I have put up online in a separate page, new online calculators: Calculator #4; Calculator #3.

Today I used data produced by these calculators, on the basketball court for the first time.

I entered the gym at 445 PM. Here are the notes I took during the practice and edited after the practice: activities that were based upon data generated by the online calculators I built, data generated by the calculators, activity using the calculators, and benefits derived from use of the calculators, are presented in black type on white background.

46 wood panels to the right of the black line (as I face doorway closest to lobby) is 14.8' from the mountain climbing wall.

1 row bricks = 8" ht. at bottom of wall is rubber material counted as 1/2 the height of the 8" rows of brick in the wall.

15.5 rows of bricks = 10' ht on the wall.

Therefore, 23.25 rows of bricks = 15' ht on the wall.

2" above the central red rock on the rock climbing wall= 14' ht.

23.5 rows above the floor (23.25 row ht=15'), is exactly 2 rows above the top of the central red stone on the mountain climbing wall; this central red stone is in the row that is between 20.5 and 21.5 rows in height. This central red stone has a gray dinosaur to its right.

The 24' distance shot that reaches an apex of 16': the apex is reached 14.4 feet from the shot-start point, this is 5" closer to the shot-release point compared to the apex-distance of 14.8' when the apex is when the apex is 15' . On the Mountain-climbing wall, a height of 16' = the top border of the row with the light brown, black and green stones.

An apex of 17' = middle of the row with the light-brown/pink, red, brown, and yellow stones (4 stones).

An apex of 18' = top border of row with yellow, pink/white/black, and brown stones (3 stones, left-to right).

An apex of 19' = middle of row with red stone and brown stone (2 stones).

An apex of 20'= top border of row with small-white stone, red stone, and white stone (this border is 3 rows of bricks (2 feet) below the top border of the rows of bricks. The top border of the bricks is 22' above the floor.

Note: the above estimates are preliminary, I hope to improve the accuracy of the these height markers in the future.

The ceiling is 24' in height, not 26' which had been my previous estimate.

The wall behind the main basket near the front lobby, is 7' 10.5" behind the basket. My previous estimate for this distance was 7'.

The wall behind the main basket furthest from the front lobby, is 8' behind the basket. My previous estimate for this distance was 7'.

I experimented with shooting at a point on the mountain wall that was 14' above the floor, that was 15.3' from the shot point. The angle on this shot correlated with an eye-apex of ball in flight line that intersected with the background wall behind the basket at a point 1 foot below the wall ceiling intersection, according to the data I had at the time.

After shooting at the wall from 15.3', aiming for the apex of the arc of the ball in flight to be a point on the wall that was 14' high, the first two shots I took from 24' at the basket itself, went in, and the third one was almost in, it hit first one side of the rim and then the opposite side of the rim, making a noise like a loud drum each time, before popping out of the basket. The shooting at the basket which came after shooting at the wall was good right from the start, given the fact that I was dealing with the distraction of attempting to measure what spot on the ceiling or background-wall the ball lined up with visually when at its apex during flight.

At this point I decided I would shoot only shots that apexed at 14', because the data I had fed the calculators was based on the idea that the ceiling was 26' high, when actually the ceiling was 24' high. Since the spot on the wall that lines up with the eye and the apex of the ball in flight is 23' high on the wall when the ball apexes at 14' on a 24' shot, the spot on the wall that lines up with the eye and the apex of the ball in flight, was unaffected by my prior miscalculation that the wall was 26' high.

Next while shooting at the wall, I estimated that during the practice a few days ago when my 24' shooting became unusually bad, I had pushed the arc on the 24' distance shots all the way up to 17'.

I noted that when shooting at the main basket that is closest to the front lobby, the bottom edge of a protruding ceiling obstruction almost directly in front of the basket, is 19' above the ground.

Next at around 7 PM I left the gym to go home to recalculate statistics re arc apex, apex distance, and angle etc. I then returned to the gym at 825 PM.

The shooting continued to be hot. I felt inwardly convinced, that the key to pro level shooting, is consistency of arc.

At this point I was shooting well and I felt that the low-shot-percentage style of practice I'd been following, had significantly improved my performance in easier situations where my shot-percentage is higher, such as shooting the same shot over and over for more than just twenty attempts.

Today the shot I was shooting was just two types: neither wrist nor elbow power was emphasized; arc apex height aimed for was either 14' or the max I could achieve; a high level of backspin was put on the ball.

At first I was trying to spot and remember the apex of arc point, in terms of the spot on the wall it lined up with visually; and in this I failed; then I began to remember the entire arc path of the ball, and from this memory I became able to ID the spot on the background wall the ball visually lined up with at its apex point.

From my experience with attempting to note observations made during soccer runs, I felt that the skill of judging what spot on the background wall the ball lined up with at its apex, would eventually be mastered but that such might take some time.

Next I shot the 24' distance shots using my left hand with my right hand never even touching the ball; I'd start with my hand under the ball in my left hand, and then bring it up for the shot with the right hand never touching the ball. I attempted to shoot these shots with apexes of ball in flight at 14'. After a while these shots started going in--despite the distraction of having to watch the arc of the ball carefully after releasing the ball.

Next I shot balls from 24' at ultra-high apexes, continuing to use the left hand only. I recorded what point on the ceiling, the apexes of these balls visually lined up with. I noted that they lined up with a spot 8' in front of the edge where the wall intersects the ceiling behind the basket. These shots also often went in or almost in, after I had gotten used to such shots.

Overall the shooting was good with lots of shots featuring high ball-apex and plenty of backspin going in or almost in.

Arriving home, I used the online calculator I had built, to discover that at the end of the practice while attempting ultra-high apex shots, I was shooting balls that were apexing at 16' (I could determine this using the calculator because I knew that the shots, when at their apexes, visually lined up with a straight line that connected my eyes, the ball at its apex, and a spot 8 feet in front of where the ceiling intersects the wall behind the basket.

Thus I conclude regarding the recent ultra-low percentage from 24': I ordered myself to put extreme apex on the ball, because I felt confident because the preceding segment I had shot so well with my right hand; I began shooting balls that apexed at 16'; the percentage on these 16' apex shots was very low the first 20 attempts because of my lack of experience with such extreme apex shots; finally I entered a phase where about half of the 16' apex shots that were shot with proper style went in; about seven such shots went in, they all had extreme amounts of backspin on them.

I feel having understood the phase I went through when I shot so badly for twenty shots, will be good for me mentally and improve my percentage. The previous practice which involved a low percentage shooting at extremely high arc, I felt like: an airplane pilot lost in the bermuda triangle; a pilot whose altitude-meter does not work; an astronaut lost in space.

Prior to the start of practice I felt too tired to practice, but at the end of the practice I felt much more energetic than I did prior to the start of the practice.

I'm the type to get turned off by brainless exercise, and neglect exercise, until I do the homework necessary to make it worthwhile. A wise approach might be: if the gym use has been interfered with, do swimming, weights, running. But I know myself, I will not do these things unless I have done some imaginative, creative homework re the things first.

Relevant Facts:

Swimming World Records:
Cielo, 50 m freestyle, 20.91 secs 2.39 meters per sec
Hackett, 1500 m freestyle, 874.56 secs 1.72 m per sec
Estimate of what world record mile in swimming would be 939.26 secs, 1.71 meters per sec.

Track World Records
100 m Bolt 9.58 secs
1500 m El Guerrouj, 206.00 seconds.
1760 yds, 1609.344 meters, El Guerrouj, 223.13 seconds. Speed, 7.21 meters per second.

The speed that I aim for in track is 6-minute miles over a distance of one and two miles: 1760 yds, 1609.344 meters, 360 seconds--a speed of 4.47 meters per second. This is the speed that traditionally has been considered sufficient in terms of fitness level for a soccer player. This speed is 62% of the world record speed. At the six minute per mile speed: 1/32nd of a mile is covered in 11.25 secs; 1/16th of a mile is covered in 22.5 secs; 1/10th of a mile is covered in 36 seconds; 1/8th of a mile is covered in 45 secs; 1/4 of a mile is covered in 90 secs; 1/2 of a mile is covered in 180 secs.

What would the equivalent of a six-minute mile on land be, swimming free-style (crawl-stroke), in the water? I estimate that if I swam at 62% of world record speed, alternating between a length swimming the crawl and a length swimming the breaststroke, I would cover 400 meters, at 62% of the world record speed for 400 meters, in 6.65 minutes (the breaststroke is 1.25x slower than the crawl in terms of seconds per distance covered). 400 meters is 437.4 yards, 17.50 lengths of the pool. The 17.5 lengths of the pool in 6.65 minutes pace, is the same as a 18 lengths of the pool in 6.84 minutes, at which pace a length of crawl plus a length swimming breaststroke totals to 46 seconds. A target of 18 lengths of the pool in 7 minutes would be approximately equivalent and easy to remember.

Traditionally a soccer player was expected to be able to run a mile at 62% world record speed. However: conditioning for sports such as soccer has shifted to an emphasis on shorter sprints run repeatedly, at speeds faster than the six-minute-mile pace; often-times in the gym, our mood and our situation is such that we would feel like conditioning ourselves doing runs other than six mile runs; long distance running might slow down our sprint-speed.

Thus the question arises: if I aim for a speed of 62% of world record speed in running the mile (because such is the mile-run speed traditionally considered to be what soccer players need to be able to run at), how fast should I be running other distances, if I aim to run these other distances at 62% of world record speed also?

Answer: Husain Bolt's world record speed for 100 meters (0.06 miles), was 10.44 meters per second over 100 meters; 62% of this speed is 6.47 meters per sec, which is 15.46 secs per 100 meters (14.14 per 100 yds).

Next you want to know, what speed would be 62% of world record speed over 15 yards, or over 30 yards (length and width of a typical gym)?

The answer is complicated by the fact that the world record sprinter, Usain Bolt, ran at a speed that varied over the course of his 100 meter run; he was slower at first, and then speeded up.

The situation is confused because apparently nobody in the whole wide world, has bothered to keep track of facts such as how the speed of the fastest sprinters varies from meter distance from start to next meter distance from start etc., chronologically.

I estimate that Bolt covered the first 15 yards of his world-record 100 meter dash, in 2.238 seconds ( 2.403 seconds including Bolt's 0.165 second delay between the time the starter's pistol sounded and the time Bolt started running); my estimated speed for Bolt over the first 15 yards is 6.13 meters per second (excluding Bolt's delay between the starter's gun going off and Bolt starting to run). 62% of this speed would be 3.80 meters per second; at 3.8 meters per second, I would run 15 yards in 3.61 seconds. Seems correct to leave out Bolt's reaction-time delay, when stats are applied to runs involving starting at one's own command.

My estimate is that Bolt covered the first 30 yards of his world record 100 meter sprint, in 3.56 seconds (not counting his reaction-time delay after the starter pistol sound of 0.165 seconds, including this delay, he ran it in 3.722 seconds). Not counting reaction time this is a speed of 7.71 meters per second overall. 62% of this speed would be 4.78 meters per second. At a speed of 4.78 meters per second, 30 yards would be traversed in 5.74 seconds.

My estimate is that Bolt covered the first 40 yards of his world-record 100 meter sprint in 4.357 seconds (not counting his reaction-time after the starter pistol sound, delay of 0.165 seconds, including this delay, he ran it in 4.522 seconds). Not counting reaction time this is a speed of 8.40 meters per second overall. 62% of this speed would be 5.21 meters per second. At a speed of 5.21 meters per second, 40 yards would be traversed in 7.0 seconds.

Here is the math upon which the above estimates are based:

Estimating Bolt's speed and time over the first 15 yards of his run:

Relevant facts: Bolt's speed over the first 10 meters was 5.41 meters per sec; over the second 10 meters it was 9.80 meters per second; over the first 20 meters combined, it was 6.97 meters per second. 15 yds=13.716 meters, 30 yds = 27.432 meters. Bolt ran the first 10 meters (10.94 yds) in 1.85 seconds; he ran the next 10 meters in 1.02 seconds; if his speed was what it was at the end of the second 10 meters, his speed from meter 10 to meter 14 was 9.8 meters per second; if he accelerated from meter 10 to meter 14, at the same rate he accelerated from meter 15 to meter 25, his speed at meter 14 was faster than his speed at meter 10.

