Influence of difference in view of goal on shooting performance and muscle synergy

Problem Statement: Muscle synergy differs between scored and missed shots during free-throw shooting that is, four synergies during a scored shot and three synergies during a missed shot. The synergy of a missed shot functions similarly to the synthesis of two synergies during a scored shot to transfer energy from the lower to the upper limb. However, whether or not a difference in the view of goal influences muscle synergy remains unclear. Therefore, this study investigated synergy during basketball free-throw shooting and compared the synergies of five positions. Approach: Six male collegiate basketball players (age: 20.2 ± 0.8 years; height: 1.74 ± 0.03 m; weight: 63.7 ± 4.5 kg; duration of playing basketball: 9.7 ± 2.3 years). The distance from all shooting positions to the goal was the same as the free-throw distance. The study used a wireless electromyographic system to measure 16 muscle activities during free-throw shooting and analyzed three success and failure shots in each position to extract the synergies using non-negative matrix factorization. Results: The difference between the success and failure shots was the number of synergies. The study extracted four and three synergies during the success and missed shots, respectively, in each position. Additionally, the synergies remained the same despite the different positions. Conclusion: These results are in agreement with those of a previous study and suggested that the view of the goal did not influence the factor of success or failure shots if the distance from the shooting positions to the goal remained the same. Thus, understanding not only the evaluation of success or failure of a shot but also its potentially located muscle synergy can aid in the improvement of shooting performance.