Session Seven

Phase Four: Critical Instant

The critical instant is the moment when the ball instantly is released from the hands, there is nothing that the shooter can do after this stage that will affect the flight of the ball (Alexander & Way, 2014). At the release of the ball the trunk and legs should be fully extended, the shooting shoulder should be in an 140-150 degree angle of flexion. The non shooting hand should drop off the ball just prior to the instant of release (Hartley & Fulton, 1971; Penrose & Blanksby, 1976), so that the shooter can retain control over the ball as long as possible. The shooting shoulder, knee and hip should all be inline when the ball is being released as this helps the ball go in the correct direction.

Fig 1: Above shows the alignment of the shooting shoulder, hip and knee.

    

Fig 2: This photo shows me in the critical instant phase, this shows that my knee and hip are almost align, but my shoulder is completely out of line with the rest of my body. Thus resulting in the ball going off path and not into the hoop.

Design of session:

1.     Muscle alignment, focusing having it all in the correct order

2.     Focus on all dimensions of shot

3.     Ball positioning in hands when being released

4.     Attempt 4 sets of 10 shots at hoop

Results of session:

·      I was able to almost have my shooting shoulder, hip and knee all in alignment throughout some of my practice shots, but found this quite hard

·      The ball positioning was tricky as each shot it changed

·      I managed to get 31 out of 40 in the hoop, slowly progressing!

Reflection:

This was one of the more difficult sessions, as I was trying to have the alignment of my shooting shoulder, hip and knee all correct. Whilst also trying my hardest to have the ball in the correct position in my hands before it was released. Although my free throw shot it self is getting a lot better, as my shot accuracy is increasing!

References:

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

Hartley, J. W., & Fulton, C. (1971). Mechanical analysis of the jump shot. Athletic Journal, 51(7), 92, 95, 128-129.