Relevant facts: Bolt ran at 9.80 meters per sec from meter 10 to meter 20; Bolt ran at 10.99 meters per second from meter 20to meter 30; I estimate: from meter 15 to meter 25, Bolt's speed accelerated by 1.12x; Over 10 meters Bolt's speed accelerated by 1.011x per meter with each additional meter travelled, from meter 15 to meter 25; Bolt's speed was 9.8 meters per second at 15 meters; his speed was 9.69 meters per sec at 14 meters; his speed was 9.59 meters per sec at 13 meters; his speed was 9.48 meters per second at 12 meters; his speed was 9.38 meters per sec at 11 meters; his speed was 9.28 meters per sec at 10 meters; thus it took him 0.107 secs to go from meter 10-11; 0.106 secs to go from meter 11 to meter 12; 0.105 secs to go from meter 12 to meter 13; and 0.07 secs to go from meter 13 to meter 13.716 (15 yards); thus I estimate that Bolt covered the first 15 yards in 1.85+0.107+0.106+0.105+0.07=2.238 seconds (does not include Bolt's reaction-time delay after starter's gun of 0.165 seconds); my estimated speed for Bolt over the first 15 yards is 6.13 meters per second. 62% of this speed would be 3.80 meters per second; at 3.8 meters per second, I would run 15 yards in 3.61 seconds.

Estimating how fast Bolt ran the first 30 yards of his world record sprint, and how fast I would run 30 yards, if I was running at 62% of the speed of Usain Bolt:

30 yards is 27.42 meters. We know Bolt ran the first 20 meters in 2.87 seconds . We know he ran the first 30 meters in 3.78 seconds (not counting Bolt's reaction-time delay after the starter's pistol sounded). Applying the same methods used to estimate how fast he ran 15 yards: I estimate that he ran the first 30 yards in 3.56 seconds (not counting his reaction-time after the starter pistol sound, delay of 0.165 seconds, including this delay, he ran it in 3.722 seconds).

Relevant stats:
2.87 secs at 20 meters; 3.035 including reaction time at gun
speed at 28 meters: 11.36 meters per second;
speed at 27 meters: 11.23 meters per second;
speed at 26 meters: 11.11 meters per second;
speed at 25 meters: 10.99 meters per second;
speed at 24 meters: 1.087 meters per sec;
speed at 23 meters: 10.75 m/s;
speed at 22 meters: 10.64 m/s;
speed at 21 meters: 10.52 m/s;
speed at 20 meters: 10.41 m/s.
Therefore:
meters 20-21 distance covered at speed of 10.465 m/s, in 0.096 secs;
meters 21-22 distance covered at speed of 10.580 m/s, in 0.095 secs;
meters 22-23 distance covered at speed of 10.695 m/s, in 0.094 secs;
meters 23-24 distance covered at speed of 10.81 m/s, in 0.093 secs;
meters 24-25 distance covered at speed of 10.93 m/s, in 0.091 secs;
meters 25-26 distance covered at speed of 11.05 m/s, in 0.090 secs;
meters 26-27 distance covered at speed of 11.17 m/s, in 0.090 secs;
meters 27-27.432 distance covered at speed of 11.295 m/s, in 0.038 secs;

Thus, Bolt covered 30 yards in 2.87+0.096+0.095+0.094+0.093+0.091+0.090+0.090+0.038= 2.87+0.687=3.56 seconds (not counting his reaction-time after the starter pistol sound, delay of 0.165 seconds, including this delay, he ran it in 3.722 seconds). Not counting reaction time this is a speed of 7.71 meters per second overall. 62% of this speed would be 4.78 meters per second. At a speed of 4.78 meters per second, 30 yards would be traversed in 5.74 seconds.

Estimates re the fab 40 yard dash, which is a big deal in US pro football, and regarding which exaggerated claims of speed have famously been made:

Relevant facts:

40 yds = 36.58 meters. We know Bolt ran the first 30 meters in 3.78 seconds, 3.945 seconds including reaction-time delay after starter's gun. We estimate with confidence that his speed was 10.99 meters per second at 25 meters, and 11.49 meters per second at 35 meters. I estimate that his acceleration per meter from 25 m to 35 m was 1.0044x.

speed at 37 meters: 11.58 meters per second;
speed at 36 meters: 11.53 meters per second;
speed at 35 meters: 11.48 meters per second; this is supposed to be 11.49; x1.0455 of at 25; 1.0044x per meter.
speed at 34 meters: 11.43 meters per second;
speed at 33 meters: 11.38 meters per sec;
speed at 32 meters: 11.33 m/s;
speed at 31 meters: 11.28 m/s;
speed at 30 meters: 11.23 m/s;
Therefore:
meters 30-31 distance covered at speed of 11.255 m/s, in 0.089 secs;
meters 31-32 distance covered at speed of 11.305 m/s, in 0.088 secs;
meters 32-33 distance covered at speed of 11.355 m/s, in 0.088 secs;
meters 33-34 distance covered at speed of 11.405 m/s, in 0.088 secs;
meters 34-35 distance covered at speed of 11.455 m/s, in 0.087 secs;
meters 35-36 distance covered at speed of 11.505 m/s, in 0.087 secs; (25 m speed = 10.99)
meters 36-36.58 distance covered at speed of 11.555 m/s, in 0.050 secs;

Thus, Bolt covered 40 yards in 3.78+0.089+0.088+0.088+0.088+0.087+0.087+0.050= 3.78+0.577=4.357 seconds (not counting his reaction-time after the starter pistol sound, delay of 0.165 seconds, including this delay, he ran it in 4.522 seconds). Not counting reaction time this is a speed of 8.40 meters per second overall. 62% of this speed would be 5.21 meters per second. At a speed of 5.21 meters per second, 40 yards would be traversed in 7.0 seconds.

Very few basketball coaches/teachers discuss why there can be an advantage to increasing the apex height of a shot, based on the path the ball follows in flight; this despite the fact that generally people expect persons to employ a method more effectively when they understand the reasoning behind the employment of the method. The few who do, base their explanation on the following principle: if you hold a drinking glass in front of your eyes at a little bit below eye level, the distance between the near upper edge of the glass and the far upper edge of the glass, looks small compared to this distance after you lower the glass a few inches--thus one can see how a ball coming in from a high apex, has more margin of error than a ball coming in to the basket from a low apex. By margin of error, I mean the extent to which the angle of the ball as it descends can vary with the ball still going in the basket; the more margin of error the better.

This simple explanation offered by the few who even attempt to explain the advantages of a high apex, neglects two points: one, at what point does the advantage of increasing the height of the apex begin to be outweighed by the disadvantages; and two, the higher the apex, the further from the basket (spot on floor directly below apex to spot on floor directly below basket distance) the apex point must occur, if the shot is to be on target.

The few who bother attempting to explain the advantage of high apex, thus fail to take into account, that although (given apex height left unchanged) a higher apex tends towards producing a greater margin of error, it is also true, that (given apex height left unchanged), the farther from the basket (distance of spot on floor directly below apex to spot on floor directly below basket) the apex occurs the less the angular margin of error for the shot.

When shooting from a given distance, with the target being the exact center of the basket-ring, if the exact center of the basket-ring is hit with the apex being at a certain point in space, if the apex height is increased, the distance from the center of the ring to the apex must also be increased if the center of the basket-ring is to be hit again.

Nevertheless, using pencil and paper, you can see that if it were possible to increase the apex height without moving the apex point backwards while continuing to hit the exact center of the ring, the increase in apex height would increase the angular margin of error; thus, increasing the apex height, in and of itself, tends towards increasing the angular margin of error.

You can also see, that if it were possible to move the apex height backwards farther away from the basket without moving the apex point upwards while continuing to hit the exact center of the ring, the backwards movement of the apex height would decrease the angular margin of error; thus, moving the apex point farther away from the basket, in and of itself, tends towards decreasing the angular margin of error.

Note: in my calculations, the apex point always occurs at a point above and in front of the basket.

By way of their emphatic simplicity, the few who attempt to explain the advantage of high apex of arc, contradict what players intuitively know: apexes whose horizontal distance (spot on floor below apex to spot on floor below basket) from the basket are greater, tend towards producing a lower margin of error, and higher apexed shots have to apex further from the basket, if they are to be on target.

The result apparently is huge numbers of shooters continuing to shoot shots involving a low apex for the ball in flight, despite what coaches tell them about the advantage of high apex.

Moving beyond the simple explanation offered by the few who attempt to explain the matter: since if a shot from a given distance is to be on target high apexes have to be farther from the basket than low apexes, one must find the apex height at which the advantages of a high apex point, outweigh the disadvantages of an apex point that is farther away from the basket; the direct-line shot-release to apex-point distance varies depending upon the apex-height; and, the amount of energy required to shoot the ball varies depending upon the apex height. The closer the apex-point to the release-point, the easier it is to aim the ball. The less energy is required to propel the ball, the easier it is to accurately aim the ball.

The paradoxes of all the factors involved, are such that, for example for an on-target shot released 24' from the basket: sometimes an increase in apex height for a given distance shot increases the angular margin of error; sometimes a decrease in the the apex height increases the angular margin of error; sometimes an increase in apex height increases the direct-line release-point to apex distance; and sometimes an increase in apex height decreases the direct-line release point to apex distance.

Figuring out what the optimal shot angle and apex of arc are for a given shot-distance can be complex because the answer can depend on personal preference in terms of weighing against each other: the amount of energy that has to be put into the shot, the direct-line distance from the release-point to the apex-point, and the angular margin of error when the ball starts its descent.

I've found that for me personally, shooting from 24', the optimal apex height, looking at margin of error alone, would be 15'. By way of contrast, I also found that on average the NBA all-time leaders in terms of 3-point percentage, shoot at an arc that produces an apex of 13.5'.

Maybe I, by using my private unreleased advanced version of the programs I've put online, have figured out something the NBA players have not understood; could be, the NBA players, functioning intuitively as opposed to utilizing a math/physics/programming-type approach, are slightly mistaken. Then again, maybe the NBA players have decided, that the disadvantage of having to put more energy into a 15' apex shot released 24' from the basket, outweighs the advantages derived from shooting from 24' using an apex of 15'.

I compared a 24' distance shot, shot from a release point of 7' above the ground, reaching an apex of 13.5' (best NBA 3-point shooters), to a 24' distance shot, shot from a release point of 7' above the ground, reaching an apex of 15' (tentatively me).

I found that: the direct-line release-point to apex distance when the apex is 15', is o.5% less than the direct-line release-point to apex distance when the apex is 13.5'; the energy requirement when the apex is 15', is 5.7% more than the energy requirement when the apex is 13.5'; the margin of error when the apex is 15', is 14.0% more than the margin of error when the apex is 13.5'.

Hence I suspect that shooting for an apex of 15', is preferable to shooting for an apex of 13.5' (NBA), because the increased energy requirement when utilizing an apex of 15', is more than balanced out, by the increased margin of error when shooting from 15'.

The difference between the margin of error using the 15' apex height, and the margin of error using the 13.5' apex height, is mathematically equivalent to the difference between shooting at a basketball ring that has a width of 19.20", and shooting at a basketball ring that has a width of 18.24". When the apex is at 15', it's as if the basketball ring (standard dimension, 18" width), was an inch wider, compared to when the apex is at 13.5'. The question is: is that equivalent of one inch added to the width of the basket-ring, worth having to put 5.7% more effort into the shot?

