GRIP

When it comes to gripping the ball, you want to get your hands as far under the ball as possible. I know your hands “allegedly” are supposed to be on the sides of the ball. Or at least I’ve heard some people say that. But I’ve been through the manual, I’ve been through the website, I’ve talked to those who went to the training and all it says is grip the ball. The only rule is both hands need to be on the ball. So unless the grader specifically tells you that you cannot cup your hands underneath that ball, JUST DO IT. And if they say that you can’t, ask to see it in the regs where it specifically says it isn’t allowed.

If you feel more comfortable throwing the ball with your hands on the side of the ball, go for it, it’s your world. But in my professional opinion, you’ll be sacrificing a lot of distance by holding the ball on the sides. Granted, everyone will be different with their ideal hand placement, but this is one area I am 100% positive on, the further you can have your hands under the ball the further you’ll be able to throw it. If you are a female soldier, you have smaller hands than your male counterpart, so you must give yourself every advantage you can. For all you small bird-handed males out there that goes for you too. No point in being a tough guy now with those tiny hands. If you have banana hands like Tony Robbins, throw two balls at the same time.

Do your best to wrap your hands as far under the ball as possible. The ball has a higher tendency to slip out of your hands if you are side gripping it. Just don’t cup your hands over one another. I coach soldiers to get the outer edges of the tips of their pinkies to touch under the ball to start with, or close to that. And then let them play around with it to find the grip/hand placement that works best for them. Once they find what works best, then I tell them to stick with it and practice that grip every throw. There is no time limit so make sure your hands are where you want them before your attempts. You only have 2, got to make them count.

Still confused on what I mean? Easy way to see what I’m looking for is, hold your hands up in front of your face, palms facing you. Touch the tips of your pinks together. Notice the point/arrow/open triangle that your hands now form? Imagine the ball sitting right in your palms now. From here it is up to you to find the position that allows you to fire the ball the farthest. Which most likely will be close to this one.

I look at it like this, when Olympic Weightlifting, every non-weirdo hook grips the bar. The reason for that is it allows them to increase the strength/hold of their grip around the barbell. It’s basically locked in. This allows them to generate more force with their legs and not worry about losing grip of the bar. It’s the same thing as holding the outside of the ball (no hook grip) vs getting your hands underneath (hook grip) the ball. If that analogy is hard to grasp here is an article on The Hook Grip for a better understanding.