end point of their range of motion ensures that the joints don’t stop moving prior to the release of the ball, which in turn would decrease the release velocity of the ball (Alexander & Way, 2014).

   

       

Fig 1: Above shows the angle of 52 degrees of shoulder flexion, in the follow through phase at the start of the session. As stated above in a skilled follow through the shoulder should be at least 140-150 degrees of flexion.

Design of session:

1.     Practice overall free throw shot, focusing on body extension and angle of release

2.     Attempt 30 shots without ball, going over where arm, shoulder, elbow, hand and wrist should be. Visualizing!

3.     Attempt 4 sets of 10 shots focusing on follow through of joints

Results of sessions:

·      When I was practicing my shots without the ball, visualizing the that the movement of my joints were at the end point of range of motion I had to try to extend more

·      After fixing this I was then able to reach the full range of motion in each joint

·      I managed to get it 30 shots out of 40

Reflection:

During this session I really tried to focus on getting the full range of movement throughout my joints in the release of the ball, visualizing this helped me to actually apply it to when the ball was in my hands. My shot rate is still quite similar to previous sessions but I am not too worried as I feel like I have gained a great concept of each phase.

References:

Alexander, M., & Way, D. (2014). Mechanics of the Basketball Free Throw. Manitoba: University of Manitoba.

Session Nine

Phase Five: Arch of shot 2

As stated in Session eight, phase five occurs when the ball has left the hand and when it is on an upward path towards the basket. Following on from the release of the ball it must be accompanied by relaxation in the muscles of the shooting arm, with no excessive tension in the shooting arm or wrist and hand (Alexander & Way, 2014). Only the muscles required to project the ball should be contracted; and all the other arm and shoulder muscles should be loose and relaxed so as not to interfere with the action from the hand and wrist (Alexander & Way, 2014).

Unsuccessful shots are associated with a longer muscle activation period, which suggests that muscle tension should be minimal during release for success in shooting (Miller, 1999).

Design of session:

1.     Ball release-insuring the correct steps have been used

2.     Major focus on angles and ball position

3.     Practice ball release without shooting at hoop, just dropping ball down, 4 sets of 10

4.     Attempt 4 sets of 10 shot, combined both session eight and nine together.

Results of session:

·      Combining the ball angle of release that was practiced in session 8 and 9 was helpful, as I thought that my angle of release was still close enough to the suggested angle

·      Practicing the angle of release 40 times but not shooting at the hoops allowed me to repeat the phase over and over again so I got use to the angle of release

·      I got 31 out of 40 shots in the basket in this session, which was higher than session eight. So the repetition of the angle of release overall has helped

Reflection:

I believe that after this session I was more confident at producing the correct arch of shot, as my shot arch rates were higher in this session than in session eight. This was because I felt more comfortable performing the shot and I felt like everything almost just flowed together really well.

References:

Alexander, M., & Way, D. (2014). Mechanics of the Basketball Free Throw. Manitoba: University of Manitoba.

Miller, S. (1999). Electromyographic considerations of inaccuracy in basketball shooting. Paper presented at the International Society of Biomechanics in Sports, Perth, Western Australia.

Session Eight

Phase Five: Arch of shot

The arch of the shot is indicated after the ball leaves the shooter’s hand. The ball then becomes a projectile that has a parabolic pathway to the basket-Meaning it is on an upward path to the basket. The ball will either reach the basket with either a high or a low arch, the higher the arch the greater the chance of the ball entering the basket. The amount of arch on a shot is related to how much force the player him or herself has used in the force producing movements. (Piano, 2013) A higher arched shot therefore requires more strength to generate the heightened vertical velocity required to attain a greater peaked height. The angle of release should be between 50-55 degrees (Brancazio, 1981). 

Fig 1: Above shows the angle of 54.8 degrees of the arch of the shot, from the release of the ball to the ball. It also shows that there is a balanced controlled follow through that has the correct alignment of shoulder, hip and knee.

           

Fig 2: Above shows the angle of 66 degrees of the arch of the shot, from the release of the ball to the ball. This is not in the range of angle that the shot should be in, thus decreasing the vertical velocity.  

Design of session:

1.     Practicing release of ball if arch is at the correct angle

2.     Focus on overall techniques/components of each shot

3.     Attempt 4 sets of 10 shots focusing on ball release and arch of shot

Results of session:

·      Trying to guess the correct angle of the ball of release was quite difficult but after a few tries I was able to get close to what I thought was the correct angle and keep working on getting that every shot

·      I managed to get 28 shots out of 40 in the basket, this was not a good as my other sessions but still not to bad

Reflection:

This session was difficult as it was hard to visualize where the angle of ball release was and the arch of the shot was. After a few sessions I was able to get a proper visualization on what angle the ball needed to be released at, from here I just kept on working on getting this angle each shot. My shooting rate was not as high as past sessions but it was still reasonably good.

References:

Brancazio, P. J. (1981). Physics of basketball. American Journal of Physics, 49(4),

356-365.

Piano, C. D. (2013). Basketball Free Throw: A Written Techanical Report Summary. Montclair: Montclair State University.