Since October 23 2010, I've been keeping track of how many of my shots almost went in, using a strict definition of what an 'almost in' shot is. According to this strict definition of an 'almost-in' shot, a shot is counted as 'almost-in' only if: the ball hits one side of the ring and then hits the other side of the ring before popping out; the ball swirls around the ring before popping out. My stats show that on left-handed shots from 21-24', my percentage would have been 35% higher if the almost-ins had gone in.

Hence, if the basket being one inch wider had resulted in half of the almost-ins going in, my shot-percentage would have been 17.6% higher than it was. if the basket being one inch wider had resulted in one-quarter of the almost-ins going in, my shot-percentage would have been 8.8% higher than it was. If I was shooting 3-pointers at 37% like Ryan Anderson, who ranks #66 in the NBA in 3-point percentage, my shooting percentage going up by 8.8% would bring me up to 40.26% (37 x 1.088 = 40.26), and move me up to #10 in the NBA, tied with the famous Steve Nash. And to think that this could, theoretically speaking, be accomplished simply by increasing the amount of energy put into 3-point shots apexing at 13.5', by 5.7%, so as to apex the shots at 15' instead.

The 24' distance shot released at a height of 7' that reaches an apex of 13.5', can be compared to the 24' distance shot released at a height of 7' that reaches an apex of 15', in terms of how high the ball is at various points after the release of the ball, and prior to the apex of the ball. It is legal for a defender to block a shot if the ball has not reached its apex when it is blocked.

Looking at a point in the trajectory of the ball that is a horizontal distance (spot on floor directly below release-point to spot on floor directly below location of ball) of 2' away from the release point: at this point the shot that reaches an apex of 13.5' has attained a height of 7.832'; whereas, the shot that reaches an apex of 15' has attained a height of 8.082' (based on release-point to apex-point straight-line). Thus 2' from release point, the ball is 3" higher when the apex point is 15' above the ground, compared to where the ball is 2' from release-point, when the apex point is 13.5' above the ground.

Thus, when the ball is released from 7' with the apex being 15', at a point horizontally 2' from the release point, the ball reaches the same height as it would if the ball had been released from a height of 7'3" with the apex point being 13.5'. Therefore, simply by moving the apex up to 15' from 13.5', when it comes to my interaction with a defender who is 2' away, I have increased my height by 3".

Similar numbers for when the ball is 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7 feet away from the release point in terms of horizontal distance:

Horizontal distance from release point 7' above ground: height of ball when apex is 13.5'; height of ball when apex is 15'; difference between two heights in inches.

3': 8.248; 8.623'; 4.5";
4': 8.664'; 9.164'; 5.998";
5': 9.080'; 9.705'; 7.5";
6': 9.496'; 10.246', 9.000";
7': 9.912'; 10.787'; 10.500";

Looking at the data above one can see that: in terms of my interaction with a defender 3' away from me, I have increased my height by 4.5" by using the 15.0' apex instead of the 13.5' apex; in terms of my interaction with defenders 4' away from me, I have increased my height by 5.998" by using the 15' apex instead of the 13.5' apex; and etc.

I suspect that if I were to standardize the angle on all my shots at the same angle that I shoot my long-distance 24' shots, this would improve my performance. If I were to shoot all my shots at the same angle as I shoot when aiming for a 15' apex from 24', this angle would be 28.4 degrees. If I were to shoot all my shots at the same angle as I shoot when aiming for a 13.5' apex from 24', this angle would be 22.6 degrees. When shooting from points closer to the basket than 24', for example when shooting on-the-run penetration shots from 13', the advantage of the ball being higher when the shot angle upwards is greater, are considerable, because of close proximity with defenders.

An inspiring exciting thought: I am only 5'10" tall. If I can increase my effective or de-facto height by 6" by shooting utilizing a high 15' apex, and combine this with my advantage in terms of quick lateral movement, conceivably I could play like someone who is 7 feet tall even though I am only 5'10" tall.

My private software that I wrote, tells me that shooting for an apex of 15' from 24': gives me a margin of error that is significantly greater than that produced by shooting for an apex of 17, 16, 14, 13, or 12 feet; produces a shot-release to apex direct-line distance that is roughly the same as that produced when shooting for an apex of 14 or 16 feet, and shorter than that produced shooting for an apex of 17, 13 or 12 feet; involves an expenditure of energy that is less than that required using an apex of 17' or 16', but more than that required using an apex of 14', 13', or 12'. The software tells me that all things considered, the best option for me is shooting aiming for an apex of 15', the 2nd best shooting aiming for an apex of 14', the 3rd best, shooting aiming for an apex of 16', the 4th best is shooting aiming for an apex of 13' or 12', and the worst option is shooting aiming for an apex of 17'.

I could use my private software, to help you to figure out, the optimal apex and shot-angle for you as an individual from a given distance, by looking at the horizontal shot-release to apex distance, apex height, angular margin of error, release-apex distance, and energy requirement for various angle shots. I can be emailed at: davidvirgilhobbs at rcn dot com.

Drill WC06/10-P6.1-5T-Reverse-NS, Touch ball every step with changes of direction

P6.1-5T-Reverse-NS is the reversed, mirror image of P6.1-5T-NS. It involves the ball flipped up with the left foot and kicked forward with the right foot, approx 4.5 feet on R1; the ball kicked at a 90 degree angle to the left with the left foot on L2; the ball kicked at a 90 degree angle to the right with the right foot on R3; the ball kicked at a 90 degree angle to the left with the left foot on L4; the ball touched on R5. The ball is kept close to the body but off the ground the entire time, and kicked on every step; there are no steps between kicks. There are no skips between steps in the NS (No Skips) version. The blue and wiggly line in the graphic represents the curtain.

The statistical scores for the soccer drills are recorded in a soccer score table available online, and are generally up to date.

The drill done today is described in the graphic this entry.

.I entered the gym at 610 PM. First time doing soccer since December 23.

First, I did 40 minutes not implementing the 'All Force One' style, which involves starting the left foot to the inside of the ball (closer to my right shoulder than the outside of the ball); attempting to maximize use of ankle, leg, and body--what I call the "All Force One" style.

The first 21 mins of the first segment, I succeeded in adhering to pattern for 5 touches only once. I define success in adhering to pattern as: ball touched on every step while kept off ground for 5 touches; directional pattern at least approximately adhered to; intended distances at least approximately adhered to.

Then during the remaining 19 minutes of the first 40 minutes, there were 10 successes in adhering to pattern for 5 touches. Two of these were counted as perfect. Total first segment: 11successes.

After a 5 min break, the 2nd segment was for 35 minutes, during this segment I implemented the 'All Force One method. During this segment there were: 15 successes; 12 'perfect' runs; 3 perfect & fast runs; and 9 perfect, long & fast runs. The perfect long & fast runs covered a distance of 20' - 24' (measured odometer-style not as-the-crow-flies).

The second segment, I noticed that there was a natural tendency to crouch when implementing AF1. First segment, the body was basically upright. Both segments, leg-power was emphasized on the first kick with the right foot.

Still not certain if the "All Force One" method should be enshrined for this drill. Perhaps the second segment was so much better because I was just getting warmed up during the first segment.

Today was a big achievement, even though I felt too tired, and stressed to feel thrilled about what happened. Today I accomplished what was impossible for me just two months ago: I was able to do the five touch zig-zag pattern without skipping between steps.

Apparently what has happened: first there was a phase where I could not do the zig-zag pattern without skipping between steps; then in a second phase I learned to do it while skipping between steps; then in a third phase I became able to do it without skipping between steps.

There is a website devoted to skipping. Seems children go through a phase during which they do alot of skipping; the scientist-types think this may have something to do with the development of motor-coordination. Could be, that me going through a skipping phase before being able to master the zig-zag on every step drill, mirrors the childhood development pattern of a skipping phase which develop's the child's motor coordination.

There were about half a dozen East-Asian young men playing basketball in the other side of the gym. When I was writing this blog-entry, I could not find one of the pages in my notebook I take notes in during practice; I began having fantasies that the East Asian youths had stolen the page of notes because they were spies, and because they wanted to send me a message, a shot across the bow. Then I found the page of notes in my gym bag. It had cleanly come where the perforation is at the extreme left edge of the page, even though it had come off accidentally.

I've recently missed practices due to having lost the habit of going to the Y and due to not feeling like going to the Y. How I got back into the habit of going to the Y: I relaxed my standards allowing myself to move at a slow leisurely pace in between leaving in the car to go to the Y and actually starting the practice activities in the Y; I relaxed my standards by allowing myself to quit practice earlier than I usually do so as to be able to move through the post-practice locker room activities slowly at a relaxed pace.

Seems the main turnoffs that were disinclining me from working out, were that I was not looking forwards to: hurrying through the activities involved in the time space between getting in the car, and actually starting the practice activities; and, hurrying through the post-practice activities such as undressing taking a shower and getting dressed again.

Today my intention was to shoot at the wall so as to simulate shot-release-point to apex-point 28.4 degree angle shots taken from 24' and 13' from the basket. 28.4 degrees is the angle of the shot when aiming for an apex of 15' shooting from a distance-from-basket of 24'.

First I shot at a point on the wall that I thought was 15' high, shooting from a distance of 14.8' from the wall. The idea was to simulate shooting at the basket from 24' by having the ball reach its apex at the same time that it hit the target 15' high on the wall. I took 85 such shots in 20 minutes.

Second, I shot at a point on the wall that I thought was 12.5' high, shooting from a distance of 8.4' from the wall. The idea was to simulate shooting at the basket from 13' by having the ball reach its apex at the same time that it hit the target 12.5' high on the wall. I took 21 such shots in 10 minutes.

Thus today practicing long distance shots, my shots per minute rate shooting at the wall was 4 times what my shot per minute rate has been shooting at the basket; and practicing running medium distance shots, my shots per minute rate shooting at the wall was 2 times what my shot per minute rate has been shooting at the basket.

The whole practice was defective, because the point on the wall that I thought was 15' high was actually 13' high; and the point on the wall that I thought was 12.5' high was actually 11' high.

If I had trusted the wall-height measurement I had printed up in a chart I had with me, I would have estimated 15' height on the wall as being at the same height as my best estimate re-doing the height-estimation problem after today's practice, and I would have succeeded in shooting at a target approximately 15' high on the wall. But I mistakenly thought of the chart as plagued with errors caused by the darkness of times past and instead tried to calculate 15' height on the wall on the spot without using a calculator, and made an absent-minded math mistake.

I suspect the problem was that when I was typing up the chart that displayed where on the wall a 15' height is, I was feeling tired and stressed; hence I had an unreasonably distrustful opinion of the chart when I had it with me at the Y and it was time to use it.

I suspect that my margin of error with regards to the estimation of what is the spot on the wall that is 15' high, is plus or minus 4". The estimate that the basket in the gym is 15.5 wall-brick-rows above the floor might be off by a couple of inches; and, the height of the brick rows in the wall seems to vary between 7.75" and 8.25", with the higher bricks being a little shorter in height.

I felt uncomfortable with the idea of a margin of error of plus or minus 4" for the spot on the wall aimed for that is supposed to be 15' above the ground. Most basketball players would feel uncomfortable practicing with a basket that was 3 inches too high or low.

So when I returned home, I got out the telescoping pole that I had bought at Home Depot. On the narrow pole that is inside of and pulls out of the wider pole, I marked off how far it has to be pulled out if the total height of the pole is to be 15', or 12.5'. Using the telescoping pole I should be able to get an accurate measurement of where a 15' height is on the wall.

If I could stabilize the telescoping pole, set to a height of 15', inside a bucket or something and place it in front of the basket, such would be a great way to learn to consistently utilize the optimal level of arc.

Signs of how backwards the science of basketball in the US is: on the walls of the gyms you can find no markings showing where a height of 15' is, where a height of 12' is, etc; and on the floors of the gym you can find no markings showing where on the floor the distance from the wall is 8' or 12' or 15' etc. My expectation is that when I go to the Y and try to set up the pole at 15' in front of the basket as a way of training to arc the ball properly, I will be met with an inappropriately unenthusiastic response.

