Kobe Bryant is one of the three best players in the NBA. However, there can be no doubt that he makes more unbelievable and impossible shots than anyone still playing professionally on a basketball court
Take a look at this one from the LA Lakers Game against the Oklahoma City Thunder. There is no need to try and spot the trick, he is shooting over the backboard.
Kobe can make these incredible shots time after time, because of two important facts.
He practices making shots from almost anywhere on the court. To learn how to shoot the ball over the backboard , you need to try it and try it often. It may seem like a waste of time but professional athletes practice trick shots to give themselves more options on the field. Having a practiced trick up your sleeve also confuses your opponent who in the professional leagues has probably seen and knows how to defend the regular shots. Practicing trick shots happens in all sports. Take a look at Roger Federer and his trick shot winner at the US Open in 2009.
Practice is important, but what also makes this shot and many other of Kobe's trick shots possible is that he uses flawless shooting technique. Take a closer look at his mechanics in the video above as he shoots.
Kobe gets up in the air and squares his shoulders so that he is facing the net.
He keeps his elbow high.
He paints the ball with his hand, allowing the ball to roll off his fingers rather than pushing it toward the basket.
He shoots the ball on a high arc, taking advantage of the size of the basketball rim (2X the diameter of the ball).
Take a look at this video of Kobe shooting free throws. Notice that his arm mechanics here are pretty much the same as for the over the backboard shot against the thunder. Shoulders squared to the basket, elbow high, paints the ball with his hand and launches the ball on a high arc.
By using good mechanics for all his shots, Kobe is ready to try any trick shot at any time.
The NFL is becoming a very offensive game, with quarterbacks like Peyton Manning, Tom Brady and Phillip Rivers airing out long passes regularly and using short quick passes to their running backs more often than the hand off.
The reasons for the increased amount of passing in the NFL are still up for debate. The simple fact is that the teams whose quarterbacks are throwing more are winning more. If throwing is the winning formula then all teams are going to try it.
All this throwing makes for exciting football. Hail Mary passes for touch downs, miraculous interceptions and numerous spectacular catches have all been part of the 2009 season. The wide receivers have to be on their game and the quarterbacks have to throw accurate passes with the right amount of force , often under pressure.
The quarterback has two basic options when throwing a pass. He can either step into it and air it out for distance, or he can throw a short accurate pass. In both cases it is important to use proper mechanics to achieve the results and also to prevent any injury to the shoulder or elbow. In general the best mechanics for all throws can be described as:
Aim your non throwing shoulder at your target.
Step forward with the opposite foot to your throwing arm to counterbalance the throwing action.
Rotate your hips toward your target followed by your shoulders and finally your throwing arm.
Follow through with your throwing arm, so that you put speed on the ball and prevent injury.
Lets take a look at two different types of passes, by our two quarterbacks. These quarterbacks (myself and Dennis) are weekend flag football quarterbacks and do not have the best mechanics. Although we will comment on their mechanics (good and bad) we are focused on the differences between the two throws.
The first throw shows QB1 stepping into a throw and attempting to follow the mechanics described above. He is attempting a long throw to his wide receiver way down the field.
QB1 starts by taking a few steps back. Most quarterbacks do this to create some room to step into a throw. This is not always possible, but it is usually necessary if you are trying to throw to a wide receiver way down field.
He then does a little skip hop to position his back foot at right angles to the direction he wants to throw. He does this so that his hips also remain closed to the target (at right angles).
His lead shoulder (left) is also pointing toward the target. This also keeps his shoulders closed to the target.
The red arrow shows how QB1's hips will rotate toward the target, while the blue arrow shows his shoulders. Rotating first his hips followed by his shoulders toward the target will create a kinematic sequence which will allow QB1 to put more speed into his throw and therefore get more distance. The kinematic sequence was first described in golf but it can and should be used to create power in any throwing or hitting sport. The idea is that by first accelerating your hips, then shoulders then arm toward the target in the throw you will create the most energy for the throw with the most efficiency and least effort.
Our QB1 does not make best use of the kinematic sequence as his hips and shoulders rotate toward the target almost simultaneously, but he is still using his rotational energy to create throwing speed.
Finally he follows through with his arm across his body to obtain maximum speed until ball release and allowing his arm to decelerate after the throw.
Now lets look at QB2 , who is also stepping into a throw, but he is keeping his hips and shoulders open to the target and using mostly his arm to make the pass. With this technique it is very difficult to throw a long pass and is usually used in rushed situations and for short passes.
QB2 also takes a few steps back to create space. This is not necessary to throw a pass like this but it may give the quarterback some time to make a decision.
He also takes a skip hop but lands with his back foot facing toward the target. This keeps his hips open to the target.
His lead shoulder turns a little toward the target, but he cannot turn as much because he has kept his hips facing the target. Turning his front shoulder toward the target a little, allows QB2 to get a bit of rotation of the shoulders into his throw.
