Basketball Free Throw Research Articles

Ego-depletion and motor skill performance under pressure—experimental effects of a short term virtual-reality based mindfulness breathing meditation with integrated biofeedback

Ego-depletion describes a state of mind, where the capacity for self-control is temporarily depleted after a primary self-control action. The aim of this study was to investigate whether a brief virtual reality-based mindfulness breathing meditation with integrated biofeedback can be considered an effective strategy to counteract the detrimental effects of ego depletion on motor skill performance under pressure. The study included two experiments, each of them designed as counterbalanced cross-over trials and based on an a priori sample-size calculation. Within each experiment, participants completed two appointments in a randomly assigned order, during which they were asked to perform 20 basketball free throws (N = 18; Experiment 1) or 20 penalty kicks at a football goal in four target squares (N = 16; Experiment 2) under pressure pre and post the following conditions: Stroop-test-induced ego depletion followed by a 15 min resting break, Stroop-test-induced ego depletion followed by a 15 min virtual reality-based mindfulness breathing meditation with integrated biofeedback. Results indicate that, in comparison to a resting break, a brief virtual reality-based mindfulness meditation with integrated biofeedback can counteract the detrimental effects of ego-depletion (Experiment 2) and enhance motor skill performance under pressure (Experiment 1, 2) Implications for researchers and practitioners are derived in light of the identified methodological limitations.

The effects of analogy teaching on sport skill acquisition in children

Introduction: Teaching motor skills to novices has been the main task of physical educators, and studies in motor learning have always sought to discover better ways to optimize the skill acquisition process. Movement information is presented transparently through the performer’s demonstration, illustration, feedback, and verbal guidance in motor skills instructing. This study seeks to determine the type of learning, i.e., analogy learning or explicit learning, suitable for promoting the children’s acquisition of skills that are biomechanically and kinematically different from the same skill learned by explicit instructions, and to determine how the physical form of the skill evolves over practice. Material and Methods: Forty-five right-handed healthy beginner male students (mean age 9.93 ±0.55 years; height 1.39 ±4.16 m; body mass 31.65±3.23 kg; novice in basketball) participated in the study. Subjects were randomly allocated to an explicit learning condition (n = 15), an analogy learning condition (n = 15), or an uninstructed control condition (n = 15). Ten free throws (FT) in the standing position were performed with the right hand by each student using modified equipment i.e., a small ball, customized rim with 45-cm circumference and adapted net height of 2 m. Attempts were recorded from 3 m away in a biomechanical laboratory with two-dimensional (2D) video data collection (i.e., using 240 Hz camera resolution). Results: The independent ANOVA yielded a statistically significant effect across the three groups in post-tests: F (8,16) = 283.233, P = 0.001, η2 = 0.793. A statistically significant difference was observed across the three groups: F (8, 16) = 332.057, P = 0.001, η2 = 0.818. Discussion: The analogy group's performance was significantly better in the skill taught. The explicit learners achieved lower scores compared to the analogy learners. Conclusions: The analogy learning training method is recommended for children aged 10–12 willing to learn FT in basketball. The conclusions may be important for coaches concerning the use of different training methods in skill learning.

Study on the Identification of Execution Errors, Causes, and Specific Corrective Kinetic and Prophylactic Means in Free Throws in Basketball

The identification of execution errors in real-time correction through an innovative specific device to free throw refinement, and through corrective kinetic and prophylactic exercises adapted to basketball game. The study included 92 subjects structured into sports categories: U14, U16, U18, and by gender: female (46 subjects) and male (46 subjects). Subjects were observed to identify the incidence of execution errors in free throws, their causes and correction methods during the study's testing. The study results highlight the decrease in the number of execution errors between the final and initial testing due to the implementation of innovative technology specific to free throw refinement and the application of specific corrective kinetic and prophylactic exercises. For all junior and gender categories of the study, the number of errors decreased in the final testing compared to the initial one, highlighting the importance of identifying errors and causes in real-time and correcting them through specific means.

The Effect of Core Strength Training on Free Throw and Vertical Jump Performance in Basketball

The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of core training on free throw and vertical jump performance in basketball. The study sample consisted of 18 female basketball players with an average age of 11.36 ± .505 years who had been playing basketball for 2 years and voluntarily participated in the study. The sample group was selected using the convenience sampling method, so no power analysis was performed. The athletes were randomly divided into two groups, the experimental group and the control group, with 9 athletes in each group. The average age of the experimental and control groups was 11.36 ± 0.505 years and 12 ± 0.632 years, respectively, the average height was 151.64 ± 9.124 cm and 142.45 ± 4.634 cm, respectively, and the body weight was 40.55 ± 7.461 kg and 45.55 ± 5.298 kg, respectively. While the participants in the experimental group completed the core training program twice a week for eight weeks, no training program was carried out in the control group. Participants were asked to make 10 free throws each, including before and after the test, and those who hit 10 were recorded. The t-test for independent samples was used to analyze the data (p < 0.05). As a result of the study, it was found that core training positively influenced the free throw performance of 11-13 year old basketball players (p=.017), while no statistical significance was reached for vertical jump performance (p=.351).

The power of human touch: Physical contact improves performance in basketball free throws

How pervasive is the power of human touch? Physical touch by other humans shows social support and alleviates stress – stress that may otherwise interfere with performance in athletic tasks. We argue that physical touch improves performance in highly stressful situations: free throws in basketball. In two studies (Ntotal = 60 NCAAW games, ktotal = 835 free throw tandems), we assessed how often teammates touched the shooting player (e.g., a tap on the shoulder) in between shooting two free throws. We find that the extent of touch (i.e., being touched by 0, 1, 2, 3, or all 4 teammates) after the first free throw predicted success with the second free throw, but only when players missed the first free throw (integrated data analysis: main effect hand taps: b = 0.47, p = .021; main effect first free throw: b = 1.36, p = .019; interaction effect: b = −0.55, p = .024). We argue that this means that teammates’ support expressed in physical touch helps particularly when stress levels are already high. Results are robust when controlling for players’ skill level, home versus away games, point difference, and remaining playing time. More frequent touch was also tendentially associated with teams' season success (ACC-teams only, main effect of hand taps: b = −0.42, p = .062). Physical touch thus indeed boosts performance under stress, superseding a range of other factors, likely also in other team sports and interpersonal relationships.

Basketball free-throw training with augmented reality-based optimal shot trajectory for novice shooters

We propose an augmented reality (AR)-based training system for basketball free-throws. The optimal shot trajectory for free-throws is projected by a head-mounted display according to the shooter’s release point. The efficacy of the training system was assessed in novice shooters by comparing changes in success rates and eye-gaze behavior (quiet eye [QE]) between AR-training and control-training groups. The success rate during the AR training with the optimal trajectory did not differ from the pre-training rate; however, in post-AR training, i.e., after removal of the optimal trajectory, the success rate increased. Additionally, AR training increased the QE duration (QED) compared with that recorded during pre- and post-training blocks. In contrast, the control group showed no change in the success rate or QED. These findings imply that our AR training system affected QE behavior and improved free-throwing shooting performance after training. Thus, our system is expected to enhance basketball free-throw shooting performance.

Research on teaching basketball free throw action process based on motion vector field transformation

Research on teaching basketball free throw action process based on motion vector field transformation

Teaching the process of free throw action in basketball course based on motion vector field transformation

Abstract In order to improve the teaching quality of the free throw action process in basketball courses, this paper proposes research on the teaching of free throw action by integrating motion vector field transformation. Starting from the actual situation of the player’s free throw action, it describes the problems in the teaching process of free throw action. It elaborates on the structure and principle of the motion vector field transformation algorithm in depth. In video analysis teaching of free-throw shooting action processes, the player’s motion vectors can easily be interfered with by random noise, which needs to be optimized using smoothing processing and compensation models. Combined with the teaching objectives of free throw action, the design and development of the “basketball free throw action” microteaching by integrating the motion vector field transformation through the analysis of a university sports college basketball class of 2021 students found that from the seventh week and the eighth week of the experimental group and the control group, respectively, there is a difference of 7.8% and 13%. The ball-hitting rate is significantly different from that of the control group (<0.5). A significant difference occurred (<0.05). Although both methods have improved the free throw shooting rate of the athletes, the teaching of free throw shooting action in the basketball course integrating the motion vector field transformation performs better compared to the traditional free throw shooting action teaching mode. This study provides technical support and diversified media presentation methods for the design and development of basketball micro-courses. It constructs a feasible way to develop and innovate college basketball teaching.

Deep Learning-based Basketball Free Throw Attitude Analysis and Hit Probability Prediction System Research

Abstract Traditional basketball free-throw hitting probability prediction mainly relies on naked eye vision to analyze basketball players, which makes it difficult to achieve stable and accurate free-throw hitting probability prediction. In this study, we propose a deep learning-based algorithm for recognizing basketball free throw poses and predicting the probability of hitting free throws, and we build a corresponding system framework. DetectNet is used to screen free throw motion detectors, real-time estimate and recognition of free throw poses, and code rewriting. At the same time, Open Pose is used as a human skeletal joint point detector to extract the joint point information of the free throw shooter. The joint points with wrong information are repaired, and the classification prediction of the free throw hitting result is realized based on the support vector machine. In the performance simulation experiments, the average accuracy of the free throw pose recognition method proposed in this paper is as high as 98.55% on the MSR Action 3D dataset, and the recognition rate of the elbow lift pose, which is the most difficult to recognize, is also higher than that of other comparative algorithms. The hit probability prediction method is also 12.64% and 6.25% more accurate than the OpenPose algorithm in hit-and-miss prediction, and the accuracy has also improved by 4.47% and 5.41%, respectively. The free throw pose recognition and hit probability prediction method in this paper has excellent performance.

Basketball Free Throw Posture Analysis and Hit Probability Prediction System Based on Deep Learning

Basketball Free Throw Posture Analysis and Hit Probability Prediction System Based on Deep Learning

Effects of Brief Mindfulness Training on Basketball Free-Throw Shooting Performance Under Pressure: A Randomized Controlled Trial of Dosage Response

Studies have indicated that as little as 15 min of mindfulness training (MT) positively affects sport performance under pressure, but the minimum amount of MT required to induce effects is unclear. The current experiment tested the effects of MT of different lengths on free-throw shooting under pressure. Forty-six participants (78% men) with competitive basketball experience completed pretest mindfulness and anxiety surveys and shot under low pressure. Using performance-based matched assignment, participants were randomly distributed into groups. On another day, participants completed audio trainings (6-min MT, 15-min MT, or control) and then shot under high pressure. Under high pressure, anxiety and mindfulness states did not differ among groups, nor were there group differences in average shooting percentage. However, only the control group performed worse on the second shot under high pressure compared with low pressure, suggesting possible protection effects of MT. Findings are discussed regarding application and possible interactions between traits, motivation, and incentive values.

Investigating the EEG Profile of Elite and Non-Elite Players in the Basketball Free Throw Task

This study aimed to investigate the electroencephalographic profile of elite and non-elite basketball players seconds before and during the basketball free throw. Sixteen male subjects in the elite group (national team/premier league players with an average age of 22.06 ± 1.56) and 16 male non-elite subjects (university players with an average age of 22.37 ± 1.45) voluntarily participated in this research. Electroencephalographic data were measured from 28 cortical areas using a mobile wireless device. ANOVA with repeated measures were also performed to investigate the characteristics of theta, alpha, and beta frequency bands. The findings showed the higher cortical activity of the elite group. Different frequency bands exhibited similar asymmetry patterns, suggesting the higher activity of the left hemisphere in most of the homologous sites. Moreover, the activity of frequency bands in the left hemisphere rose by approaching the moment of throw. Furthermore, the activity of a limited number of right hemisphere sites increased by getting closer to the moment of action. In general, hemispheric asymmetry in favor of the left hemisphere has a cortical pattern, reflecting high-performance activities. In addition, the characteristics of different frequency bands of hemispheres are directed toward increasing cognitive processing, attention focusing, and inhibiting irrelevant information.

Inter-Trial Rest Interval Affects Learning Throwing Skills among Adolescents

Newly acquired motor skills can be critically driven by different rest periods during practice. Specifically, in the initial stages of motor skill acquisition, the interval between individual trials plays a pivotal role in facilitating effective motor performance, such as in the case of throwing. The objective of this research was to determine the optimal inter-trial rest period promoting efficient motor performance, focusing on two specific motor task actions. In a randomized counterbalanced cross-over research design 169 high-school students aged 14 were studied (M = 150; F = 19). In one block, participants performed 10 basketball free throws with a short rest interval (< 5 s) and 10 other throws with a long rest interval (∼50–60 s). In a second block, they threw a regular size tennis ball into a 1-m diameter circle on the floor at 6.75 m, again throwing 10 times with a short inter-trial rest interval and 10 times with a long inter-trial rest interval. The order of the rest intervals within each block was randomized and counterbalanced. With a repeated measures two-way analysis of variance, greater accuracy seemed to be associated with short intra-set rest intervals as there were significant main effects of both conditions (F1,167 = 368.0, p < 0.001, η2 p = 0.271) and resting time (F1,167 = 18.6, p < 0.001, η2 p = 0.192) and no significant interaction “condition by time”. Fast practice was efficient independently of the complexity of the throwing task, suggesting robust support for schema theory.

The Impact of Different Attentional Focus Strategies During Modeling on the Acquisition and Retention of Free Throws in Basketball

Background: In recent years, coaches and athletes have increasingly used observation as a tool for teaching and learning sports skills. Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of modeling, using internal and external attentional focus strategies, on the acquisition and retention of free throw shooting in basketball. Methods: Forty-five female beginner basketball players (aged 21.62 ± 3.08 years, with a BMI of 23.48 ± 0.99 kg/m2) voluntarily participated in this study. Based on their pre-test scores using the ABBA method, they were divided into three groups: One group received modeling with an internal attention focus strategy, another group received modeling with an external attention focus strategy, and a control group. A video demonstrating the correct throwing technique was used to teach the attention-focusing strategies, and the groups did not receive any physical training. After watching the video, participants performed their own throwing attempts. Following group allocation, the participants entered the acquisition phase, which consisted of six sessions, with each session including two sets of ten attempts and a 2-minute rest period between sets. One-way analysis of variance was used for both immediate and delayed recall tests, and data analysis was conducted using SPSS 20 software.” Results: The study found a significant difference in free throw performance between the three modeling groups (internal attention focus, external attention focus, and control) during both the acquisition and delayed retention stages (P ≤ 0.05). Additionally, there was a significant difference in basketball free throw performance between the three modeling groups during the recall test (P ≤ 0.05). Conclusions: Overall, the results suggest that observational learning, combined with attentional focus strategies, is an effective method for improving skill acquisition and retention in basketball.

Effects of Shooting with A Reduced Hoop Diameter Rim on Kinematics of a Basketball Free-Throw

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of a reduced rim diameter (diameter 0.30 m) upon the kinematics of basketball free-throws. Ten male basketball players (mean ± s; age 17.1 ± 0.4 years, height 1.85 ± 1.43 m, mass 79.0 ± 5.3 kg) performed 8 direct successful free throws; 4 when using a standard 0.45 m diameter rim, and 4 with an 0.3 m diameter rim. Ball release parameters and joint angles at ball release were determined for each participant. The smaller rim was associated with significant increases (p &lt; 0.0001) in ball release angle, ball release velocity, ball release height and shoulder joint angle at release. The reduced diameter rim can be advocated as a tactic for developing a higher ball release angle when training the shooting technique of young basketball players; this is likely to maximize the probability of a successful free-throw when attempted into a standard rim.

Skill Level Classification in Basketball Free-Throws Using a Single Inertial Sensor

Wearable sensors are an emerging technology, with growing evidence supporting their application in sport performance enhancement. This study utilized data collected from a tri-axial inertial sensor on the wrist of ten recreational and eight professional basketball players while they performed free-throws, to classify their skill levels. We employed a fully connected convolutional neural network (CNN) for the classification task, using 64% of the data for training, 16% for validation, and the remaining 20% for testing the model’s performance. In the case of considering a single parameter from the inertial sensor, the most accurate individual components were upward acceleration (AX), with an accuracy of 82% (sensitivity = 0.79; specificity = 0.84), forward acceleration (AZ), with an accuracy of 80% (sensitivity = 0.78; specificity = 0.83), and wrist angular velocity in the sagittal plane (GY), with an accuracy of 77% (sensitivity = 0.73; specificity = 0.79). The highest accuracy of the classification was achieved when these CNN inputs utilized a stack-up matrix of these three axes, resulting in an accuracy of 88% (sensitivity = 0.87, specificity = 0.90). Applying the CNN to data from a single wearable sensor successfully classified basketball players as recreational or professional with an accuracy of up to 88%. This study represents a step towards the development of a biofeedback device to improve free-throw shooting technique.

