How to strike your opponent more consistently.
The lookaway: Don't look at the person you are throwing at. Either do the lookaway off to the side or ceiling. Or look at another player while throwing. Looking off court, might not be a good idea (you might get plastered), so it would probably be good to look at an opponent that has a ball, and throw at a different person
The shinsplinter: I like to aim at the shins. Aiming at the shoes tends to make the ball bounce on the ground before it strikes the opponent. Aiming for the knees tends to make the ball go a little too high sometimes--where the opponent can easily catch it.
The wraparound curveball: I've seen players grip the ball by wrapping their hand and wrist around the ball, and then throwing it for a curve. It can be tricky to master.
The slight curveball: Personally I like to grip the ball a bit on the side to give a slight curve. It's just enough to be deceptive. Although, I have to admit the wraparound curve does give a much nastier curve that is harder to catch.
The Favor Returner: Throw at a person who has just thrown the ball.
The Gedemwhileyerdown: Even better yet, hammer it down at someone who just fell down, and then laugh insanely.
The Raisin: Since these balls are filled with foam, you can squeeze them like a sponge. The rubber gator skin coating enables them to retain their raisin like shape for a few seconds. I've seen many guys squeeze the crap out of the ball and then throw it.
The court is still out on this technique. The unusual shape will enable the ball to knuckle more the air, making it move around unpredictably. In theory that should make it harder to catch. But then the slight unpredictable knuckling movement might make it harder to hit your target.
Personally, I find it easier to catch a raisin ball than a full round ball. I find the raisin ball has more of a handle for me to grab. A full round 8-inch ball is a bit more slippery--therefore harder to catch. Please leave your experiences with throwing and catching raisin balls in the comments below.
The Advanced Raisin: Most people just squish up the ball in any random pattern. But what would happen if you squished the ball a certain way? Think of the many grips a baseball pitcher will use with the seams on a baseball. Perhaps there are ways of denting the ball to make it behave in predicted ways. This is an item that I'm going to be exploring more in the future. If anyone has any advanced raisin techinques, please leave them in the comments below.
*courtesty of spudart