Today while I was practicing, a tallish bespectacled white man with light-brown or yellow hair, was teaching his white brown-haired teenage daughter basketball. He looked at me, and exclaimed, regarding himself, "But I'm ugly!" (for some reason looking at me made him think of himself as ugly). He said something about how my practicing shooting at the wall involved a knowledge of angles and apexes. Then he said, 'give it to him!' (he things I should be given money).

Drill WC06/10-P6.1-5T-NS, Touch ball every step with changes of direction

P6.1-5T-NS is the reversed, mirror image of P6.1-5T-Reverse-NS. It involves the ball flipped up with the left foot and kicked forward with the left foot, approx 4.5 feet on L1; the ball kicked at a 90 degree angle to the right with the right foot on R2; the ball kicked at a 90 degree angle to the left with the left foot on L3; the ball kicked at a 90 degree angle to the right with the right foot on R4; the ball touched on L5. The ball is kept close to the body but off the ground the entire time, and kicked on every step; there are no steps between kicks. There are no skips between steps in the NS (No Skips) version. The blue and wiggly line in the graphic represents the usual location of the gym curtain.

The statistical scores for the soccer drills are recorded in a soccer score table available online, and are generally up to date.

The drill done today is described in the graphic this entry. Today the practice was in the 'Community Room', a small carpeted room.

I entered the room at 747 PM.

The previous soccer practice Jan 8: I did the P6.1-5T-reverse-NS; the first segment I did not implement the 'All Force One' method, and during the second segment I did implement 'All Force One' method. Today I reversed things, implementing 'All Force One' the first segment but not implementing it the second segment.

The 'All Force One' method involves starting the left foot to the inside of the ball (closer to my right shoulder than the outside of the ball) when kicking the ball to the left with the left foot; starting the right foot to the inside of the ball (closer to my left shoulder than the outside of the ball) when kicking the ball to the right with the right foot;attempting to maximize use of ankle, leg, and body.

Definition of success in adhering to pattern: ball touched on every step while kept off ground for 5 touches; directional pattern at least approximately adhered to; intended distances at least approximately adhered to.

Today the period of ineptitude at the start of the first segment (AF-1 implemented) lasted only 8 minutes, during these 9 minutes there was only one success in adhering to pattern. Over the entire 40 minutes of this first segment: there were 15 successes; 1 perfect and long success; 8 perfect, long and fast successes. The perfect long & fast runs covered a distance of 20' - 24' (measured odometer-style not as-the-crow-flies).

Over the entire 40 minutes of the second segment (AF-1 not implemented) there were: 20 successes; 4 perfect and long successes; 6 perfect, long and fast successes. The perfect long & fast runs covered a distance of 20' - 24' (measured odometer-style not as-the-crow-flies).

Hence Jan 8, the All-Force One method was applied during the second segment and the stats were much better the second segment; today Jan 10 the All-Force One method was applied during the first segment and the stats were perhaps a little better the second segment.

So I intend to continue experimenting with using the All-Force One method when doing these drills that do not involve skips between steps--I'm cautious about making premature judgements. Sometimes a method that is at first inferior ends up being superior.

Eventually when I feel I understand whether the application of the All-Force One method produces superior results when not skipping, I will not do completely do away with the method that has been found to produce inferior results; rather, I intend to reduce the amount of minutes of practice spent using the method that produces inferior results.

Sometimes the position of the body, ball and foot are such that better results are obtained by implementing the All-Force One method; other times, better results are obtained not attempting to implement the All Force One method.

After much practice and experimentation I concluded that when skipping between steps, superior results are obtained when the All Force One method is implemented. Yet I am not convinced that this means that superior results will be attained by way of applying the All Force One method, when not skipping between steps.

David Virgil Hobbs Photographed Jan 11, 2011

This photograph was taken with Kodak Portra 800 Color Print Film: Shutter speed 1/30th second, aperture f 3.5, no flash. Shot with Canon T60 35 mm camera. No telephoto lense or filter attached. Shot indoors, in room lit by fluorescent ceiling panels.

I earlier said, that I was going to retaliate against the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles, for producing an incredibly unflattering photo of me for my driver's license. My reasoning was: we are according to scripture not supposed to be making images of things found in nature; but if someone makes an unflattering image of us, then we may retaliate by producing a realistic image; if images of things in nature are to be produced, they should not be unrealistically unflattering images.

So a couple of days ago Jan 11 I produced the self portrait displayed in this entry.

When I got the CD with the photos I'd taken from Walgreens, I felt disappointed that the vaunted Portra 800 film was as grainy as it was and exaggerated contrast as much as it did. I was expecting that the technological quality of film would have improved more over the years.

Seems that with this film, if the camera is more than 4 feet away from the subject, the result will be a photo that is too grainy, unless a telephoto lense is used. By my standards, if when the photo if blown up to a size that is the same as the actual human face, the result is too grainy, then the photo is too grainy. My attitude is, that if we are to make images of things found in nature, then we should be presenting the face life-size, as opposed to one or two inches high.

David Virgil Hobbs Photographed Jan 14, 2011

This photograph was taken with Kodak Portra 400 Color Print Film: Shutter speed 1/8th second, aperture f 4, no flash. Shot with Canon T60 35 mm camera. No telephoto lense or filter attached. Shot indoors, in room lit by fluorescent ceiling panels. Film developed at Walgreens.

A couple of days ago Jan 14 I produced the full-body self portrait displayed in this entry. The photo has not been stretched horizontally or vertically (morphed) in an attempt to make myself look more impressive than I really am.

The photos taken with the Portra 400 film Jan 13-14, all featured the distortion of reality via excess of contrast.

I managed the hyper-contrast problem by increasing saturation in the Irfanview Photo Editor Freeware (I think I combined this with a slight reduction in Gamma & a slight increase in brightness).

The end result was that the photos were much improved, however, the improvement was combined with the production of a reddish tint in the face-area. I found it difficult to remove the unrealistic reddish tint, without reversing the improvements I had accomplished through the saturation-increase that caused the reddish-tint side-effect.

Finally I found the solution in the Hue tab of the 'AAA Options' 'Adobe 8BF' 'Filter Plugin' for Irfanview. Using this 'AAA Options' hue tab, I was able to replace the unrealistically reddish tint, with a realistic color and at the same time render the background colors more realistic, without reversing the improvement produced by the increase of saturation that resulted in the reddish tint.

At first I had thought that all the photos shot using the Portra 400 were terrible; but as it turned out, the majority of them were in the end good shots once they were put through the process I put them through.

I succeeded using freeware produced by persons who are not famous; this software did not let me down; however I was not able to succeed using famous software that is not for free.

All the changes made in the photo that was printed to the CD by Walgreens, were made by computer software programs, nothing was done by hand--which leads to the question: how come the rich and famous companies don't have the common-sense to put all these software steps together for use in cameras or when printing to CDs? It should be simple to put together: 1) saturation increase; 2) gamma correction adjustment; 3: brightness adjustment; 4) hue adjustment to counteract the red-skin-on-face side-effect of the saturation increase (this hue adjustment must accomplish its task without reversing the gains achieved by way of the saturation increase).

It's hard to understand that although both film and especially digital photography have been plagued by the (uglifying) hyper-contrast problem for such a long time, yet still the corporations involved in photography have not implemented inexpensive common-sense solutions.

The Soccer Drills Score Table records in brief, all the soccer activities I've engaged from January 10 to today February 22. I practiced soccer on: February 7, 9, 10, 12, 13, 15, 19 & 20.

Online audio featuring me speaking Tuesday night after day of Feb 22: "Review of Soccer Activity or Lack Thereof over the past month and a half".

From February 5 to February 12, my practice times in basketball were as follows: February 5 3.8 hours; February 6 3.8 hours, February 9 1 hour, February 10 3 hours, February 12 1.3 hours, total 12.9 hours.

Online audio featuring me speaking Wednesday night about most recent basketball practices: "Review of Basketball Activity or Lack Thereof over the past month and a half".

My only basketball activity since the Feb 23 log entry, has been shooting at the wall for 65 minutes Feb 26, and 87 minutes March 12.

Prior to today, the last time I shot baskets, shooting at a basket not at a point on the wall, was Dec 22 2010,about 12 weeks ago.

During 12 weeks from Dec 22-today March 14, my only basketball activity has been to practice shooting at certain points on the wall from certain distances from the wall on 9 different days, for a total of 18.8 hours. That comes to just 14 minutes per day from Dec 22 to March 14, every minute of it shooting at the wall. Only about 9 of these hours was spent simulating 24' distance shots of the type taken today.

Today I returned to shooting at the basket again. I used a tethered balloon to mark the point in the trajectory at which the ball reaches an apex height of 15 feet. Shooting from a point 24 feet from the basket, on every shot I attempted to arc the ball at a point next to the balloon, that was 15' above the floor, and 14.8 feet away from where I took the shot. Most of the shots actually apexed close to the target point next to the balloon.

Results today (all aiming for the ring, not a bounce off the backboard) putting arc-apex of 15' on almost every shot; 13' one-dribble run preceded each shot; quick-release on-the-run run-'n-gun shots:

Zero warmup shots taken as usual

Segment 1: 24' left-handed shots; 7/20 (35%); 2 almost-in.

Segment 2: 24' left-handed shots, right guide hand completely off ball; 4/20 (20%).

Segment 3: 24' left-handed shots, right guide hand touches ball immediately before shot; 4/20 (20%); 1 almost-in.

Segment 4: 24' right-handed shots; 4/20 (20%).

Segment 5: 24' right-handed shots, guide hand completely off ball; 3/20 (15%); 2 almost-in.

Segment 6: 24' right-handed shots, right guide hand touches ball immediately before shot; 4/20 (20%); 1 almost-in.

Results last time I practiced such shots Dec 16 & 22 2010, when I was trying to put simply 'extra arc' on the shots:

Dec 22, 2010: 23' right-handed shots; 7/20 (35%); 1 almost-in.
Dec 22, 2010: 23' left-handed shots; 3/20 (15%); 2 almost-in.
Dec 16, 2010: 23' right-handed shots; 4/20 (20%); 1 almost-in.
Dec 16, 2010: 23' left-handed shots; 8/20 (40%); 1 almost-in.

Definition of almost-in: ball swirls around rim before popping out; ball hits rim and then hits rim again on other side of basket; well-centered ball hits rim, hits backboard, & then hits rim again before popping out.

Comparing the shots taken today March 14 2011, to comparable shots taken 12-13 weeks ago, one can see that my shooting today was about as good as my shooting Dec 16 and Dec 22 2010. Today I forced almost every shot to arc-apex at 15', which I have only a couple of hours lifetime practice doing. Dec 16 & 22, I was doing something I have hundreds of hours lifetime experience doing--I was merely putting what I call 'extra arc' on the ball, which creates an arc-apex of about 13'.

Thus for now I conclude regarding the approx 9 hours of practice I had over the past 12 weeks, shooting at a point on the wall (NOT a basketball basket) 15' above the ground from a point 14.8' from the wall, as a way of simulating 15' arc-apex shots taken 24' from the basket: the 9 hours of such practice have produced excellent results in terms of skill-improvement and skill-maintenance per hour invested.

I feel in my heart that every shot that went in today was somehow worth twice as much as shots that have gone in previously. There is something majestic about shots that apex high at 15' and then land in the basket, the ball landing in the perfect center of the basket, the ball travelling almost straight downwards as it enteres the basket; many of the shots that went in today were like that.

High-arcing shots give the shooter's tall rebounding team-mates more time to get into rebounding position, sort of the way long hang-time during football punts give team-mates more time to get into position to make the tackle.

After the practice today, I felt good. I felt bright like a human electronic flash unit. Because I had successfully combined actual athletic execution with info regarding where to place the arc-apex marking tethered balloon, info that was produced from computer programs that I wrote. The actual on-court experience vindicated the numbers generated by my programs re where horizontally and vertically speaking the arc-apex marker should be placed.

