Thursday, March 19, 2020

Analysis of the lay up in basketball Essays

Analysis of the lay up in basketball Essays Analysis of the lay up in basketball Paper Analysis of the lay up in basketball Paper The lay-up shot is one of the most commonly used techniques and you dont have to be 6 feet tall to find the net.  Step 1  The overall aim of the lay-up is to drive towards the basket and score off the backboard. Dribbling to the net from the side of the court should give you the space needed to make the jump.  Step 2  Transfer all your weight onto the front leg. If you are right-handed this will be your left leg or if you are left-handed it will be your right leg. Bending the knee will help provide the spring needed. Step 3  Launch yourself off your forward leg, and thrust your arms upwards towards the net to prepare for the shot. Aim to jump towards the side off the basket and at the top of your leap, roll the ball out your shooting hand.  Step 4  Try and lay the ball softly on to the backboard, hit the top corner of the rectangle on your side of the basket  Mechanics of the lay-up  There are biomechanical movements that take place when performing the lay-up. In the preparation stage there is an important transfer of weight. You must transfer all your weight onto the front leg. If you are right-handed this will be your left leg or if you are left-handed it will be your right leg. Bending the knee will help provide the spring needed. This is known as maximum force application meaning you can get a powerful leap, upwards, towards the basket. To get maximum force application you have to use your legs and arms to generate the force needed to get sufficient height to make the lay-up shot easier and give adequate arm extension. There is also friction being generated between my clients trainers and the court surface. This gives you grip. The lay-up shot is a shot where you bring your hands above your head while you are in mid air. You have your hands above your head in the air with the ball is to raise your centre of gravity which will allow you to stay in the air for longer this is known as your hang time and also so the ball doesnt have to drive as far to the basket, this enables you to more precise and accurate with the shot by laying the ball softly on to the backboard, trying to hit the top corner of the rectangle on your side of the basket. Angle of release also comes into this because you have to release the ball at its highest point in the jump, this means your hands should be above eye level. Comparisons Client and Model Performer My performer when I first tested him when performing the lay-up whilst he was in the air about to release the ball seem to swivel so when he was throwing the ball it wasnt going where it was intended and wasnt very accurate. Model Performers such as Michael Jordan do fancy lay-ups which include a swivel in it but there shots are precise and accurate. My client didnt generate enough force from his legs which should enable him to push of the ground like a spring so this is harder to raise the centre of gravity therefore my client doesnt have long in the air so the shot has to be rushed hence the reason for less amount of shots going in the basket. Whereas the likes of Michael Jordan know they have to generate effective force in his muscles so he can make more baskets and score more points for his team. By him generating the power from his legs and transferring his weight evenly then Michael Jordan knows he can tower above the defenders. My clients momentum wasnt very effective because he was under the basket when he started to do the lay-up so it wasnt going where it was intended to go and the target area of the top corner of the rectangle wasnt effective as my client couldnt see it. Michael Jordan uses momentum to his advantage because he knows maximise speed for example when gaining fouls or evading the defence. My performer didnt bend his knees after landing therefore he couldnt keep his balance. Michael Jordan knows only too well that bending the knees acts as a shock absorber consequently is able to maintain his centre of gravity.

Tuesday, March 3, 2020

Achilles - Profile of the Greek Hero of the Trojan War

Achilles - Profile of the Greek Hero of the Trojan War Achilles is the quintessentially heroic subject of Homers great poem of adventure and war, the Iliad. Achilles was the greatest of the warriors famed for his swiftness on the Greek (Achaean) side during the Trojan War, directly competing with Troys warrior hero Hector. Achilles is perhaps most famous for being imperfectly invulnerable, a detail of his exciting and mythical life known as the Achilles Heel that is described elsewhere. Achilles Birth Achilles mother was the nymph Thetis, who had early attracted the wandering eyes of both Zeus and Poseidon. The two gods lost interest after the mischievous Titan Prometheus revealed a prophecy about the future son of Thetis: he was destined to be greater and stronger than his father. Neither Zeus nor Poseidon was willing to risk losing his position in the pantheon, so they turned their attention elsewhere, and Thetis ended up married to a mere mortal. With Zeus and Poseidon no longer in the picture, Thetis married King Peleus, a son of the King of Aegina. Their life together, although short-lived, produced the child Achilles. As was true for the most famous of the ancient heroes of Greek myth and legend, Achilles was raised by the centaur Chiron and taught at a school of heroes by Phoenix. Achilles at Troy As an adult, Achilles became part of the Achaean (Greek) forces during the ten long years of the Trojan War, which, according to legend was fought over the much-courted  Helen of Troy, who had been kidnapped from her Spartan husband Menelaus by Paris, the Prince of Troy. The leader of the Achaeans (Greeks) was Helens (first) brother-in-law Agamemnon, who led the Achaeans to Troy to win her back. Proud and autocratic, Agamemnon antagonized Achilles, causing Achilles to leave the battle. Furthermore, Achilles has been told by his mother that he would have one of two fortunes: he could fight at Troy, die young and achieve everlasting fame, or he could choose to return to Phthia where he would live a long life, but be forgotten. Like any good Greek hero, Achilles first chose fame and glory, but Agamemnons arrogance was too much for him, and he headed home. Getting Achilles Back to Troy Other Greek leaders argued with Agamemnon, saying Achilles was too powerful a warrior to be left out of the battle. Several books of the Iliad are dedicated to the negotiations to get Achilles back into battle. These books describe long conversations among Agamemnon and his diplomatic team including Achilles old teacher Phoenix, and his friends and fellow warriors Odysseus and Ajax, pleading with Achilles to get him to fight. Odysseus offered gifts, news that the war was not going well and that Hector was a danger that only Achilles should kill. Phoenix reminisced about Achilles heroic education, playing on his emotions; and Ajax upbraided Achilles for not supporting his friends and companions in the fray. But Achilles remained adamant: he would not fight for Agamemnon. Patroclus and Hector After he left the conflict at Troy, Achilles urged one of his closest friends Patroclus, to go fight in Troy, offering his armor. Patroclus donned Achilless armorexcept for his ash spear, which only Achilles could wieldand went into battle as a direct substitute (what Nickel refers to as doublet) for Achilles. And at Troy, Patroclus was killed by Hector, the greatest warrior on the Trojan side. Upon word of the death of Patroclus, Achilles finally agreed to fight with the Greeks. As the story goes, an enraged Achilles put on the armor and killed Hectorsignificantly with the ash speardirectly outside of the gates of Troy, and then dishonored Hectors body by dragging it around tied to the back of a chariot for nine consecutive days. It is said that the gods kept Hectors corpse miraculously sound during this nine-day period. Eventually, Hectors father, King Priam of Troy, appealed to the better nature of Achilles and persuaded him to return Hectors corpse to his family in Troy for proper funeral rites. The Death of Achilles The death of Achilles was inflicted by an arrow that was shot directly into his vulnerable heel. That story isnt in the Iliad, but you can read about how Achilles obtained his less-than-perfect heel. Edited and updated by  K. Kris Hirst Sources and Further Information Avery HC. 1998. Achilles Third Father. Hermes 126(4):389-397.Burgess J. 1995. Achilles Heel: The Death of Achilles in Ancient Myth. Classical Antiquity 14(2):217-244.Nickel R. 2002. Euphorbus and the Death of Achilles. Phoenix 56(3/4):215-233.Sale W. 1963. Achilles and Heroic Values. Arion: A Journal of Humanities and the Classics 2(3):86-100.Scodel R. 1989. The Word of Achilles. Classical Philology 84(2):91-99.