Re:What is the best angle for a throw? - Throwing Events Discussion

i am a sophmore in highschool throwing (123' 6&quot after second meet. I am wondering if have a lower or higher angle when realesing would be better. My coach says lower but i dont think he is right. if you know anything on the subject just give me your input i'll take what advise i can get from you all.

Generally speaking a 45 degree angle is good, but this varies based on the conditions. If there is a high wind you will want to decrease that to about a 30 degree angle. A good guide line would be look at the tree level out in the field and try to get the discus to be thrown just at that angle, that is as long as the trees are not 150' away. The trees where I coach are just over a football field away use something like that for a comparasion. I also have to ask if you are scuping the disc if so your coach is right.

what do you mean by scuping the disc?<br><br>Post edited by: illini_football, at: 2008/04/11 15:17

illini_football wrote:
what do you mean by scuping the disc?&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Post edited by: illini_football, at: 2008/04/11 15:17

He probably means &quot;scooping&quot; aka throwing from the knees. re: angle...remember that there are 3 factors that will affect the distance of a throw; height of release, speed of release, and angle of release. The angle needs to be about 45*. If too high, you lose distance. If too flat, it doesn't travel very far. 45* is about the best when released from about shoulder level. When below, you scoop. When above, you simply lift.

Yes, scooping is exactly how the last person described it. There are many ways of scooping. Have your coach film you if possible and look at where your shoulders are in relation to the ground. If they are perpendicular to the ground you are scooping most likely. If they are parallel you are not scooping, you are either lifting or simply throwing flat. If you can up load the video I am sure others including my self can look at it and let you know some other ideas that will help you. But good distances for a sophmore.

45 degrees is the perfect ballistic trajectory if you are a cannon shooting cannon balls from ground level, in a vacuum. A discus has lift, which changes the equation dramatically.

For discus, 45 degrees would only be optimal in strong tail-wind conditions where the discus would produce very little lift. In still air a discus throw should be in the 37-39 degree range, and lower with a headwind. I've got the exact numbers at home, but it really doesn't matter because it's almost impossible to know exactly what angle you're throwing at, and it's next to impossible to intentionally throw at any given angle with any precision. What's important to know is that you should be throwing at a little less than 45 (which is halfway to straight up), and in a headwind you should probably be throwing at just slightly higher than 1/3 of the way to straight up.

Another important part is the angle of inclination, or upward tilt of the discus when it leaves your hand, relative to its angle of travel. Many people try to tilt the front edge up in order to give it more lift, only to see the implement roll over on its side and nosedive to the ground slightly after hitting its high point (especially in a headwind). You want no upward tilt in the discus relative to the angle you are throwing (except with severe tailwinds), and in a headwind you even want a very slight downward tilt of the discus. I can explain why if anybody is interested, but I'll just leave it at that for now.

hey good stuff Jay

37 is the right angle, not a lot of people pick up on that now a days

Figuring out the wind and angles is a big step to take up in throwing, then you aren just throwing to throw, but to legitimately throw further.