Shooting baskets and playing basketball at the same basket I was today: three white approx grade-school-Jr HS age boys, two of them wearing Beatles style haircuts. One of the 'Beatles' for some reason made a verbatim imitation of some words I said to them. Then he took 4 shots from college 3-point land, aiming to arc the ball where the 15' balloon was every time, and made 3 of those shots. These boys did a great job of not disrupting the tethered balloon experiment.

Again I used a tethered balloon to mark the point in the trajectory at which the ball reaches an apex height of 15 feet. Shooting from a point 24 feet from the basket, on every shot I attempted to arc the ball at a point next to the balloon, that was 15' above the floor, and 14.8 feet away from where I took the shot. The majority of the shots actually apexed close to the target point next to the balloon; however, the apexes of the shot balls did not match 15' as closely as was the case March 14, day before yesterday.

Results today (all aiming for the ring, not a bounce off the backboard) putting arc-apex of 15' on almost every shot; 13' one-dribble run preceded each shot; quick-release on-the-run run-'n-gun shots:

Zero warmup shots taken as usual

Segment 1: 24' right-handed shots, right guide hand touches ball immediately before shot; 2/20 (10%); 0 almost-in.

Segment 2: 24' right-handed shots, guide hand completely off ball; 1/20 (10%); 1 almost-in.

Segment 3: 24' right-handed shots; 4/20 (20%).

Segment 4: 24' left-handed shots, right guide hand touches ball immediately before shot; 4/20 (20%); 1 almost-in.

Segment 5: 24' left-handed shots, right guide hand completely off ball; 3/20 (15%); 1 almost in.

Segment 6: 24' left-handed shots; 5/20 (25%); 1 almost-in.

Segment 7: 24' left-handed shots; 6/20 (30%); 1 almost-in.

Segment 8: 24' left-handed shots, right guide hand completely off ball; 7/20 (35%); 1 almost in.

Segment 9: 24' left-handed shots, right guide hand touches ball immediately before shot; 3/20 (15%); 5 almost-in.

Segment 10: 24' right-handed shots; 3/20 (15%); 1 almost in.

Definition of almost-in: ball swirls around rim before popping out; ball hits rim and then hits rim again on other side of basket; well-centered ball hits rim, hits backboard, & then hits rim again before popping out.

The shooting today was not as good as it was day before yesterday. I have a list of suspect causes.

Again today, I used a tethered balloon to mark the point in the trajectory at which the ball reaches an apex height of 15 feet. Shooting from a point 24 feet from the basket, on every shot I attempted to arc the ball at a point next to the balloon, that was 15' above the floor, and 14.8 feet away from where I took the shot. The majority of the shots actually apexed close to the target point next to the balloon.

Results today (aiming for the ring, not a bounce off the backboard; putting arc-apex of 15' on almost every shot; 13' one-dribble run preceded each shot; quick-release on-the-run run-'n-gun shots): see my Basketball Stats Table which is online again.

The total percentage is only part of the story because due to the rotation on some days there are more shots taken using methods that I have a higher success rate with. Suffice it to say that for the second basketball-practice-day in a row, the shooting was worse than it was on the previous basketball-practice-day. The only bright spot today was the final 20-shot segment shooting left-handed, during which I shot 7/20, 35%.

Hard to believe that March 14 Monday, shooting after not having shot at a basket for twelve weeks, I shot better than I did March 16, and March 19 I shot worse than I did March 16.

I have a list of so-to-speak 'suspects' to blame for the continued degeneration in shooting performance. Possible explanation: I've heard it said, that weightlifting at first breaks down the muscles, making them weaker; then after the muscles recover from the initial shock, strength improvement begins. Likewise, could be that the muscles I use for shooting the basketball are in a breakdown phase.

The Soccer Drills Score Table records in brief, all the soccer activities I've engaged from February 22 (most recent log entry concerning soccer) to today March 20. I practiced soccer on: March 15, March 17, & March 20, resuming practicing the drills I practiced up to February 20. The scores show that I have by now rebounded from whatever skill impairment was caused due to not practicing these drills between February 20 & March 15.

For the fourth day, I used a tethered balloon to mark the point in the trajectory at which the ball reaches an apex height of 15 feet. Shooting from a point 24 feet from the basket, on every shot I attempted to arc the ball at a point next to the balloon, that was 15' above the floor, and 14.8 feet away from where I took the shot. The majority of the shots (both those that went in and those that missed)apexed close to the target point next to the balloon.

Results today (aiming for the ring, not bounce-off -backboard; putting arc-apex of 15' on almost every shot; 13' one-dribble run preceded each shot; quick-release on-the-run run-'n-gun shots pace slowed down a little): see my Basketball Stats Table which is online again.

Summary of results first four days shooting 24' shots aiming for 15' apex marked by balloon:

Key to stats: LH=left handed shots; RH=right-handed shots; TOT=total for day; percentage in parentheses=what percent would have been if shots that almost went in had gone in. Almost-in: ball rolls along rim before popping out; ball hits one side of ring and then other before popping out; ball hits middle of ring, backboard, then ring again.

3/14
LH TOT 15/60 25% (30%)
RH TOT 11/60 18% (23%)
TOT 26/120 22%

3/16
LH TOT 29/120 24% (32%)
RH TOT 10/80 13% (15%)
TOT 39/200 20% (26%)

3/19
LH TOT 21/120 18% (24%)
RH TOT 12/80 15% (21%)
TOT 33/220 15% (21%)

3/21
LH TOT 37/140 26% (37%)
RH TOT 18/120 15% (22%)
TOT 55/260 21% (30%)

One can see looking at these stats that I have today, on the fourth day of the balloon-marked apex practice, rebounded from the decline I experienced on the second and third days.

Drill WC06/10-P6.1-5T-Reverse-NS, Touch ball every step with changes of direction

P6.1-5T-Reverse-NS is the reversed, mirror image of P6.1-5T-NS. It involves the ball flipped up with the left foot and kicked forward with the right foot, approx 4.5 feet on R1; the ball kicked at a 90 degree angle to the left with the left foot on L2; the ball kicked at a 90 degree angle to the right with the right foot on R3; the ball kicked at a 90 degree angle to the left with the left foot on L4; the ball touched on R5. The ball is kept close to the body but off the ground the entire time, and kicked on every step; there are no steps between kicks. There are no skips between steps in the NS (No Skips) version. The blue and wiggly line in the graphic represents a possible location for the curtain.

The statistical scores for the soccer drills are recorded in a soccer score table available online, and are as of now up to date.

The drill done today is described in the graphic this entry.

For the past few soccer practices, the detailed notes were included in the comments section of the soccer score table. Today I am returning to the practice of putting the detailed notes re the practice into this soccer log.

The performance today doing a bolt-left pattern, was better than the bolt-right segments of the previous soccer practice, in terms of quality of runs. Several extra-long (up to approx 30') extra-fast runs, some of which were also perfectly angled.

There arose today the issue that although my intention on this drill is to not skip with the feet, on some of the best runs today, on at least one step I unintentionally took what I call a 'mini-skip'. Such mini-skips involved: just the rear part of the foot going up and down; just the front part of the foot going up and down; or, the entire foot moving about 3" horizontally & 1" vertically.

For now my policy is: the policy may vary from practice to practice; for each practice, it shall be recorded as to whether mini-skips were allowed or not.

Today's practice is officially classified as a mini-skips-allowed practice.

Today I noted: the simple order 'NO AF1' (meaning the AF1 method featuring application of every available type of body-force) leaves too much confusion regarding technique to be applied.

I achieved good results today intending to kick the ball with the top front of the foot on L2, with the toe pointing up. On subsequent kicks there is no time to apply any premeditated techniques, unless the given technique is applied on every touch.

Today I noted that on kicks after L2 I am doing amazing things that would have been impossible for me a month ago: for example sharp (sharper than right-angle 90 degree) accurate well placed turns to the left when the ball prior to being kicked is for to my right, even when the run is a high-speed run.

Drill WC06/10-P6.1-5T-Reverse-NS, Touch ball every step with changes of direction

P6.1-5T-Reverse-NS is the reversed, mirror image of P6.1-5T-NS. It involves the ball flipped up with the left foot and kicked forward with the right foot, approx 4.5 feet on R1; the ball kicked at a 90 degree angle to the left with the left foot on L2; the ball kicked at a 90 degree angle to the right with the right foot on R3; the ball kicked at a 90 degree angle to the left with the left foot on L4; the ball touched on R5. The ball is kept close to the body but off the ground the entire time, and kicked on every step; there are no steps between kicks. There are no skips between steps in the NS (No Skips) version. The blue and wiggly line in the graphic represents a possible location for the curtain.

The statistical scores for the soccer drills are recorded in a soccer score table available online, and are as of now up to date.

The drill done today is described in the graphic this entry.

The quality of the runs (AF1 applied today), seemed a little lower compared to yesterday with no-AF1.

Yet with the bolt-right P6.1-5t-NS, which is the mirror-image reversal of the bolt-left P6.1-5t-Reverse-NS done today, AF1 feels more comfortable than no-AF1 now.

The first 5 minutes of the scored segment, were the best of the day today; this despite the lack of warmup. Seemed after the first 5 minutes, my mind began to be concerned with the score and with frustration re imperfections and failures; my mind forgot common sense basic points--immediately prior to the start of a run my mind should focus on the producing quality on the first and second kicks, and thereafter my mind should focus on the execution of the third kick immediately before the third kick is executed, and the fourth kick immediately before the fourth kick is executed.

I am left-footed. The bolt-left drill done today emphasizes the left-foot; the bolt-right emphasizes the right foot.

I have shown a tendency to perform better after the first segment of the day (unless I am fatigued due to being out of shape, & unused to practicing daily). This has complicated comparisons between performances on various days. The last time I performed the drill-variant I did today, P6.1-5t-Rev-NS, with AF1 applied, was March 17 when such was the first segment of the day as it was today. Today's score was 20% better than the score 6 days ago March 17. Thus I could estimate that just 18 days from now, I will be twice as skilled in terms of performing this drill, compared to my skill-level March 17. The rate of improvement computes to a doubling of skill-level every 24 days.

Drill WC06/10-P6.1-5T-NS, Touch ball every step with changes of direction

P6.1-5T-NS is the reversed, mirror image of P6.1-5T-Reverse-NS. It involves the ball flipped up with the left foot and kicked forward with the left foot, approx 4.5 feet on L1; the ball kicked at a 90 degree angle to the right with the right foot on R2; the ball kicked at a 90 degree angle to the left with the left foot on L3; the ball kicked at a 90 degree angle to the right with the right foot on R4; the ball touched on L5. The ball is kept close to the body but off the ground the entire time, and kicked on every step; there are no steps between kicks. There are no skips between steps in the NS (No Skips) version. The blue and wiggly line in the graphic represents the usual location of the gym curtain.

The statistical scores for the soccer drills are recorded in a soccer score table available online, and are generally up to date.

The drill done today is described in the graphic this entry.

I entered the gym at about 425 PM.

The scored practice segment started without a warmup as usual. It took unusually long to get loosened up--the first 10 minutes the score was unusually low. In the end the score in terms of runs per minute was approx the same as the score February 15 about 6 weeks ago , which was the last time I did this drill with AF1 applied as the first segment of the day. However February 15, the practice was in the community room, as a result of which less time was spent chasing down the ball.

Today the drill emphasized the right foot skills though I am left-footed. Having the shoes tied so tightly that the soles of the feet hurt, seemed to impair performance today. This although recently when doing the version of the drill that emphasized the left foot, with the shoelaces tied so tightly that the soles of the feet hurt, I did not experience any consciousness of performance impairment due to shoes tied as tightly as they were the first half of the practice today.

