Wow. Slinging a tennis ball 84 yards with a 30.75 inch sling is quite a feat. I need a much longer sling to get such distances (without tailwind  ).

No tailwind. In fact, threw 90 degrees to the wind, which wasn’t blowing much anyway. In the past I threw with a tailwind but then return throws would be into a headwind. So now I just throw with a crosswind so out nor return throws don’t have that headwind.

The 84 yards was of course an outlier. I threw about 50 balls, they all were over 65 yards and at the end the last 20 went 70-75 yards. 

The 84 yard throw got a good whip and a crack. I don’t have a cracker on my sling so I thought the sling broke!  But it was not damaged.


This was all Byzantine style. Just turn your back to target and unwind hips and shoulders….that’s where my distance comes from. Injury is an issue….have to keep elbow in close to body. If I extend elbow away from body, my arm will be sore next day.

The distance for me is just getting the timing perfect hip turn/shoulder turn/wrist snap….AND somehow manage to do all this while throwing the ball at the perfect upward angle. 

I am guessing at the angle. Feels like I am throwing too low. Might need to video and check this.

Google AI says typical distance slinging tennis ball is 60-100 meters (65-109 yards). My throws are in the lower portion of that range (70-75 yards) except for the one “magical” throw that went 84 yards. I think there is more distance simply by cleaning up my technique. Clearly that 84 yard throw everything “clicked”, so there is an example and proof all the other throws were not as efficient.

The angle is super important for sure!!  Need to learn that launch angle.

I was trying to throw upwards at a 45 degree angle. Felt like I was throwing too low….maybe that 84 yard throw the “too low” angle actually was the correct 30 degree angle??  In any case, I am guessing the angle, so need to actually measure and see exactly what is going on.

How do you measure 30 degrees?   Do you use video or is there a better method?   90, 45, and 22.5 (half of 45) are intuitive for me.  30 degrees not so much.  Was it hard to learn the correct angle?

Been thinking about it and best thought is to try to throw little less than 45 degrees and hope I am close to 30 degrees   Just can’t identify a reference for 30 degrees while I am throwing. Maybe review video after the fact to try to measure launch angle.

What throwing style creates backspin?  That sounds like it would make the tennis ball climb and gain distance.

Might have to throw on a super windy day to take advantage of the tailwind!

I agree tennis balls give great feedback since you can see them land. The only frustrating thing is the flight time is so long I have time to watch and think this will be a good one….only for the ball to land way short!

in mech's video it appears he starts the throw behind him fairly supinated and ends palm down/over extended to the right. With each revolution around your head, our arms can only rotate so far before we have to reset and "ratchet" back. The majority of the twist in his arm is during this "ratchet"  which is the last few milliseconds before and after the release. So you have to match the rate and timing of your pronation with your release point to get your desired spin. This is more easily seen in this slow mo

https://youtube.com/shorts/jcmvf2aJFxw?si=CLdVchDUIGphsRGV


Another factor in his throw and spin in general is how you hold and release your sling. His retention cord is attached to his middle finger just behind the joint nearest the knuckle. With the release cord held at the joint near the tip on his pointer finger that makes them offset diagonally to each other. The release cord is ahead and on the inside relative to the retention cord during the powerstroke. When he pronates during the release that puts the release cord below the retention making the pouch open like a garage door almost. From the bottom up with the direction of motion going mostly perpendicular through the door. This is what creates the backspin.
If you have it the other way around where the retention cord is connected towards the tip of the middle finger with the release held as far back as possible then you can more easily get top spin and make it drop. This is all with a more vertical overhand throw like this. Everything rotates when you change to sidearm or underhand.

And Goober, that video does a wonderful job it helped me immensely when i started. As well as Sarosh's Internal Ballistics of the Sling video which i know has made its rounds but never hurts to share again.
https://youtu.be/vOuRwrfA7GQ?si=cDJA6QW8dJnkaX1H