The underhand throw is a way of throwing that involves the manipulation of the path of the ball to be in a straight path or a curved path depending on the demands of the game. The underhand throw is particularly useful for pitchers and in small instances, the basketballers ( Bobrowsky, 2019) . To understand the making of the underhand throw, it is essential to explain the description of the activity, the starting position, the sequence of events, and its modification and application.
Description of Activity
The underhand throw is made by coordination of the upper body muscles and lower body muscles to make throws in games such as basketball, bowling or activities such as bean bag toss or free throw making in basketball. It incorporates the correct positioning of the lower limbs for support in the generation of power to make throw ( Bobrowsky, 2019) . The generation of the power will involve a backswing of the dominant arm that at this point is holding the ball followed by a transfer of weight with forward movement in the lower body ( Evetovich et al., 2015) . The transfer of weight accompanied by the forward swing of the dominant arm will enable the thrower to release the ball towards the intended target and therefore completing underhand throw.
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The Starting Position
The starting position of the underhand throw is largely a posture that provides stability. Facing the direction of the throw is important because it will take a good hand and eye coordination to make the throw ( Yu et al.,2018) . In the starting position, the dominant hand that is holding the ball lies on the side of the body. Focusing on the lower body posture, the pitcher or the person making the throw will have to stand in a position such that the foot opposite to the hand that is making the throw is flexed, and the other foot is firmly planted on the ground. The knee in the opposite leg is also flexed in the starting position ( Methenitis et al.,2016) .
The Sequence of Movement
There are a series of movements that will enable the pitcher or thrower to make an underhand throw. These movements will include back swinging of the dominant hand, the release, and the follow-through phase. Therefore, the muscles of the body facilitate different movements in these phases ( Bobrowsky, 2019) . Analysis of the movement in the lower body of a right-handed pitcher will involve the early back phase, the late back phase, the swing phase, and the follow-through phase.
The Early Back Phase
The early back phase involves left hip flexion, left knee flexion, and left ankle dorsiflexion. In this case, these joints in the side of the arm that will throw the ball are flexed in an attempt to prepare for the swinging of the dominant arm ( Yu et al.,2018) . The movement of these joints will be slow in the sagittal plane as the player moves to the late back phase ( Evetovich et al., 2015) . There will be an involvement of muscles that will act as agonists and stabilizers to facilitate these movements. Concentric contraction of the Rectus Femoris, Iliopsoas muscle and the Tensor Fascia Lata will result in a slow agonist action at the hip joint ( Bobrowsky, 2019) . Isometric contraction of the Gluteus Maximum will stabilize the right hip joint in this phase.
In the knee joint, shortening of the Biceps Femoris fibers, Semimembranosus and Semitendinosus act as agonists in the left knee and cause flexion while the isometric contraction of the Rectus Femoris, Vastus Lateralis, Vastus Medialis, and Vastus Intermedius stabilize the right knee. The left ankle is dorsiflexed due to the shortening of Tibialis anterior, Extensor Digitorum Longus, and Extensor Hallucis Longus ( Evetovich et al., 2015) . The isometric concentration of Gastrocnemius Soleus stabilizes the right ankle joint. The stabilization is important in the maintenance of the posture that involves the planting of the right foot firmly on the ground.
Late Back Phase
In the late backstage, the left hip is still flexed to a larger degree compared to the early back phase. This flexion is due to the action of the Rectus Femoris, Iliopsoas and Tensor Fascia Lata through a concentric contraction. The isometric contraction of the Gluteus maximus still acts as the stabilizer for the right hip ( Evetovich et al., 2015) . In the late back phase, the opposite foot will be in front and therefore left knee is extended through the action of the Rectus Femoris, Vastus Lateralis, Vastus Medialis and Vastus Medialis ( Yu et al.,2018) . These muscles act as stabilizers in the right knee, which are flexed to support the posture in which the left foot is in front of the right foot ( Bobrowsky, 2019) . The left ankle is plantarflexed through concentric shortening of Soleus and Gastrocnemius while the right ankle is dorsiflexed through the elongation of these muscles on the right side. These joints will move slowly in the sagittal plane as the player enters the swing stage.
The Swing Phase
The swing phase involves the cooperation of upper body movements with lower body movements to release the ball. In the lower body, the left hip and the right hip are extended. The muscles that are responsible for this action are Gluteus Femoris, Biceps Femoris, Semimembranosus, and Semitendinosus where there is elongation on the left side and shortening on the right side. The left and right knee are flexed through the action of the Biceps Femoris, Semimembranosus and Semitendinosus with elongation on the left and shortening on the right side of the body ( Evetovich et al., 2015) . The left ankle is dorsiflexed through eccentric contraction of Gastrocnemius and Soleus while the right ankle is plantar-flexed through shortening of these muscles on the right. In this situation, the left foot is still ahead of the right foot, but both are the ground and flexed at the knee joint.
Follow Through Phase
After the release of the ball, the player enters the follow-through a phase whereby the hip joints are extended, the knee joints are flexed, the left ankle is dorsiflexed, and the right ankle is plantar flexed. The Gluteus Maximus, Biceps Femoris, Semimembranosus, and Semitendinosus contract to facilitate these movements through elongation on the left and shortening on the right side( Yu et al.,2018) . The left knee flexion is facilitated by eccentric contraction of the Biceps Femoris, Semimembranosus and Semitendinosus, while concentric contraction of these muscles on the right side results in right knee flexion ( Evetovich et al., 2015) . In the follow-through phase, the left ankle is dorsiflexed due to the action of eccentric contraction of Gastrocnemius and Soleus, and it is stabilized through elongation of Tibialis Anterior and Tibialis Posterior. The right ankle is plantarflexed through the action of gastrocnemius in which there is a concentric contraction of these muscles on the right side. In this situation, the forward force that resulted in the release of the ball causes the ankle joint of the right foot to be plantarflexed and the left ankle joint if firmly planted to the ground for stability, hence dorsiflexion.
Modification and Application
The underhand throw requires the player to focus on the target to ensure that the throw is not short or long. Therefore, the players making the throw will need first to master the steps in coordinating the movement of the opposite foot forward and throwing the dominant arm back ( Methenitis et al.,2016) . It is important to execute the swing phase properly by timing the forward and back movements and maintain proper spatial attentiveness in a bid to ensure accurate throwing ( Bobrowsky, 2019) . Transferring of the weight in the forward motion is also of extreme importance as it determines the distance of throw. Therefore, the pitcher or player should ensure that the swinging arm continues the forward motion in the follow-through phase ( Bobrowsky, 2019) . The timing of the release in the continued forward motion determines the distance of a throw, and the modification necessary for short throws is late release while early release will modify the throw if the throw is overshot.
References
Bobrowsky, M. (2019). Q: How Should You Throw a Ball for the Maximum Distance?. Science and Children , 56 (5), 64.
Evetovich, T. K., Conley, D. S., & McCawley, P. F. (2015). Postactivation potentiation enhances upper-and lower-body athletic performance in collegiate male and female athletes. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research , 29 (2), 336-342.
Methenitis, S. K., Zaras, N. D., Spengos, K. M., Stasinaki, A. N. E., Karampatsos, G. P., Georgiadis, G. V., & Terzis, G. D. (2016). Role of muscle morphology in jumping, sprinting, and throwing performance in participants with different power training duration experience. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research , 30 (3), 807-817.
Yu, J. H., Hong, J. H., Kim, J. S., Lee, D. Y., & Jeon, J. W. (2018). Pitching Analysis of Body Variables According to Ball Velocity in Amateur Baseball Pitchers Using Gyro Sensor. Medico-Legal Update , 18 (1).
