Suzanne Slade - The Technology of Basketball

The recommended pressure for most basketballs is between 7 and 9 pounds per squareinch (PSI). The NBA requires all game balls to be inflated between 7 1/2 and 8 1/2PSI. WNBA balls have an air pressure limit of 9 PSI.

A busy basketball coach can always use a good assistant. Basketball shooting machinesare hard-working assistants that never need to stop and rest. Shooting machines areused in school, college, and professional practices around the country.

These high-tech machines are placed under a basket where they catch shots and throwtheballback to players. They also run practice drills such as rebounding, shootingfromtheperimeter, and defensive training drills.

A basketball shooting machine lobs a shot toward the basket during a defensive trainingexercise.

Basketball shooting machines can also be programmed to manage customized practices.They toss balls to players at a certain velocity and rotation speed. With the machine,players can practice receiving bounce passes, skip passes, lob passes, or hard chestpasses. Another bonus feature is the basketball machine can store individual informationabout every player, so it provides each one with individualized practice on his orher weaknesses. The wireless remote allows coaches to start new drills or changeany features of the drill such as ball speed or rotation with one click of a button.

Players muscles work hard during a game. The hardest working muscle of all may bethe heart. The heart pumps blood, which carries nutrients and oxygen, throughoutthe body. In 1993 the world of basketball was shocked when 27-year-old Reggie Lewis,captain of the Boston Celtics, died of a heart attack. People wondered if the tragedycould have been prevented. Now professional players are required to have medicalscreenings to discover possible heart problems.

Reggie Lewis played for the Boston Celtics for six seasons before suffering a heartattack.

Many pro teams bring cutting-edge medical technology into their training rooms todo heart exams. They conduct routine cardiac stress tests to see how well a playersheart is functioning. Some teams take three-dimensional images of players hearts.Other tests might include a wireless electrocardiogram (EKG), which finds problemsin the electrical signals the heart sends to contract its muscles and pump blood.While testing helps find possible life-threatening conditions, its also useful tofind out how quickly a players heart rate recovers after a hard practice.

Some smartphones come with a built-in EKG, allowing people to check for abnormalheart rhythms wherever they go.

FACT

Sessoter Ikpah loved playing for the American International College basketball teamin Springfield, Massachusetts. But when doctors discovered he had a serious heartdefect, Sesso thought his basketball career was over. Then Dr. Francis Marchlinskisuggested an experimental defibrillator that was stronger than a traditional one.Sesso decided to have the new defibrillator implanted in 2010. The defibrillatorwas placed under Sessos skin, on top of his collarbone. It can detect an irregularheartbeat and even give the heart a small shock to get it back into rhythm. Withthe new defibrillator in place, Sesso was soon back on the court!

cardiac something that relates to the heart
electrocardiogram (EKG) a recording ofthe electrical activity of the heart
defibrillator a machine that applies an electriccurrent to the heart

CUSTOMIZED WORKOUT

Players often set personal goals for each workout. Goals may change depending oninjuries, the players physical condition, or the length of time before the nextgame. But its not always easy for trainers and coaches to see if players are doingtheir best in a workout. The amount of sweat and number of baskets dont tell thewhole story. But new technology can reveal whos slacking off and whos working hard.

Carmelo Anthony works out with a personal trainer, using drills to focus on specificabilities such as driving.

Players on some teams wear heart-rate belts during practice. The belts send data,such as heartbeats per minute, to a courtside computer through its antenna. Trainerswear small, watchlike computers on their wrists with baseline, preseason data oneach player. The trainers compare players preseason data with their current heartrates. Based on a scale from one to five, the information shows how hard each playerworked during practice. Trainers then determine if workout goals were met. If not,a player may add a few laps around the court to his or her workout.

Personal heart rate monitors help trainers and coaches track the athletes healthwhen they play.

CHAPTER 2
HIGH-TECH EQUIPMENT

HIGH-FLYING SHOES