Reciting the phonetic representation of the kicks in the run ("lip [flip ball up with left foot] lick [kick ball forwards with left foot] right [kick ball to right with right foot] left [kick ball to left with left foot] right [kick ball with right foot]") immediately before the start of each run, did not work as well today as immediately before the start of the run simply focuysing the mind on executing the first two kicks of the run well.

I was not satisfied with my performance today until the last ten minutes, during which my shoelaces had been loosened for a few minutes, and during which my mind was, immediately before the start of each run, focused on the first two kicks of the run.

I could not sleep all night prior to today's practice; I finally got a little sleep and woke up late.

For the 5th day, I used a tethered balloon to mark the point in the trajectory at which the ball reaches an apex height of 15 feet. Shooting from a point 24 feet from the basket, on every shot I attempted to arc the ball at a point next to the balloon, that was 15' above the floor, and 14.8 feet away from where I took the shot.

Results today (aiming for the ring, not bounce-off -backboard; putting arc-apex of 15' on almost every shot; 9' - 13' one-dribble run preceded each shot; quick-release on-the-run run-'n-gun shots, somewhat slowed down): see my Basketball Stats Table.

After the 1st segment I noted: the emphasis of the jump during the shot should be forwards, not upwards. The ball only has to travel upwards 8'from the release point to the apex, but it has to travel forwards 24' to the basket, and 14.8' to the apex point.

After the 2nd segment I noted: the first attempt was good; the second half of the shots, I reduced the pre-shot one-dribble run to 9' and slowed it down; I paused a long time between setting the ball in front of my head and bringing my right foot up prior to the shot; the shooting was better than the first segment; the segment was difficult, what with dribble & set ball before shot, plus step up immediately before shot; plus aiming for high 15' arc; plus all done with right hand; plus this particular variant never having been done before; the balls were well shot.

After the 3rd segment I noted: this segment involved a pause after the right foot was brought up to be even with the left foot, and then the shot.

After the 4th segment I noted: the balls were well shot, several were slightly short but well shot; the variant done this segment had never been done before.

After the 5th segment I noted: the balls were well shot, a few were good shots but a little short.

General notes made during practice: the past 3 basketball practice days including today there have been many well shot balls that were just slightly short. This should improve as strength and endurance improve. Deviation from proper form, deviation from prescribed arc-apex, = poorly shot balls. I can tell my method of practice is rapidly improving my right-handed shot (I am left-handed). But my method keeps the percentages low.

After the practice I felt good, even though the shot percentage was not especially high or low; the song 'Guantanamera' was running through my head (guess there is something about making good progress shooting with your clumsy hand, that in my mind brings to mind the song). Many of the shots were well shot even though they did not go in and could not be counted as 'almost-in' given the strict definition of 'almost- in' that I use. Many of the shots were perfect but just a little short which can be expected to improve with time. I did well percentage-wise today after the first 20-shot segment, except for the segments involving keeping the guide hand completely off the ball between the start of the run and the shot (hard to do, with your right hand when you are left-handed).

Some 'Spanish' boys were in the gym while I was shooting. One of them, named 'Mikee', was from the Dominican Republic. He began to imitate the way I would whoop when a shot went in and shout in frustration when a shot would almost go in. He came over to my basket to imitate my shooting. He and his friends were friendly. They asked me if I was Spanish.

A couple of good versions of Guantanamera that can be heard for free on the internet: the Sandpipers; Jackson Browne & Joan Chandos Baez .

Drill WC06/10-P6.1-5T-NS, Touch ball every step with changes of direction

P6.1-5T-NS is the reversed, mirror image of P6.1-5T-Reverse-NS. It involves the ball flipped up with the left foot and kicked forward with the left foot, approx 4.5 feet on L1; the ball kicked at a 90 degree angle to the right with the right foot on R2; the ball kicked at a 90 degree angle to the left with the left foot on L3; the ball kicked at a 90 degree angle to the right with the right foot on R4; the ball touched on L5. The ball is kept close to the body but off the ground the entire time, and kicked on every step; there are no steps between kicks. There are no skips between steps in the NS (No Skips) version. The blue and wiggly line in the graphic represents the usual location of the gym curtain.

The statistical scores for the soccer drills are recorded in a soccer score table available online, and are generally up to date.

The drill done today is described in the graphic this entry.

I entered the gym at about 335 PM. During all three segments done before each run I mentally focused on the first two touches of the run, as opposed to on the entire pattern of the run.

The first scored practice segment started without a warmup as usual. AF1 was not implemented. The score was low, I felt clumsy both on the right and also the left-footed kicks. Main suspect: I woke up approx 2.5 hours before start practice, was out of bed approx 1.5 hours before start practice.

Second segment, AF1 was implemented. My rate the first 8.5 minutes was astronomically high: 1.76 (1.22 estimate if there had been trips to scoring table after each successful run) per minute. Seems the decline in performance after the first few minutes was due to: fatigue; and/or, relaxed attentive-to-basics attitude at beginning being replaced by frustration re failures.

This very successful 2nd segment marked the first time (since January 8, 2011, when I started doing the bolt-right done today & its mirror image the bolt-left) that I've done bolt-right for more than two segments in a row.

The score this 2nd segment, was my best ever doing the bolt-right (P6.1-5t-NS) done today or its reverse the bolt-left (P6.1-5t-Rev-NS ).

March 20 was the last time the bolt-right with AF1 was done, and done not on the first segment of the day but on a subsequent segment, as was the case today. March 20 the score was 1.33; today the comparable score was 1.43, indicating an improvement of 7.5% over the span of four approx 45-60 minute segments practicing the bolt-right (P6.1-5t-NS) done today or its mirror-image opposite the bolt-left (P6.1-5t-Rev-NS).

The third segment, with AF1 not applied, featured both a score and a general quality of runs much better than the first segment during which AF1 was not applied.

General notes for the day:

Skipping practices when one feels that performance will be low, is IMHO not a good idea. Performance was low first segment but there was a rebound. Low performance segments are always what eventually lead to higher performance segments.

There were more spectacular long/fast/perfectly angled runs, during the first 3 or 4 segments (march 15, march 17) after the point where I stopped recording the number of long/fast/perfect runs. Could it be, you get what you grade for? Possibly the March 15 practice featured more long fast perfect flashy runs because I was well rested not having exercised for a few days at the time.

Drill WC06/10-P6.1-5T-NS, Touch ball every step with changes of direction

P6.1-5T-NS is the reversed, mirror image of P6.1-5T-Reverse-NS. It involves the ball flipped up with the left foot and kicked forward with the left foot, approx 4.5 feet on L1; the ball kicked at a 90 degree angle to the right with the right foot on R2; the ball kicked at a 90 degree angle to the left with the left foot on L3; the ball kicked at a 90 degree angle to the right with the right foot on R4; the ball touched on L5. The ball is kept close to the body but off the ground the entire time, and kicked on every step; there are no steps between kicks. There are no skips between steps in the NS (No Skips) version. The blue and wiggly line in the graphic represents the usual location of the gym curtain.

The statistical scores for the soccer drills are recorded in a soccer score table available online, and are generally up to date.

The drill done March 31-April 15 is described in the graphic this entry.

From March 31 to April 15, I practiced the drill on four different days, total eight one-hour segments. April 11, second segment, I achieved an all-time high in terms of score on this kind of drill, 1.58 successful runs per minute, while using the non-AF1 method (estimate, 1.13 per minute would have been the score if I had been traveling to the desk to take brief notes after each successful run). The AF1 method involves a deliberate attempt to get the body, the leg, and the ankle all involved in each kick; the non-AF1 does not.

During the practices, I noted the following: the first ten minutes or so of the second segment of the day often featured almost perfect performance; the main impediments to better performance are stiffness at the beginning (there have been no unscored warmup attempts) & fatigue; when the practice starts just 3.5 hours after I wake up this produces a low score; failing to applied the known lesson that I should not allow myself to get flustered impairs performance; taking mini-skips between kicks is especially important when it comes to producing a high score, when the AF1 is not implemented at the beginning of a segment; good results score-wise are achieved when the ball reaches a hip high apex, when the body moves from low to high during kicks, when the body moves in the direction the ball is kicked during the kick, & when ankle movement is involved during the kicks; thinking about annoying persons during a practice impairs performance; failure seems to run in streaks of about four to five failed attempts in a row; segments done after 3 days featuring only 2-3 hours of sleep per 24 hours can be excellent; impaired performance is evident during segments done after 7 days featuring only 2-3 hours of sleep per 24 hours.

During the two weeks described in this log-entry, I experienced the worst insomnia I have ever experienced in my life. From Thursday April 7 to Friday April 15 (8 days), I slept for a total of only about 20 hours. I felt as if my super performance on Monday morning April 11, somehow was accompanied by some kind of explosion in my brain, result being inability to sleep more than about 2.5 hours every 24 hours. During these days, usually, I was only able to sleep for about an hour around 1 PM, and an hour around 5 PM.

During this sleepless period, usually I felt too tired to go out and exercise; I felt as if exercising would only make things worse, because it seemed that the two hours of soccer practice done Monday morning, woke up my mind to the point where sleep had become almost impossible.

Finally the insomnia was cured as a result of two hours of soccer practice done morning of Friday April 15. Friday evening I was back to almost normal, able to sleep for around eight hours from 7 PM to 3 AM.

Lesson of insomniac story: a couple of hours of exercise can sometimes seem to make the insomnia even worse; nevertheless, an additional couple of hours of exercise, can solve the insomnia.

I estimate that the maximum score that can be achieved on this drill is 1.8 successful runs per minute, which would be 1.25 runs per minute if notes were taken after each successful run. At this rate of 1.8 (1.25) runs per minute, approx every attempt would be successful.

Looking back on my progress from January 10 up till today, I estimate that 15 hours of practicing the P6.1-5T-NS I've been practicing the past two weeks, will bring me up to the point where I am consistently achieving the maximum score. Beyond this, another 15 hours or so should result in almost every attempt being not just a success statistically but a high quality success. Then 10 hours practicing the mirror-image reverse, P6.1-5T-Reverse-NS, should get me to the point where I can achieve a high quality success on almost each attempt at P6.1-5T-reverse-NS.

Thus after another 40 more hours of practice, I expect to be highly competent with both P6.1-5T-NS and P6.1-5T-reverse-NS. This competence will naturally have resulted in enhanced competence with regards to skills less difficult than P6.1-5T-NS and P6.1-5T-reverse-NS.

Thus I expect to be able to sort of fly around at will, keeping the ball off the ground but close to the body, going in any direction I want except maybe straight backwards (two 90 degree turns can be substituted for straight backwards), after another 60 hours of practice.

Being able to fly around at will in any direction I want, touching the ball every step, or every two steps, or every three steps, will make me like a soccer-god, at the top of the world in skills.

I believe 60 hours of practice to attain to such a level would be worth the time invested. Exercise of any kind is good for the body and the mind; my mind does not function well without exercise; so why not let the exercise involve soccer drills such as I've been doing? Now that the weather is warm I can practice outdoors; I should be able to get the sixty hours done in a month.

Drill WC06/10-P6.1-5T-NS, Touch ball every step with changes of direction

P6.1-5T-NS is the reversed, mirror image of P6.1-5T-Reverse-NS. It involves the ball flipped up with the left foot and kicked forward with the left foot, approx 4.5 feet on L1; the ball kicked at a 90 degree angle approx 4.5' to the right with the right foot on R2; the ball kicked at a 90 degree angle to the left approx 4.5' with the left foot on L3; the ball kicked at a 90 degree angle to the right approx 4.5' with the right foot on R4; the ball touched on L5. The ball is kept close to the body but off the ground the entire time, and kicked on every step; there are no steps between kicks. There are no skips between steps in the NS (No Skips) version. The blue and wiggly line in the graphic represents the usual location of the gym curtain.

Statistical scores and other details for the 46 P6.1-5T-NS drill segments done in between 4/15 & today, are recorded in 2010 Soccer Drill Stats and 2011 Soccer Drill Stats . The P6.1-5T-NS drill is described in the graphic this entry.