The red arrow describes the direction of QB2's hips moving forward and the blue arrow the direction of his shoulders. He is not using the kinematic sequence to create arm speed in this case. Although by turning his front shoulder a little toward the target, he is getting some of the energy of rotation that the kinematic sequence gives a thrower.
Unlike QB1, QB2 needs to use much more strength in his throwing shoulder and arm to throw his pass. For this reason it is very difficult to throw a long pass using this technique. If QB2 attempts to throw as hard as he can with this technique he could cause shoulder or elbow injuries, because of the extra stresses and forces on his muscles.
QB2 is meant to be throwing a short accurate pass, but he does release the ball a little early, so we will assume he was just trying to lob it over the defenders head.
Finally QB2 follows through across his body, allowing his arm to decelerate without injury.
Watch the quarterbacks in the NFL and notice when they throw with an open hip and shoulder technique and when they rotate toward the target. In most instances you will see that they use the kinematic sequence and rotate their hips and shoulders into the throw to create good accurate passes, even for short passes.
Once in a while however, usually when they are under pressure, you will see them launch a pass with hips and shoulder facing their receiver and using mostly their arm power and little rotation.
Enjoy the rest of the NFL season. We hope to see many more games with more than 300 yards passing. Get out your video camera and film your throwing mechanics to compare to the pros.
A shuttle run is often used in professional sports combines to determine the fitness of a prospective athlete. A shuttle run consists of an athlete running back and forth between two lines approximately 30 feet apart, touching each line before heading back the other direction. The videos below were taken at a basketball court that already has a series of lines marked out. We used those lines to mark the beginning and end points of the run, rather than measuring out 30 feet.
This exercise is a way to evaluate an athlete's speed, quickness, and agility. According to the National Academy of Sports Medicine, “speed” is defined as the ability to move the body in one intended direction as fast as possible, “quickness” is the ability to react and change body position with maximum rate of force production, in all planes or directions of motion, from all body positions, during functional activities, and “agility” is the ability to accelerate, decelerate, stabilize, and change direction quickly, while maintaining proper posture.
Most testing sites simply use the athlete’s overall time as a way to make this evaluation, as shown in the first two parts of the video below (the first subject recorded a time of 10.377 seconds, and the second subject recorded a time of 10.010 seconds). But knowing the overall times only tells us which subject completed the trial the fastest, not why or how one was faster. In this week’s article, I’d like to discuss the value of using the video overlay feature to determine the point or points in the run where one subject gains an advantage over the other.
Video overlay can be used for a wide variety of comparisons. For example, it can be used to compare: • A single athlete, before and after training (as a way to determine the effectiveness of training) • A single athlete, before and after rehab. • Multiple athletes
Video overlay and athlete comparison works best when the subjects are moving from left to right, or right to left,(sagittal plane) across the camera’s view, as it’s much easier to view when the separation between the athletes occurs during the trials. During the 2009 NFL combine, the television coverage tried to use this technology for the 40 yard dash, but they overlaid too many athletes’ trials (10 or more) on top of each other; and since there was very little difference in the athletes’ times, the end video looked like a bit of a mess. Therefore if you plan to use video overlay to compare athletes, don’t overlay more than two or three subjects at the same time.
To make things interesting for our recordings, we chose to make each shuttle run turn facing the camera, so there are two right turns and one left turn in each trial.
Take a look at the third part of the video (showing the overlaid athletes), to see where the separation between these two subjects occurs.
We see that the subject in the gray shirt (we’ll call him Subject 2) gets off to a slightly faster start than Subject 1 (blue shirt), and reaches the far cone first. After making this right turn, the distance between the subjects remains the same until they return to the starting cone, so we can assume they both came out of the first right turn in the same amount of time, and that they ran with the same speed between the far cone and the starting cone. Coming out of the left turn, Subject 2 starts to break away a little more, so it’s possible he is faster pivoting off his left leg. And after making the final right turn, the distance between the two subjects remains about the same after the left turn through the finish.
So what were the turning points in this race? It seems Subject 2 got off to a faster start, and was quicker coming out of the left turn; so it may be useful for Subject 1 to work on his start (see http://videosportsanalysis.blogspot.com/2009/08/video-analysis-of-sprinting-from-start.html for details on how to start fast)> We also see that Subject 1 lost some time in his second turn and acceleration from there. He may also work on strengthening his left leg, to help him make the left turn a bit faster. We also happen to know that Subject 1 has had rehab on his left knee in the past and therefore may have a weakness or instability that still needs work.
By using the overlaid video, we were able to get a lot more information about these trials than just who finished first, and can use this information to make specific recomendations to an athlete's training regimen or to assess the rehabilitation of an athletes injury.
As you can see video overlay can be a powerful tool when evaluating an athlete’s performance. We value your comments and would be happy to answer any questions.
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