ABSTRACT
The soccer throw-in is a method of restarting play from the touchline using a player's hands. There are some detailed rules for delivering the ball in this restart. Training for long throw-ins seems to have little focus in spite of its usefulness, because coaching cues derived from biomechanical research is lacking. Rory Delap, an Irish professional footballer who played in the English Premier League, is one of the world's most famous long throwers in soccer, and was often referred as the "Human Sling." However, as female and teen footballers can perform the long throw-in, muscular strength may be important but not a necessity; technical factors may be more important for a long distance throw-in. A three-dimensional biomechanical understanding of the motions required for the long throw-in is necessary to further the knowledge. To address the deficiency of a three-dimensional analysis of the upper body motion of a group of throwers including one outstanding long thrower was conducted.