The 46 segments of the P6.1-5T-NS drill done between 4/15 & today, took between 27 and 53 minutes per segment; each segment involved attempt after attempt until 60 successful runs had been achieved. Counting for now, the first segment done after April 15 2011 as the "1st segment", & the last segment done on May 17 as the "46th segment": successful runs per minute scores of 2.00 or more were achieved from May 3 to May 8 during the 26th, 27th, 30th, 34th, 35th, 36th, 37th, & 38th segments. The scores went up dramatically to more than 2.0 per minute, AFTER I, for the first time, did three segments each day on May 1 and May 2; prior to May 1 I had not been doing more than two segments on a given day.

I had been influenced by an essay I had read by a violinist, regarding what he called 'deliberate' violin practice. This violinist had said: take a break every hour; after the 2nd hour the positive effects of practice begin to decline; after the 4th hour, practicing accomplishes little or nothing. But then I remembered how with soccer, previously I had achieved breakthroughs in terms of skill level, during the third hour of practice of the day; I remembered how during the third hour I became loose and relaxed enough to make leaps forwards in terms of skill level. So I started to do more than two segments per day of the P6.1-5T-NS drill; after two days of three segments per day my successful runs per minute score shot up dramatically.

I surged ahead on the second and third segments of May 3, to a successful runs per minute scores of above 2.0 for the first time; this coincided with earplugs being worn in the left ear only, due to the earplug being left out of the right ear accidentally. Up till May 3, I had been wearing earplugs in both ears during the practice segments, and my personal best score for successful runs per minute had been 1.76, set way back during the second segment of April 27; from after the 2nd segment of April 27 to before the 2nd segment of May 3, there had been 10 segments in a row during which I did not score more than 1.76 successful runs per minute. Thus it seems that wearing an earplug in one ear instead of both contributed to the surge ahead May 3.

However during the five segments of May 5 that came immediately after the May 3 segments, I was back to wearing earplugs in both ears, and on the the third segment of May 5 above 2.0 runs per minute wearing earplugs in both ears. Immediately after this, I was above 2.0 successful runs per minute during the three segments of May 7, with earplug in right ear only. Next on May 8, I was at 2.0 successful runs per minute or better during both segments done that day, with earplugs in both ears.

Thus it appears, that the wearing earplugs in one ear only, somehow trained my mind to be able to function at a higher level with earplugs in both ears.

On May 7, I began counting not just the number of successes per segment but also the number of failures. May 7 over three segments, the average percentage of attempts that resulted in success, was 85%. May 17, the average success percentage was 94%. I did seven P6.1-5T-NS drill segments in between May 7 and May 17. The segments done May 7 were the 34th, 35th, & 36th segments done since after April 15 2011.

The second segment of the day on May 16, 2011, was the 42nd segment done since after April 15, 2011. During this segment: the successes/attempts percentage was 97%; the successful runs per minute rate was 1.86; the quality of the runs was the best ever, rated as between very good & excellent; the speed was as good as it has ever been, rated at very fast.

Generally it seems I am a little behind schedule, with regards to the prediction made in the previous 4/15/11 entry (immediately above this entry), that "I'll be a real-live soccer-deity after another 60 hours of practice". One reason for this: I made the prediction on the basis of mathematical extrapolations that were based on improvement up to a day on which I did especially well (such could impair the prediction accuracy because even when there is gradual improvement there are ups and downs from day to day). Another possible reason: During the first week or two in May I suffered from a combination of a mild cold, insomnia, & an irregular circadian rhythm.

Drill WC06/10-P6.1-5T-NS, Touch ball every step with changes of direction

P6.1-5T-NS is the reversed, mirror image of P6.1-5T-Reverse-NS. It involves the ball flipped up with the left foot and kicked forward with the left foot, approx 4.5 feet on L1; the ball kicked at a 90 degree angle approx 4.5' to the right with the right foot on R2; the ball kicked at a 90 degree angle to the left approx 4.5' with the left foot on L3; the ball kicked at a 90 degree angle to the right approx 4.5' with the right foot on R4; the ball touched on L5. The ball is kept close to the body but off the ground the entire time, and kicked on every step; there are no steps between kicks. There are no skips between steps in the NS (No Skips) version. The blue and wiggly line in the graphic represents the usual location of the gym curtain.

Drill WC06/10-P6.1-5T-NS-AA1, Touch ball every step with changes of direction

P6.1-5T-NS-AA1 . AA1 stands for 'alternative angle 1'. This is the same as P6.1-5T-NS except that the angle of approach is tilted differently. The red diagonal lines emanating from the T5 point, show shot-paths at 45 degree angles to either side relative to the movement of the ball/body prior to the shot.

Drill WC06/10-P6.1-5T-NS-AA2, Touch ball every step with changes of direction

P6.1-5T-NS-AA2 . AA2 stands for 'alternative angle 2'. This is the same as P6.1-5T-NS except that the angle of approach is tilted differently. The red diagonal lines emanating from the T5 point, show shot-paths at 45 degree angles to either side relative to the movement of the ball/body prior to the shot.

The P6.1-5T-NS pattern approach, culminates in the ball being shot off at a target on the 5th touch. It is shown in the top-left graphic this entry.

The P6.1-5T-NS approach can be tilted, because there is a 45 degrees to the left or 45 degrees to the right latitude on the shot made on the 5th touch of the run. I capable of firing off hard accurate shots at either angle.

The middle graphic this entry, shows the P6.1-5T-NS approach tilted clockwise, compared to the P6.1-5T-NS shown in the top graphic.

The bottom graphic this entry, shows the P6.1-5T-NS approach tilted counter-clockwise, compared to the P6.1-5T-NS shown in the top graphic.

Thus one can see how mastery of the P6.1-5T-NS pattern drill, can result in various possible angles of attack that are not immediately obvious.

I now estimate that my production of the graphic presentation in this entry, will for me have the following impacts: better understanding of the various angles at which the P6.1-5T-NS approach can be implemented during actual games; increased pleasure, excitement, energy, & morale while going about the chore that is practicing the P6.1-5T-NS drill.

Drill WC06/10-P6.1-5T-Reverse-NS, Touch ball every step with changes of direction

P6.1-5T-Reverse-NS is the reversed, mirror image of P6.1-5T-NS. It involves the ball flipped up with the left foot and kicked forward with the right foot, approx 4.5 feet on R1; the ball kicked (a distance of approx 4.5') at a 90 degree angle to the left with the left foot on L2; the ball kicked (a distance of approx 4.5') at a 90 degree angle to the right with the right foot on R3; the ball kicked (a distance of approx 4.5') at a 90 degree angle to the left with the left foot on L4; the ball touched or shot away on R5. The ball is kept close to the body but off the ground the entire time, and kicked on every step; there are no steps between kicks. There are no skips between steps in the NS (No Skips) version. The blue and wiggly line in the graphic represents a possible location for the curtain.

Drill WC06/10-P6.1-5T-Reverse-NS-AA3, Touch ball every step with changes of direction

P6.1-5T-Reverse-AA3 . AA3 stands for 'alternative angle 3'. This is the same as P6.1-5T-Reverse-NS except that the angle of approach is tilted differently. The red diagonal lines emanating from the T5 point, show shot-paths at 45 degree angles to either side relative to the movement of the ball/body prior to the shot.

Drill WC06/10-P6.1-5T-Reverse-NS-AA4, Touch ball every step with changes of direction

P6.1-5T-Reverse-NS-AA4 . AA4 stands for 'alternative angle 4'. This is the same as P6.1-5T-Reverse-NS except that the angle of approach is tilted differently. The red diagonal lines emanating from the T5 point, show shot-paths at 45 degree angles to either side relative to the movement of the ball/body prior to the shot.

The P6.1-5T-Reverse-NS pattern approach, culminates in the ball being shot off at a target on the 5th touch. It is shown in the top-left graphic this entry.

The P6.1-5T-Reverse-NS approach can be tilted, because there is a 45 degrees to the left or 45 degrees to the right latitude on the shot made on the 5th touch of the run. I capable of firing off hard accurate shots at either angle.

The middle graphic this entry, shows the P6.1-5T-Reverse-NS approach tilted counter-clockwise, compared to the P6.1-5T-Reverse-NS shown in the top graphic.

The bottom graphic this entry, shows the P6.1-5T-Reverse-NS approach tilted clockwise, compared to the P6.1-5T-Reverse-NS shown in the top graphic.

Thus one can see how mastery of the P6.1-5T-Reverse-NS pattern drill, can result in various possible angles of attack that are not immediately obvious.

I now estimate that my production of the graphic presentation in this entry, will for me have the following impacts: better understanding of the various angles at which the P6.1-5T-Reverse-NS approach can be implemented during actual games; increased pleasure, excitement, energy, & morale while going about the chore that is practicing the P6.1-5T-Reverse-NS drill.

P6.1-5T-NS drill unless mentioned otherwise

Quality went from 'low' (4/23), to 'good' (4/28), to 'very good to excellent' (5/16), to 'excellent' (5/23), to 'excellent+' (5/24, P6.1-5T-Reverse-NS ), to 'excellent+' (5/28) .

Speed went from 'a little slow' (5/2), to 'fast' (5/3), to 'very fast' (5/8), to 'very fast+' (5/19, 3rd of 6 segments), to 'very fast++' (5/24, P6.1-5T-Reverse-NS ), to 'very fast+' (5/28, both of two segments).

It appears there has been steady progress in quality from 4/23 to 5/28 ; and there has been steady progress in speed from 5/3 to 5/28 .

I've sort of been in a daze of the last couple of days, due to having suddenly become consistently at least 'excellent' in quality and at least 'very fast+' in speed. I've been feeling as if I've been in a dream. I felt, that if I could by reviewing the data on excellence and speed, remember the process that led to become excellent and very fast, this would make the whole experience more believable. I felt that if everything became more believable, this would solidify and improve future performances (along the lines of hypnotic suggestion, & scriptures declaring that if you believe the mountain will be moved it shall be moved). So I did the stats review you are now reading, so as to make everything more believable.

Relevant Stats Notes

2010 Soccer Drill Stats:

First mention Quality, 'unusually Low': 4/23/11 @ Waltham Y; 532-623 PM -- L AF1 60 52 1.15 (0.90) P6.1-5t-NS

Verbal rank given for quality, 'good': 4/28/11 @ Waltham Y; 227-316 PM -- L AF1 60 48 1.25 (0.95) P6.1-5t-NS

Verbal rank given for quality, 'low': 4/30/11 @ Waltham Y; 540-625 PM -- L AF1+ 60 44 1.36 (1.02) P6.1-5t-NS

Verbal rank given for quality, 'mid-level' 5/01/11 @ Waltham Y; 603-645 PM -- L no AF1 60 40 1.50 (1.09) P6.1-5t-NS

Verbal rank given for speed, 'a little slow' 5/02/11 @ Waltham Y; 448-526 PM -- L no AF1 60 36 1.67 (1.18) P6.1-5t-NS

Verbal rank given for speed, 'good' 5/03/11 @ Waltham Y; 237-317 PM -- L AF1 60 39 1.54 (1.11) P6.1-5t-NS

Verbal rank given for speed, 'fast' 5/03/11 @ Waltham Y; 342-412 PM -- L no AF1 60 28 2.14 (1.40) P6.1-5t-NS

Verbal rank given for quality, 'between medium & good'; successes/attempts percentage first recorded. 5/05/11 @ Waltham Y; 450-520 PM -- L AF1 60 28 2.14 (1.40) 83% P6.1-5t-NS

2011 Soccer Drill Stats:

Verbal rank given for speed, 'very fast'. 5/08/11 @ Waltham Y; 600-631 PM -- L no AF1 60 28.6 2.10 (1.38) 87% P6.1-5t-NS

Verbal rank given for quality, 'very good to excellent'. 5/16/11 @ Waltham YMCA; 750-824 AM -- L AF1+ 60 32.2 1.86 (1.27) 97% P6.1-5t-NS

