It is universally agreed that a good follow-through is an important part of good technique in movements involving a ball, such as throws, or swings.
This raises the question: why does it matter how you move after the ball is gone? If it did, this would seem to suggest that the future can affect the present.
One possible answer is that a good follow-through doesn't really matter, but is simply the inevitable result of good technique prior to impact or release. I think this may be true in some cases. Many follow-through movements are passive and the athlete isn’t trying to do anything special after the ball is gone, except to decelerate safely or prepare for the next movement.
But in other sports, follow-through movements seem related to concerns with accuracy, and athletes make an active effort to reach a particular position and even hold it after the ball is gone. Consider the way a golfer, or bowler, or basketball shooter poses at the end of their motion as they watch the result.
Why should this balanced pose matter? Steph Curry strikes a characteristic pose after each shot, leaving his right arm extended high with a flexed wrist long after the shot has left his hand.
I just read some research by Daniel Wolpert and colleagues that may explain this. The answer seems to be that repeating a consistent follow-through position helps to form memories that can be associated with motor programs and outcomes, and these memories help guide future attempts to select the right motor program.
Here are a few quotes from the paper, which is titled: The Value of the Follow-Through Derives from Motor Learning Depending on Future Actions:
In ball sports, we are taught to follow through, despite the inability of events after contact or release to influence the outcome. Here we show that the specific motor memory active at any given moment critically depends on the movement that will be made in the near future … We confirm this prediction and show that such follow-through effects influence adaptation over time periods associated with real-world skill learning.
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Different follow-throughs may activate distinct motor memories. Therefore, during skill learning on a single task, identical future movements on each trial (i.e., consistent follow-through) may access a single motor memory. In contrast, a variable follow-through may access multiple motor memories across trials, with any learning being spread across multiple memories, leading to a decrease in the speed of skill acquisition.
So at least part of the value of focusing attention on developing a good consistent follow-through is that it will help you play better in the future, by helping you form clear memories of what the final position of the movement feels like. Once these memories are in place, intending to recreate them is a great way to organize the overall movement. Shooting a basketball or swinging a golf club involves coordinated movement of every body part, and the nature of the coordination changes every millisecond. But the final position is relatively simple and easy to visualize. Therefore creating a simple intention to reach the final position may be a good way to organize everything that precedes it.
Translate "Playing With Movement" into Spanish Language:
Good morning Todd, i´m 27 years old, i´m a golf teacher and i´m writing to you from Argentina. I have read your book "Playing With Movement", and it has transformed me as an trainer and athlete. In fact i teach and play golf (since i was 4 years old) , and i´m applying everything i have learned in your book. My vision of sport has changed. I wanted to ask you if you would like to translate your book into Spanish language to spread throughout Argentina, here is a great culture of sport, in many disciplines.I´m sure it would be a success. I look forward to a prompt response, greetings. Juan Pablo Grosso.- My mail adress is juampi.grosso.369@gmail.com .