Throwing a Lacrosse Ball the Right Way

Overview

Objectives/Goals The objectives of this project are to: 1 - Determine if changing length of a lacrosse shaft will proportionally affect the throwing distance of a lacrosse ball. 2 - Determine if changing the throwing force will proportionally affect the throwing distance of a lacrosse ball. 3 - Determine if changing the throwing angle will proportionally affect the throwing distance of a lacrosse ball. Methods/Materials By building a catapult from construction lumber, barbell weights, and a lacrosse stick, throwing trials with standard lacrosse balls were conducted where each variable combination was tested five times. The changing variables were: 1 - Six different throwing shaft lengths, varied by 6" increments. 2 - Four different throwing forces, varied in 5 lb increments from 5 lbs of force to 20 lbs. 3 - Four different throwing angles, varied by 10 degree increments from 90 degrees to 60 degrees. Results For the first hypothesis, variable shaft length, the longer shaft lengths did cause, proportionally, longer ball throws. For the second hypothesis, variable throwing force, the heavier weights did cause longer throws, proportionally. For the third hypothesis, variable throwing angle, the higher angles did not conclusively cause a change in throwing distance. Conclusions/Discussion The main purpose of this experiment was to test different release angles, shaft lengths, and weights for a more accurate and farther throw. This wasn't completely achieved because of some malfunctions in the shaft extension. However, with the data that was collected, the purpose was semi-achieved because over sixty trials were conducted and good data were collected.

Competition history

• CSEF 2011 Applied Mechanics & Structures · Entry J0311

Resources

• CSEF project summary ↗

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