Analysis

The results of Table 1 and Table 2 show that the athlete accurately scored five times out of ten when standing on the free throw line, but only four out of ten at the 3 pointer line. This could be due to the difference in the distance of the throw, the optimal angle of release, the height of the athlete and the waiting time in between each shot. The difference in the distance between the free throw line and the 3 pointer line means that the range of the shot is much longer and the release angle will lower due to the increased distance that needs to be covered. To calculate the range of the shot it can be done manually by calculating the horizontal velocity and multiplying it by the flight time (Vh x t). The horizontal velocity can be calculated by using the cosine rule: Cos ϴ = adjacent side/hypotenuse (Blazevich, 2017); and the flight time can be calculated by timing the total amount of time the ball was in the air by adding the flight time part 1 and flight time part 2 (shown in Figure 1).

Figure 1. Calculating total flight time = Part 1 + Part 2.

The results for the release velocity and projectile angle in Table 1 and Table 2 were calculated by the apps we used while we were filming these videos which are called ‘Hudl Technique’ and ‘SpeedClock’. This means that the results may not be completely accurate due to possibility of technological error or human error when using the app to calculate the angle which then generated the release velocity. These problems will need to be considered when calculating these factors. The release height will be the same as we had the same athlete do each of the 10 attempts from both distances, and the distance in which we filmed from were the same each time because we placed cones to mark where to stand, so both of these helped to standardise the results. Furthermore, there was a small wait time between each attempt as the apps that were used could not be saved until the angle was calculated, which then calculated the release velocity, and were both needed in the results table. Only once these calculations were completed could the video then be saved to review later. This means that the athlete had to wait approximately 30 seconds to one minute in between each attempt. This affects the results because the athlete could lose their concentration, focus and their rhythm. Therefore the apps used will also need to be considered when wanting to calculate the release velocity and release angle and a more appropriate app or program may need to be used in the future to lead to more accurate results.