Projectile Tragectory

Feedback cues:

• How did the ball travel through the air before hitting the ground?

The trajectory of the ball is of vital importance to ensure maximum distance of a thrown football and to hit a target accurately from range. The trajectory is influenced by the projection speed, the projection angle and the relative height of projection (that is, the vertical distance between the landing and release points). The importance of the factor is highlighted by the fact that most star quarter backs are tall athletes; this is favourable biomechanically because it means the athlete already has a higher relative height of projection than a smaller athlete. An athlete cannot change their height so to ensure maximum velocity and distance the focus should be upon the projection speed of the athlete. The distance a projectile covers,’ is chiefly influenced by its projection speed’ (Blazevich, 2013, p. 24) therefore the faster the projection speeds, the further the object will go. The angle of release is the final component too high and the object will lose velocity sooner into the throw and begin its ‘arching’ trajectory sooner, too low and the ball will not take advantage of the arch back down to the ground for maximum distance.  The optimal angle of release for this skill has a large number of variables and because it is dependent on the physical characteristics of the athlete an optimal angle is not possible. But through video analysis a coach can see and analyse the trajectory of the ball to work out whether this angle needs to decrease or increase. Analysis of the flight path can also allow a coach to find other errors in the movement; i.e. ball drifting to the non- dominant side likely means over- rotation of the hips.