INITIAL BALL SPEED AND FORCE ESTIMATION AT IMPACT IN VOLLEYBALL AND FOOTBALL

Abstract

This study was undertaken to show how with a simple electronic design we could estimate the initial speed of a ball at impact as well as the force exerted on it. The system has been used for top elite, top university and beginners volleyball and football players. The electronic system can provide the time of flight of ball and also the time of impact. From the time of flight, the initial ball speed can be obtained while from the time of impact the force exerted to ball can be estimated. The results showed that highly skilled players apply larger forces and produce higher ball speeds than lower- level athletes. The values of initial speeds and forces achieved by this simple arrangement are very comparable to those obtained by other researchers.