<p>Excellent technique, and very sound advice from USNA69. I showed my son the same technique as he was preparing for his CFA. The only wrinkle I added was to emphasize throwing the ball at a 30 - 45 degree angle (basic ballistics). He was able to increase his distance, through minimal practice, by 25%.</p>
<p>The technique mentioned before of practicing by throwing a ball against a wall (on your knees) for a few minutes each day also would help (keep trying to increase ball speed), but please be careful to not overdue it, as you will easily start to strain the shoulder muscles if you're not used to this. Start out with no more than 10-15 throws per day, increase to no more than 25 reps after a few weeks. No need to throw out your shoulder and ruin your chances to be medically qualified!!</p>
<p>Just thought I'd add how I did it, I think my throw was pretty good (isn't 60 ft the max for females?) anyway, I threw sixty feet by using a very similar motion to a tennis serve, it is basically the same motion that USNA69 described, just another way to think about it.</p>
<p>Navy; you and I are probably close to saying the same thing. One last time. After this, it will only get confusing for anyone looking for an answer.</p>
<p>I've seen a lot of people try and do this test. The instinctive way for a person to try and throw a ball when you have them facing straight ahead on their knees, is to bring the ball straight back where their elbow is almost at a 90 degree bend. Throwing mostly with elbow. Imagine when you were little. Playing catch of any type. Remember hearing; "oooo he throws like a girl". (Sorry ladies, nothing personal intended"). The reason being, is because they tended to keep their body facing forward, and therefor their arm would naturally want to go straight back.</p>
<p>Now, imagine a baseball pitcher. They stand sideways to the batter. Their arm does a complete circular motion where you can use the roter cuff. Thus throwing with the shoulder, arm, elbow, and wrist. I tried to say NOT like a shortstop, because many just bring th ball back behind their ear and throw. Sort of like a football. Deadly accurate, but not as far of a distance. I.e. An outfielder and infielder does NOT throw the ball the same way.</p>
<p>Navy, you are correct in twisting the body. If you don't twist the hips; (While leaving the knees straight ahead); your arm can't rotate. You wind up throwing more from the elbow and almost pushing the ball.</p>
<p>If I still make no sense, then let's just call it a day and disregard my suggestions. (Other than talking with your ALO and tester who will give you the best advice). My apologies for making a simple question turn into a debate. USNA69; you've definitely expressed your opinions on this forum many times, and I hope you continue to do so. I personally don't get my feeling hurt, and I know that you probably didn't mean anything personal on your past remarks; but I can understand what some others are saying concerning your "Method of Delivery". Take it for what it's worth. </p>
<p>Anyway, sorry again for not being clear and turning this into a debate.</p>
<p>P.S. A10; very nice analogy on the tennis serve. Probably more accurate than my laccross symbolism.</p>
<p>Wish this thread had been available when our son was trying to figure out "the technique"! He is small in stature and has small hands, and my husband was actually impressed at the distance he got for his kneeling height being a challenge. Unfortunately, USMA was not as impressed, requiring retake. :( </p>
<p>A few things that he found helpful:
- A small mat under the knees (as allowed in the directions) gave him some cushion and a teeny bit of "body spring" as he released the ball. Without the mat, he was bruising his knees during practice and he had a harder time following through with the ball before release because his knees hurt as he leaned forward on the kneecap.
- A rocking motion back and forth on the knees a few times prior to release seemed to give him a little extra umph. He always attempted to lean backward to a 45 degree angle before the actual lunge forward as the ball was released.<br>
- Throwing arm was rotated back as far from the body as he could manage w/o dropping the ball (as has been described here by others).
- He tried to think of something that made him really mad as he attempted the throw. Psychologically, it seemed to give him a little extra distance!
- Straight line throws went further (generally) than those that went off to the side.</p>
<p>These techniques seemed to work for him: retake was a "take"!, though the distance wasn't outstanding. :)</p>
<p>As for the (Why?) of the BB throw test in the CFA (and I do not know if this is accurate, but it does make sense to me) - a friend told me her veteran father's explanation is that it is used to evaluate ability to lob a grenade. They figure if you can throw a large object such as a BB from a good distance, you'll be okay at getting the grenade the distance it needs to go to protect you.</p>
<p>The information concerning DoDMERB medical exams was sent to our son in late June last year. (I assume this was sent to him based on information on his pre-candidate questionaire as the SLS was already full when his application for that was submitted.) Concorde, the company that handles the medical appointments for the military, sent a very informative letter which gave specifics about which local doctors and optometrists to contact for appointments. The gov't pays for the initial exams, but you must go to those providers who they specifiy. DO THIS EARLY! Our son's exams were in early July, soon after the paperwork came. This seems to be the step that takes the longest for most candidates, especially if they need medical waivers for anything. </p>
<p>Sorry about that. If you know how to disable your referrer, do it and it will work just fine. Otherwise, go to edodo.org and then copy & paste the url and navigate from there, so that you are "coming from " eDodo.</p>
<p>Word of caution: the Dodo may seem a little... politically incorrect, let's say, for those not actually here. I recommend leaving it alone until you're a cadet and you can really understand how this place works. It'll be funnier that way anyway.</p>
