Biomechanics of Throwing a Football

By: Dean Controne

Jalen Parks

Levi Wiedmann
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Introduction

We all know football as a national pastime, spending every sunday of the fall and winter

lounging, rooting for your favorite team. Due to advanced scientific research applied to the

sport, controversy has grown over player safety resulting in reduced play among children. The

most important position and arguably one of the safest positions on the field is the quarterback.

Standing back in the pocket protected by a wall of 300 lb man, delivering passes with pinpoint

accuracy. To begin the throwing motion begins with a balanced stance referred to as the stance

phase where the athlete stands with their body pointed toward the target. It is important to have a

slight knee bend to maintain a strong center of gravity. The ball should be held in holding phase

with 90 degrees of flexion in both arms and horizontally abducted in the transverse plane.

In the holding phase, the ball should be held toward the back of the ball with the middle,

ring, and pinky fingers on the laces with the index finger on the seam. The athlete should create

an L shape with the index finger and the thumb.

They then move into the movement phase. To start align the non dominant shoulder with

the target. The ball should be held at 90 of flexion close to the ear to enable a quick release.

Both legs should be parallel to one another.

The action phase then begins as the athlete steps with their pivot foot towards the target.

The foot should point directly to the target. As the arm moves forward, elbow extension takes

place along with the fingers rolling off the ball to create the rotation. The faster the arms moves,

the more force you are able to throw with. Snapping your fingertips from the football, Flexion

and Extension of the arm, and the Torque from the Rotation of the body during the throw result

in an effective pass. The index finger should be the last finger to leave the ball.As the football is
 Cotrone, Parks, Wiedmann 2

released there is plantar flexion of the non dominant ankle in the mediolateral axis of the sagittal

plane.

Finally, the recovery phase begins. When the throw is complete, your throwing hand

should be extended downward in a pronated position and bilaterally pronated 180 degrees around

the transverse plane along the longitudinal axis. The athletes weight should be shifted forward

toward the leg that you initially stepped with to make the throw. This leg that you will be shifting

your weight toward the leg on the same side as the non dominant arm.

Method

Our method during this project was very simple. It only consisted of six steps. First, we

used a camera and filmed the athlete throwing a football from four angles, the front, back, and

both sides. Then, we reviewed all of the angles in slow motion and broke them down to each of

the four phases: stance, movement, action, recovery. For the third step we then compared it to the

our previous research on how the athlete should be throwing it as well as comparing to a

professional athlete. Then, we explained all of the muscles and movements used for each of the

phases. The sixth step consisted of observing any wrong technique displayed. Finally, we

analyzed the technique for and possible risk of injury.

Analysis

Video Link

http://www.hudl.com/technique/video/view/JFpJqJwq

Muscular Analysis
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In the shoulder, the anterior and middle deltoid both work the the retraction of the

shoulder. The supraspinatus and infraspinatus both work as a part of the rotator cuff allowing a

full range of motion in the shoulder as the arm moves forward in the throw. In the upper body,

the pectoral is major assists in internal rotation and a diagonal horizontal abduction resulting in

maximum speed and force in the throw. The subscapularis works as part of the rotator cuff

assisting in internal rotation.

Stance Phase

In the stance phase, there should be 90 of flexion in both arms. The athlete displayed a

39 angle of flexion in both arms. He held the ball correctly with the middle, ring, and pinky

fingers ion the laces with the index finger on the seam creating an L shape.

Movement Phase
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The athlete correctly aligned his non dominant shoulder with the target. There was 63 of

flexion in the elbow as oppose 90, but he correctly held the ball close to his ear allowing a quick

release.

Action Phase
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The athlete correctly stepped toward the target with his pivot foot creating a rotation in

the hips. At release there was 156 of extension in the arm creating a successful throw resulting

in a spiral. The torque of the athletes trunk and the speed of the arm applied a force to the ball to

allow it to carry all the way to the target.

Recovery Phase
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During recovery phase, the throw has ended and there should be 180 of extension. The

athlete had his throwing hand extended downward in a pronated position and bilaterally pronated

179 around the transverse plane along the longitudinal axis.

Conclusion

Although football is a very vicious contact sport there are multiple ways to suffer non

contact injuries through overuse or bad mechanics. The quarterback position is the one spot on

the team that is the most susceptible to overuse and non contact injuries. Although the position is

at high risk for these types of injuries; proper training, correct technique, and rehab after injury

are ways to prevent and improve the athletes performance after certain types of shoulder injuries.

Some of the common overuse injuries are rotator cuff tendonitis, labral strains and tears, and

bicep tendonitis. Rotator cuff tendonitis and labral strains and tears are caused by a weak or

unstable scapula but can be prevented by certain strength exercises that improve the movement

and strength of the muscles in the area. Bicep tendonitis is inflammation of the main tendon
 Cotrone, Parks, Wiedmann 7

attached to the top of the bicep. It becomes inflamed due to overuse as well in response to other

problems in the shoulder like the rotator cuff injuries, impingement, or instability.

Our paper analyzed the correct technique of throwing a football. In the research that we

did we noticed our athlete, Dean Cotrone, did not have the proper technique which could cause

injuries in the future. We recognized the proper technique and tried to help fix his. Without the

correct form of throwing a football many athletes could get injured and not perform to their full

potential. In the end, proper technique will always be important to allow athletes to be successful

in their sport, stay healthy, and have fun.

Works Cited

Beeman, Anthony. "A Kinetic and Dynamic Analysis of the American Football Overhead

Throwing Motion." Rensselaer, 7 Dec. 2015,

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Carney, Sean. "Movement 1: Throwing a Spiral." Biomechanics, 9 Mar. 2011,

biomechanicsoffootball.blogspot.com. Accessed 20 Nov. 2017.

Haley, Andy. "Quarterbacks: 4 Tips to Keep Your Throwing Shoulder Healthy." Stack.com, 14

Oct. 2014, www.stack.com/a/quarterback-throwing-shoulder. Accessed 5 Dec. 2017.

Onkst, Timothy. "Which Muscles Are Used When Throwing a Football?" Livestrong.com, 11

Sept. 2017, www.livestrong.com/article/404632-which-muscles-are-used-when-

throwing-a-football/. Accessed 5 Dec. 2017.

Purves, Jeffery. "Biomechanics in American Football | The Quarterback Throw." Biomechanics

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biomechanicsofthequarterbackthrow.blogspot.com. Accessed 20 Nov. 2017.

Wilk, Kevin E., and Gene G. Jameson. "Biomechanics and Rehabilitation of Elbow Injuries

during Throwinng." Athletic Threapy Today. Humankinetics.com,

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Accessed 20 Nov. 2017.