Article 1: The application of biomechanics to penalty corner drag-flick training: a case study.
This study presents an analysis of what happens during a penalty corner in field hockey. This is normally beneficial because a third of the field goals in hockey result from this situation. Therefore, the aim of the study was to develop and practically show a training method that can improve on the various studies done the existing training methods in hockey.
Methods
The method used in this study involved a 19-year field hockey player with 8 years of experience. The player exercised over a period of four weeks and exercised specific drills three times a week. Training sessions included four drills of varying complexity. The drills were based on findings of previous studies. The drills were then followed by 10 drag flicks as a way of adding new information to the entire movement. In addition, there was a three-dimensional (3D) data analysis before and after the training period.
Discussion
Based on the results it was seen that the performance of the player improved compared to finding of previous studies. Ball velocities achieved by the player were almost similar to those achieved by high performance players. Additionally, the drag flick of the player on double contact was increased over a larger distance. A major limitation of the study was the collection of data before and after the training, which reduced the precision of the experiment.
Conclusion
The additional training improved the performance of some of the skills. These included increased dragging of the ball over a larger distance, high angular velocity of the stick and further movement of the ball using double foot contact. The investigation involved kinematics.
Article 2: Increased distance of shooting on basketball jump shot.
Since basketball is a very dynamic sport, players are normally required to make shots from several distances. To make the longer shots, higher accuracy is required. This study investigated the effect of varying distances on the basketball jump shot.
Experimental procedure
The experiment involved 10 right-handed basketball players. The players attended three training sessions per week. Reflective markers the body of the players was used to allow the reconstruction of the movements in two dimensions. The backboard was not used during the shot taking. The jumps shots, ten of them were taken from long, intermediate, and long distances. Recording was done of the accuracy of the shots made. Kinematics analysis of the movement was done using a standard 2D analysis.
Discussion
Increased distance of shot taking provided a higher limitation to shot movement. Shots that were released from long distances required a greater force, which is a common reason for reducing the accuracy of shots. Furthermore, during the shots the players experienced a reduced shoulder flexion and a reduced jump height. In spite of the distance of the shot jump, the consistency kinematics of the lower limbs indicated that the lower ball release height did not cause jump height decreases. The horizontal and vertical velocities increased as the distance of the shot increased. This indicates that, during the jump, energy is reused to optimize the impulse of releasing the ball.
Conclusion
The study showed that increasing the distance reduced the shot accuracy. The investigation involved dynamics and kinematics.
Works Cited
Alves Okazaki, Victor Hugo, and André Luiz Félix Rodacki. "Increased distance of shooting on
basketball jump shot."Journal of Sports Science & Medicine 11.2 (2012): 231-237. Print.
de Subijana, Cristina López, Daniel Juarez, Javier Mallo, and Enrique Navarro. "The application
of biomechanics to penalty corner drag-flick training: a case study." Journal of Sports Science & Medicine 10.3 (2011): 590-595. Print.
