[personal] [Husker] DeAngelis (fwd)

[Mike Nolan]

> This is correct, if your kicker somehow manages to kick a nice, tight  
> spiral.  However most kicks tend to rotate end-over-end, around an axis  
> perpendicular to the flight vector.  I do think if you notice kicks that  tend to hook or 
> slice hard, that they tend to not have much end-over-end  rotation.

True, I was referring more to the physics of a pass (or a good punt) 
rather than a place-kick.

However, the same gyroscopic action that keeps a nice spiral pass on
a straight line will work for a kick rotating end-over-end, but it's
far easier to get one that doesn't rotate on a line perpendicular to
the axis of flight, in which case the ball tend to curve in flight.

I played around some with soccer-style kicking in high school, I could
get a lot of lift on the ball but not much distance, and sometimes 
vice-versa, but almost never both.  When you do get spiral motion on a 
place-kicked ball, which is a bit easier with true soccer-style kicking, 
it tends not to have as much height or distance, which I think has to do 
with the way the energy is transferred to the ball, too much of it goes into
creating the rotational motion.  

Punting is somewhat different because of the way the ball is struck.  
I've seen some high-speed photography that shows the foot is in 
contact with the ball for a much longer time than with a place-kick, 
transmitting more energy, which is why punts with a good follow-through 
can have rotation, height and distance.

Back in the 1950's there was an article by a physicist claiming
a baseball doesn't really curve.  I think it was Whitey Ford of the 
Yankees who responded, "Stand behind a telephone pole and I'll whomp 
you to death!".  
--
Mike Nolan