Verbal rank given for speed, 'very fast+'. 5/19/11 @ Waltham YMCA; 1223-110 PM -- L no AF1 60 42.3 1.42 (1.05) 94% P6.1-5t-NS

Verbal rank given for quality, 'excellent'. 5/23/11 @ Oak Square YMCA; 1250-202 PM -- L AF1+ 60 61.1 0.98 (0.79) 100% P6.1-5t-NS

Verbal rank given for quality on P6.1-5T-Reverse-NS, 'excellent+'. Verbal rank given for speed on P6.1-5T-Reverse-NS, 'very fast++'. 5/24/11 @ Waltham YMCA; 348-433 PM -- L AF1 60 37.7 1.59 (1.14) 86% P6.1-5T-Reverse-NS

Verbal rank given for quality, 'excellent+', 5/28/11 @ Waltham YMCA; 4:59-6:04 PM -- L/B no AF1, AFM 60 59.1 1.39 (1.02) 80% P6.1-5T-NS

Drill WC06/10-P6.1-5T-Reverse-NS-IM, Touch ball every step with inward changes of direction

P6.1-5T-Reverse-NS-IM is the same as P6.1-5T-Reverse-NS, in terms of directional movement, except the footwork is reversed so that the kicks send the ball inwards towards the center of the body. It involves the ball flipped up with the left foot and kicked forward with the left foot, approx 4.5 feet on L1; the ball kicked at a 90 degree angle approx 4.5' to the left with the right foot on R2; the ball kicked at a 90 degree angle to the right approx 4.5' with the left foot on L3; the ball kicked at a 90 degree angle to the left approx 4.5' with the right foot on R4; the ball touched or shot or passed on L5. The ball is kept close to the body but off the ground the entire time, and kicked on every step; there are no steps between kicks. There are no skips between steps in the NS (No Skips) version. The blue and wiggly line in the graphic represents the usual location of the gym curtain.

Drill WC06/10-P6.1-5T-NS-IM, Touch ball every step with inward changes of direction

P6.1-5T-NS-IM is the same as P6.1-5T-NS, in terms of directional movement, except the footwork is reversed so that the kicks send the ball inwards towards the center of the body. It involves the ball flipped up with the left foot and kicked forward with the right foot, approx 4.5 feet on R1; the ball kicked at a 90 degree angle approx 4.5' to the right with the left foot on L2; the ball kicked at a 90 degree angle to the left approx 4.5' with the right foot on R3; the ball kicked at a 90 degree angle to the right approx 4.5' with the left foot on L4; the ball touched or shot or passed on R5. The ball is kept close to the body but off the ground the entire time, and kicked on every step; there are no steps between kicks. There are no skips between steps in the NS (No Skips) version. The blue and wiggly line in the graphic represents the usual location of the gym curtain.

The following pages contain info re the individual practices referred to in this entry:

2010 Soccer Drill Stats

2011 Soccer Drill Stats

2011 Soccer Drill Stats Part II (NEW created today)

The P6.1-5T-Reverse-NS can (like the P6.1-5T-NS ) be left the same directionally while the footwork is reversed so that the left foot does what the right foot used to do and vice versa: the results are the P6.1-5T-Reverse-NS-IM and P6.1-5T-NS-IM drills. These new IM type drills involve the kicks sending the ball inwards towards the opposite side of the body, as opposed to outwards away from the opposite side of the body.

These new IM type drills, are much easier to execute compared to the drills I've been doing involving outwards kicks. Yet earlier I had decided that I would leave the easy 'inwards movement' drills to be mastered after the much more difficult outwards movement drills had been mastered.

I expect that during the next soccer practice, I will do IM type drills.

I could have used the time I used to produce this techno-formational entry to instead wax poetic about how me switching to the much easier inwards kicks after mastering the very difficult outwards kicks, marks that moment in world-history when the tiger bites through the jugular vein (me being the tiger and the 'jugular vein' represents the soccer-world outside of myself).

I could also have used the time to describe the rate of improvement that led to me mastering the the P6.1-5T-Reverse-NS and P6.1-5T-NS drills, and how the actual rate of improvement compares to the rate of improvement I predicted a few weeks ago.

But instead I've chosen to humbly and technocratically present graphics illustrating what the next steps shall be.

April 15 entry I made my predictions. Counting the first segment done after April 15 2011 as the "1st segment": up to the 59th segment, I did the P6.1-5T-NS (emphasizes the right-foot; I'm left-footed) only; segments 60-67 I did the P6.1-5T-Reverse-NS (emphasizes the left-foot); segments 68-71 I was back to doing the P6.1-5T-NS.

Segment 61 I achieved excellent+, very-fast++, 86% on the P6.1-5T-Reverse-NS; Segment 67 I achieved excellent, very-fast++, 97% on the P6.1-5T-Reverse-NS; segment 68 I achieved excellent+, very-fast+, 80% on the P6.1-5T-NS; Segment 71 I achieved excellent, very-fast++, 91% on the P6.1-5T-NS.

I had predicted that I would have perfected P6.1-5T-NS by segment 30 (when I spoke of 'hours' I meant segments), and that I would have perfected P6.1-5T-Reverse-NS by segment 40. As it turned out, I did not perfect P6.1-5T-NS until segment 71, and I did not perfect P6.1-5T-Reverse-NS until segment 67.

I predicted that perfecting the P6.1-5T-NS would require 30 segments, but actually it required 63 segments. I predicted that perfecting the P6.1-5T-NS would require 10 segments, but actually it required 8 segments.

I practiced P6.1-5T-NS day after day for 59 segments before doing P6.1-5T-Reverse-NS for 8 segments and then returning to P6.1-5T-NS for 4 segments. Practicing P6.1-5T-Reverse-NS (left-foot emphasis, I'm left-footed) resulted in an acceleration of improvement with regards to P6.1-5T-NS (right-foot emphasis).

In retrospect (as stated previously) I suspect, that I waited too long before implementing the P6.1-5T-Reverse-NS. Practicing the P6.1-5T-Reverse-NS helped me to understand the technique whereby my left-foot excelled my right foot in performance, and then I successfully applied this understanding to the actual execution of the P6.1-5T-NS.

My idea had been to first master the P6.1-5T-NS, which is more difficult than the P6.1-5T-Reverse-NS for me because I am left-footed, and to then go on to the P6.1-5T-Reverse-NS which is easier for me. This probably resulted in several P6.1-5T-NS segments during which I suffered from tactical confusion regarding whether ankle-force during the right-footed kicks should be emphasized, minimized, or applied in moderation. The P6.1-5T-Reverse-NS experience taught me that I should minimize the ankle-force.

I have in the past noticed repeatedly, that tactical confusion re matters such as ankle-force application (use some ankle force every time), tends to impair performance, compared to what is the case when there exists a clear doctrine such as: minimize ankle-force, or maximize-ankle force. The instruction to the self to use some ankle force, leaves it unclear how much ankle force should be used.

During this confused time my theory was that ankle-force should during the AF1 and AF1+ segments, be a part of the force applied during the kicks, and should be during the non-AF1 segments, even more a part of the overall force applied during the kicks. This was because the AF1 and AF1+ segments involved a deliberate attempt to involve body, leg & ankle in the kicks, while the non-AF1 segments involved a deliberate attempt to involve not the body, but the leg, and also the ankle (even more than the ankle-force involvement when AF1 & AF1+ were implemented).

The general theory behind the emphasis on first mastering the more-difficult P6.1-5T-NS and then second, going on to master the less-difficult P6.1-5T-Reverse-NS was based on a theory: Mastering more difficult drills/skills first, results in the less difficult drills/skills being automatically mastered without time being invested in them. I still generally believe in the theory but I feel I failed to understand an exception to the theory.

The exception is that when the more difficult thing is more difficult simply because it utilizes the foot one is less adept with compared to the other foot, then the rule that the more difficult thing should be mastered first, does not hold.

P6.1-5T-NS is more difficult than P6.1-5T-Reverse-NS simply because P6.1-5T-NS favors the left foot and I am left-footed.

However, the group comprised of P6.1-5T-NS & P6.1-5T-Reverse-NS, is much more difficult than the group comprised of P6.1-5T-NS-IM & P6.1-5T-Reverse-NS-IM, and this difference in difficulty has nothing to do with one group emphasizing the left-foot more than the other. each group contains an exercise that emphasizes one foot and the mirror image of said exercise emphasizing the other.

I suspect that the coming experience with P6.1-5T-NS-IM & P6.1-5T-Reverse-NS-IM will be such that I will feel vindicated in having mastered the easier P6.1-5T-NS & P6.1-5T-Reverse-NS first. But even if P6.1-5T-NS-IM & P6.1-5T-Reverse-NS-IM are mastered very quickly, this will still not provide absolute proof because I am not in a position to experiment with the reverse, mastering the less difficult first and then the more difficult, because the skill has already been mastered.

I generally do believe in the theory that the more difficult should be mastered first, because of repeated experiences featuring a less-difficult skill being automatically mastered in the course of the mastering of a more difficult skill.

Each of the four data-paragraphs below, describes a practice segment during which I for the first time accomplished what I call ' basic mastery' of the drill being done. Each of the practice segments combined reliability, speed, & quality.

I (a left-footed person) started out prior to May 24, with excess of redundance of the P6.1-5T-NS Outwards kicks, right-foot emphasis drill.

Then I quickly mastered the P6.1-5T-Reverse-NS, an Outwards kicks left-foot emphasis drill. Applying lessons ( use body-force on 1st kick, ankle-force-minimization) learned while doing the P6.1-5T-Reverse-NS drill, I quickly mastered the P6.1-5T-NS drill.

Next, I quickly mastered the P6.1-5T-NS-IM Inwards kicks, LF emphasis drill (inwards kicks are easier than outwards kicks). Finally I quickly mastered the P6.1-5T-Reverse-NS-IM Inwards kicks, RF emphasis drill.

P6.1-5T-Reverse-NS Outwards kicks, LF emphasis:
5/24-5/27
Friday 5/27/11 @ Oak Square YMCA, segment 2; 850-934 PM -- L/B AF1 60 38.1 1.57 (1.13) 97%
Overall quality of successful runs: excellent; overall speed of successful runs: very fast++.

P6.1-5T-NS Outwards kicks, RF emphasis:
5/28-5/29
Sunday 5/29/11 @ Waltham YMCA, segment 2; 6:06-7:04 PM -- B AF1, AFM 60 50.7 1.18 (0.91) 91%
Overall-- quality of successful runs: excellent; speed of successful runs: very fast++.

P6.1-5T-NS-IM Inwards kicks, LF emphasis:
5/31-6/2
Thursday 6/2/11 @ Waltham YMCA, 1st segment; 3:35-5:17 PM -- B no AF1 60 73.0 0.82 (0.68) 78%
quality of successful runs: excellent+ (3.8, where 3=excellent, 4=excellent+); speed of successful runs: very fast++ (4.6, where 4=very fast+, 5=very fast++). Failed attempts: 17; bad kicks on first kick of runs: 10.

P6.1-5T-Reverse-NS-IM Inwards kicks, RF emphasis:
6/3-6/5
Sunday 6/5/11 @ Waltham YMCA, 2nd segment; 7:12-7:49 PM -- B AF1 36 28.3 1.27 (1.o2) 92%
Overall-- quality of successful runs: excellent+ (4.2, where 4=excellent+, 5=excellent++); speed of successful runs: very fast++ (4.9, where 4=very fast+, & 5=very fast++). Failed attempts: 3; bad kicks on first kick of runs: only 1.

Data from: 2011 Soccer Drill Stats Part I 2011 Soccer Drill Stats Part I;
2011 Soccer Drill Stats Part II.

Thus one can see that it is now well within my reach, to become that magical 'Zorro' of soccer, who can: when 'air-dribbling' (dribble with ball never touching ground) the ball, execute 90 degree turns to the left or to the right with either foot.