Here is an interesting article on free-throw shooting in basketball. It’s all about parabolas and arch and how you need to have just the right angle to get the ball in the hoop. Also, backspin.
Free-throw success is also improved by adding a little backspin, which pushes the ball downward if it hits the back of the rim. The North Carolina State engineers calculated the ideal rate of free-throw backspin at three cycles per second. That is, a shot that takes one second to reach the basket will make three full revolutions counterclockwise as seen from the stands on the player’s right side. Watch for that, too.
Man, that’s a lot of science!
Of course, the thoughts I went away with were: 1) March Madness? 2) So soon? 3) I wonder if I should go ahead and just buy a television for our room now?
The family brackets are being completed as we speak……. Bring on the Madness! And thanks for the article – my "I hate Geometry" basketball player was fascinated.
Sorry this comment isn't related to this entry, but I wasn't sure where to put it =) I'm a book reviewer for several publishers and I was just given an opportunity to review your book–I will probably review it. I only have 1 boy and 2 girls, but I admire all of my friends with boys and I'm very aware of how God has matched us with the right mix of children for who each of us are! I can't imagine having 5 boys.
Anyways, there was a book I reviewed several months ago and I noticed that y'all really like Chuck Norris and I wanted to mention it in case you haven't read it… It was called the Official Chuck Norris Fact Book–he picked out 101 of his favorite Chuck Norris myths and then writes about each one. It was pretty fun!
athleets can be geeks