CFA Basketball throw help

eaab08

eaab08

USNA C/O 2025
Joined
Aug 13, 2020
Messages
106
Does anybody have any tips for the basketball part of cfa? I've read this post:
https://www.serviceacademyforums.co...event-tips-for-improving-your-distance.16792/
and have tried to implement it but don't really know how to to improve my form. I don't think its a strength problem because my scores for pushups + pullups are fine.
Below is a video of me doing the throw: It went about 50 feet which is what I averaged around after throwing for about 30 minutes. All help is appreciated!
 
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If you are using your right arm to Hurl the BB, then I would suggest having your left side facing the direction of the throw .... this would be facing at a 90 degree angle to the throw.

Perhaps try facing at 45 degrees to the throw as well.

It’s like hurling it over your shoulder in the direction of the toss.
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Are you saying to move my knees so that my left shoulder is facing the measuring line? I tried that at first but I think I remember reading that the knees have to be parallel.
 
eaab08 said:
Are you saying to move my knees so that my left shoulder is facing the measuring line? I tried that at first but I think I remember reading that the knees have to be parallel.
Click to expand...

I don’t remember how our daughter was practicing it, or what the instructions said. It has been over 2 years ago .... Follow the instructions

A big person can throw it like a baseball. A smaller person will probably get better results hurling it like the video above.
 
There is a lot of stuff out there if you search a bit. I think it is more about technique/slinging it than anything. When DS 'threw' it the first time it went maybe 40 feet. On his CFA throw for submittal it went 93 feet or so; with practice you can improve quite a bit. I estimate I chased 1,000,000 basketballs across the yard........he still owes me for this effort.
 
I suppose I've only been practicing for a couple days, maybe 100 throws total. Easy to get discouraged since I'm not seeing fast results, guess I'll just try to grind it out. If I'm still struggling I might make an update + a video to see if my throw has changed. That's promising though since my first 50 throws were around 40 feet :)
 
The basketball throw can be one of the most daunting aspects of the CFA. You're off to a good start. Here's some advice and a good video demonstration:

Do not try to palm and throw the basketball like a football. Try to rest the basketball on your wrist and use full arm rotation. Watch a trebuchet's launching motion as a reference.
Try to rotate your shoulders through the motion and end somewhat perpendicular to your starting line. You want to harness the energy in your core.
The throw has a lot to do with practice. A lot of practice. Go out and throw the basketball against a distant wall or in a field for 15-30 minutes every day or every other day. You're doing great so far. Once you get the technique down you're bound to see improvement.

 
Very instructive, especially the second one! will try to employ some of the techniques
 
If you dig through enough of these posts and stories from previous applicants, you might see the continuing theme that the BIG increases in distance did not happen incrementally, but at the end of about 30-45 days of consistent practice. I did it myself just to see (I have a candidate at home ). Video yourself and compare to the video(s) Stew posted and the soccer goalies.
 
I have never heard of someone not getting into USNA because they couldn't chuck a basketball.
Don't spend too much time on it. You're better off running a sub-6 minute mile than anything else.
 
Fully agree with THParent. At one BGO meeting, Admissions said, "We've never failed to admit someone because they couldn't throw a basketball." Keep in mind the CFA is agreed upon among the big three SAs, so each SA weights different events differently.

The biggies for USNA are the crunches, push-ups and mile run. Pullups are important, but not as much as the first three. Shuttle run and basketball throw aren't as critical for USNA. However, if you're also applying to WP and USAFA, might be a different story since one of those schools obviously did care about the throw (rumor has it that it's USMA due to need to throw grenades, but that's just rumor).
 
THParent said:
I have never heard of someone not getting into USNA because they couldn't chuck a basketball.
Don't spend too much time on it. You're better off running a sub-6 minute mile than anything else.
Click to expand...
That's a good point, and I would certainly hope I'm not rejected for a lack of ability in throwing a basketball. Still, its hard not to stress over the small details of my application, down to the foot. I have to do the CFA by the end of October as one of my nomination sources requires it, so I'll be riding right at the month mark :/ . Hopefully see improvements by then
 
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