Impact of free throws in basketball

Impact of free throws in basketball

Improving Effectiveness of Basketball Free Throws through the Implementation of Technologies in the Technical Training Process

The aim of the study was to implement a specific training program to improve basketball free throws by using an innovative system called “system and technical device designed for motor learning process in the field of sports science and physical education with direct applicability in basketball specific training-free throw improvement”, as well as to evaluate the level of free throw effectiveness. We also aimed to highlight the differences in progress between the experimental and control groups for three age categories U14, U16, and U18 male juniors. The system and the device for detecting the ideal trajectory of the ball were provided by a high-speed video camera which captured the images and projected them in real-time onto a projection surface that was placed in front of, or to the side of the athlete, depending on the subject’s preference, provided that this projection surface is in the performer’s field of vision. The research took place from 5 April to 10 July 2021 and phased as follows: initial testing, implementation of the experimental 12-week free-throw training program (one individualized training session per week lasting 120 min), and final testing. The study included 360 subjects aged 13–14 years, who were grouped according to gender and team sport played. The evaluation was done by three tests: the FRB test (standardized test), the Shoot-Run test, and the 10 experimental throws test. The results of the study in all three motor tests showed that by implementing the innovative system that was designed for motor learning, the effectiveness of free throw shooting improved significantly in the players of the experimental groups in all age groups (U14, U16, U18), thus evidencing a positive, upward dynamic in relation to the increasing age category. In all three motor tests, the progress of the experimental groups was superior to the control groups as a result of the implementation of the experimental exercise program using the innovative system and device that was designed to improve free throws. The results of the study highlighted the effectiveness and opportunity of the implementation of innovative technologies in the process of training and evaluation of basketball specific free throws.

Error-based and reinforcement learning in basketball free throw shooting

This study investigates the effects of error-based and reinforcement training on the acquisition and long-term retention of free throw accuracy in basketball. Sixty participants were divided into four groups (n = 15 per group): (i) the error-based group (sensory feedback), (ii) the reinforcement group (binary feedback including success or failure), (iii) the mixed group (sensory feedback followed by binary feedback), and (iv) the control group (without training). Free throws success was recorded before training (PreT), immediately after (Postd0), one day later (Postd1), and seven days later (Postd7). The error-based group, but not the reinforcement group, showed a significant immediate improvement in free throw accuracy (PreT vs Postd0). Interestingly, over time (Postd0 vs Postd1 vs Postd7), the reinforcement group significantly improved its accuracy, while the error-based group decreased it, returning to the PreT level (PreT vs Post7). The mixed group showed the advantage of both training methods, i.e., fast acquisition and retention on a long-term scale. Error-based learning leads to better acquisition, while reinforcement learning leads to better retention. Therefore, the combination of both types of learning is more efficient for both acquisition and retention processes. These findings provide new insight into the acquisition and retention of a fundamental basketball skill in free throw shooting.

The Impact of Different Attentional Focus Strategies During Modeling on the Acquisition and Retention of Free Throws in Basketball

Background: In recent years, coaches and athletes have increasingly used observation as a tool for teaching and learning sports skills. Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of modeling, using internal and external attentional focus strategies, on the acquisition and retention of free throw shooting in basketball. Methods: Forty-five female beginner basketball players (aged 21.62 ± 3.08 years, with a BMI of 23.48 ± 0.99 kg/m2) voluntarily participated in this study. Based on their pre-test scores using the ABBA method, they were divided into three groups: One group received modeling with an internal attention focus strategy, another group received modeling with an external attention focus strategy, and a control group. A video demonstrating the correct throwing technique was used to teach the attention-focusing strategies, and the groups did not receive any physical training. After watching the video, participants performed their own throwing attempts. Following group allocation, the participants entered the acquisition phase, which consisted of six sessions, with each session including two sets of ten attempts and a 2-minute rest period between sets. One-way analysis of variance was used for both immediate and delayed recall tests, and data analysis was conducted using SPSS 20 software.” Results: The study found a significant difference in free throw performance between the three modeling groups (internal attention focus, external attention focus, and control) during both the acquisition and delayed retention stages (P ≤ 0.05). Additionally, there was a significant difference in basketball free throw performance between the three modeling groups during the recall test (P ≤ 0.05). Conclusions: Overall, the results suggest that observational learning, combined with attentional focus strategies, is an effective method for improving skill acquisition and retention in basketball.