Session Four

Phase Three: Force producing movements

The force producing movements are the movements of the body parts that produce upward and forward force to project the ball to the basket (Alexander & Way, 2014). In the free throw the trunk, knees, arms and wrist are the most important muscles as they are the ones in which produce the force in order for you to push the ball upwards into the air. The key to force producing movements is to always hold your hands in the position where the ball has left your hands.

Below is a picture of how your stance should be in the force producing movement phase.

Fig 1: The player clear extension of the knees and hips, this produces the downward force producing movement allowing the ball to be projected upwards when movement is complete. Shoulder and elbow extension is also clear thus in time producing the upwards movement.

Fig 2: This shows the angle and force production movement is through my knee and hip extension, and also shows my shoulder and elbow extension. These angles are clearly not as accurate as Fig 1.

Design of session:

1.     Applying proper backswing technique using huge focus on the order to produce force

2.     Focusing on the main muscles in which are used in the force producing movements of the backswing and utilizing these muscles

3.     Recognizing how much force is required for the ball to get to the hoop, and that the load is needed mainly through the trunk

4.     Attempt 4 sets of 10 shots at the basket, applying the force producing movements

Results of session:

·      Gained a major knowledge on how much my trunk is needed to produce such movement of the basketball

·      Allowed me to focus on how much I utilized each muscle that was needed to project the ball into the basket

·      31 out of 40 shots were successful

Reflection:

After completing this session I gained further knowledge on the fundamental skills that the free throw shot had, learning about the force producing movements in which were able to project the ball upwards and into the hoop. Having to try and guess how much force needed to be produced in order for the ball to enter the hoop was quite difficult for me. This was because I was either not producing enough force or producing too much force. After multiple attempts at getting the correct amount of force I was able to almost perfect this phase, getting almost a 90% shot rate.

References:

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

Kelbick, D. (2007, September 10). Basketball Fundamentals - Free Throw Shooting. Breakthrough Basketball - Hundreds of FREE Basketball Coaching Drills, Plays, Tips, Offenses, Defenses & Resources. Retrieved May 17, 2014, from http://www.breakthroughbasketball.com/fundamentals/foulshooting.html