Re(1): On the Subject of Puffballs Posted on June 25, 2023 at 08:16:09 AM by Jesus
I haven't looked at any of the examples, but just some things to consider, A "puffball" arrimada which could be a puffball that peaks very close to the wall is a bitch to catch, I would rather somebody threw a very fast arrimada than a puffball one.
Sometimes in "small court" jai alai you may attempt to give the ball a picada effect, since that ball doesn't pica, you have to try to throw it as high as you can and not very hard to try to get the opponent "under the bridge", sometimes it fails miserably, other times an alert fast opponent will read your throw and cut it in the middle of the court and that may look like a puffball gift. It is a risky shot.
Sometimes you may not notice that the player caught the ball but in reality had no control cause it was spinning inside the cesta, in those cases you can't setup and throw the ball hard cause it will fall out and you just have to get the ball out of the cesta the best way you can under the circumstances.
In some cases if the player is out of position and throw the ball too hard the opponent will catch it faster and get you out of position as opposed to throw it softer inside and allow yourself to regain court position, although I wouldn't throw a puffball but sometimes you mess up.
One more comment on your assertion "if you throw the ball hard enough, even if it comes straight back to the opponent, the opponent will likely still not control it", uhmmmm... no, these people have enough skill that they could care less if you threw it at 190 mph, that's why in jai alai placement and court positioning is much more important, you actually would like to NOT throw as hard as you can and sacrifice a little power for accuracy and placement. Elite players can usually throw as hard as they can and be accurate. I remember one time at amateur in a practice game I caught the ball right side in the middle of the court and threw the ball as hard as I could and "Angel" (from Dania and Miami) was visiting and caught it "bajo patas" (under the legs) just because he wanted to and then did it a couple more times against some of the hardest throwers amateurs just for fun. Replies:
