Sports and Math





Sports and Math......do they go together? I noticed that my blog has been a lot about sports (especially the redsox) and I was wondering if you think that math and sports are connected. I took a tour of the Patriots Hall of Fame Wednesday morning and that has me thinking even more about the connection between math and sports. The Hall of fame has a lot of educational things in it. When the kicker is attempting a field goal do you think he is thinking about the math involved? Well he should be. Do you have any idea what the percent of increase is on ticket prices and the programs sold at each game? What about the all the statistics kept on these professional players. I am sure there is a mathematician involved, specifically a statistician. So what do you think about the sports and math connection?

Comments

Anonymous said…
I think obviously sports and math are included. I just wouldn't want to be the one who has to figure all the percents.. Haha
October 17, 2008 at 8:56 AM
Anonymous said…
I do not think that there is that much of a connection between sports and math. I think that when David Ortiz is at the dish, he isnt thinking about graphing functions hes thinking about hitting the ball. The only time math is integrated with sports is when they are calculating stats of the athletes.
October 17, 2008 at 9:10 AM
Nicolettes said…
I never would have though it but math and sports are connected in SOOO many ways! The differnt speeds of two players racing for the ball at different distances, the angles the football is kickedand the shape it forms as it goes up and down (parabola!)(like you told me yesterday.) Math really IS everywhere! :]
October 17, 2008 at 10:57 AM
Anonymous said…
I remember from freshman year, Mr. Smith had us working on parabolas with basketballs. What would the equation be for the player to shoot a free throw and get it in every time? This defintiely involves math. Also, think about probability with like board games (even though this isn't a sport) when using dice.
October 17, 2008 at 4:54 PM
Anonymous said…
I think football probably has the greatest connection to math. When the quarterback throws a pass, the path of the football forms a parabola. During a possession, how a team moves up the field involves numbers because they might get sacked and lose yards or get a penalty and lose yards or make plays and gain yards. I never really thought about the connection between math and sports until now. Who knew two of my favorite things are related! :)
October 17, 2008 at 5:51 PM
Anonymous said…
i agree with andrew, i really don't think the kicker is thinking too much of math durring the game. Possibly physics but im not sure how well that would go, prob confuse them? Also i really don't think the fans notice the price increase for the tickets, although it is interesting to know the percent it increased on the drive home to complain about (if they lose).
October 18, 2008 at 9:24 AM
Anonymous said…
p.s. did you try the kicking symilation simulations at the pats hall of fame? my journalism class had a ball playing around with it. none of us completed it, uless we threw it at the screen. =D
October 18, 2008 at 9:26 AM
Mary Taylor said…
Yes Joe I tried the kicking simulation. I am sad to report that I did not make the field goal.
October 18, 2008 at 10:04 AM
Anonymous said…
Im sry Andrew but i have to disagree. Math and sports are connected in some ways that I dont even understand. Sure, you have the obvious things like players stats. You also have for example, race cars, how much fuel will it take to complete the Indie 500? For martial arts, how much force is behind each punch or kick? It is interesting how many things come down to using math.
October 19, 2008 at 12:51 AM
Anonymous said…
I agree, sports and math are related in all sorts of ways. Especially in statistics. However, I also agree with Andrew. The player probably is not thinking about math while they're playing, although they probably should be!
October 19, 2008 at 2:55 AM
Anonymous said…
I agree when andrew says that the players up at bat are not thinking about math rather thinking about the pitch. i disgree with him him where he says that the two subjects are unrelated. when hitting a ball in baseball the speed and angle have a lot to do with what the parabola the ball will form. Im saure there is an equation that can be made to calculate where the ball will land

Thomas Larsen
October 19, 2008 at 1:22 PM
Anonymous said…
On the field, athletes probably use math very rarely. They are extremely good at what they do and I am sure math would only confuse them. The math part of sports is all done off the field by people who are getting paid to work. They do maths ranging from a player's averages, finding current progress rates for those who wager on sporting events all the way to athletic scientists who study how shape, weight, velocity, force all effect specific sports.
October 19, 2008 at 3:40 PM
Anonymous said…
Probably the easiest activity to find the use of math is billiards. The angle you hit a ball is reflected and bank shots can prove more than helpful if shot in correct angle.
October 19, 2008 at 4:43 PM
Anonymous said…
I think an obvious way math connects to sports is gambling.
October 20, 2008 at 11:29 AM
Anonymous said…
Sports and math are definitely connected. There isn't a sport out there that doesn't keep stats, or even simply have a score or time. The math could be used in the actual athletic side like Brad said about angles in billiards, or like the yardage for downs in football. Math can also be used in the business side of sports, like Mrs. Taylor said, in the ticket sales and even in the players' salaries. Math is everywhere in sports.
October 20, 2008 at 8:27 PM
Anonymous said…
I gotta agree with JP on this one. Players are probably too focused on the game to realize how math fits in. However, off the field, one can easily see all the connections between math and sports.
October 21, 2008 at 4:40 PM
Anonymous said…
I believe sports and math are connected in many different ways. I play tennis, and the angles when serving and hitting are greatly noted when practicing and playing. Like Brad mentioned, billiards is probably one activity where the use of math is appreciated. However, Andrew is right when he says that Big Papi is probably not thinking about graphing functions when he goes up to bat!
October 21, 2008 at 5:44 PM
Anonymous said…
I never really thought about sports and math being realated but now that you mention it i do see the coralation. Kevin, I forgot about that basketball assignment Mr. smith had us do, but yeah it definitly helps me realize that sports and math are realated.
October 21, 2008 at 9:39 PM
Anonymous said…
I think sports and math definately have a connection. My dad has season tickets at Fenway for his company and every year the ticket prices seem to go up. The Red Sox must analyze their ticket sales and determine each year what the best price should be for tickets for the upcoming season. I'm sure there are plenty of other math connections in sports too.
October 21, 2008 at 9:46 PM
Anonymous said…
I think that math and sports are connected. You could have percent of games won, or the advrage some body scores. There alot more things but thoughs stick out in my head most.
October 21, 2008 at 10:50 PM
Anonymous said…
I think sports and math are very related, and people have been able to figure everything out. The trainers learn about this stuff, and teach it to the sports players in the way the have to hit or kick the ball. So, the players are learning the right way to play mathematically, they just don't learn the math part.
October 22, 2008 at 9:27 AM
Anonymous said…
I agree with Brad- billiards players probably know the most about math for their game because the way they aim and hit the ball determines their success.
October 22, 2008 at 9:30 AM
Anonymous said…
I think that sports and math are definitely related but I agree with everyone else that said athletes probably aren't thinking about math in the middle of a game. I think that statistics are interesting though and I like seeing all of the different stats that they come up with.
October 22, 2008 at 3:53 PM
Anonymous said…
I agree with Joe P. On the field, players aren't doing many calculations in their heads. But off the field, all of their stats and averages are figured by other people. What the players may be thinking about is the amount of power that they need or how quickly they need to get downfield in order to beat the clock.
October 22, 2008 at 5:33 PM
kateb said…
I completely think math and sports are related...actually I think you can find math in almost anything if you try. Some sports definetley involve more math than others, but all have some connection. And whether or not you are conscious of it, you are constanlty using things form math in sports. For instance in basketball, I shoot based on distance and height, I cut on angles, and account for speed and distance when passing to a running player.
October 22, 2008 at 6:19 PM
Anonymous said…
i think sports and math clearly have a connection. whether or not the player is thinking about the math involved in it math is happening, and also the whole stats thing like eithier mentioned. Math is happening all the time in sports.
October 22, 2008 at 10:21 PM
Anonymous said…
I agree, billiards players do incorporate a lot of math into their game. Understanding the angles helps the players judge where the ball will go when bouncing off the walls as well as other balls.
October 26, 2008 at 9:18 PM
Anonymous said…
I think we should go on a field trip to further understand how math and sports are related! :)

I agree that players don't usually do math in their head when they're playing a sport. I think they just use math automatically. For example, a basketball player knows how high to arc his shot from experience and he doesn't need to calculate a formula in his head in order to make the basket.
October 31, 2008 at 5:23 PM
Nicolettes said…
i also agree with sam! Billiards is all math! i remember watching a video in eighth grade about it! There are certain angles you have to hit the ball at so it goes where you want it to!
November 2, 2008 at 12:37 PM
Anonymous said…
Math really can be found anywhere you look! Math and sports are very closely connected if you think of the speeds of the players or of a baseball pitch. Even the ticket sales and the design of a stadium.
-Jess Quintanilha
November 2, 2008 at 1:08 PM
Anonymous said…
I think that math and sports have tons of connections. With stats, speeds, arcs, and angles, math shows up in sports all the time. Whether or not the athletes playing in contact sports (like football)calculate the math at that time is questionable to me though.
I also have to agree with Sam P when he says billiards has a lot to do with math. The angles at which the players have to hit the balls in order to get them into the pocket is 100 percent math.
November 3, 2008 at 12:24 PM
Alyssa Graham said…
Math does seem to go with sports. I think you can see that in so many ways, such as with timing moves, selling tickets, calculating the statistics, etc. However I don't think most athletes are thinking in numbers while they play. Though actually when I use to play basketball I would look at the scores and quickly figure how many baskets our team needed to win, or how many the other would need to tie.
November 3, 2008 at 8:36 PM
Anonymous said…
I agree with sam about billiards involving a lot of math its all about geometry and the angles. However i agree with andrew that the athletes are probably not thinking about the math involved when they're playing, but its still there.
November 4, 2008 at 11:17 AM
Anonymous said…
Math and sports are connected in so many different ways it's impossible to explain them all. Force, mass,speed, and so many different math formulas are used in each sport. But, like Ethier said, players aren't thinking about math as they play each sport.
November 4, 2008 at 6:40 PM
Anonymous said…
The only time math isn't thought about in sports is when we're all celebrating!
November 6, 2008 at 8:23 PM
marier said…
I do think that math and sports have many connections, though many players of these sports teams may not realize or pay attention to it. The use of math is automatic, and after the game people may use it to find statistics or find ways to improve how well they do in the game. And I agree with Sam that billiards does use a lot of math and geometry where the players use their math skills intentionally.
November 21, 2008 at 8:55 AM
Anonymous said…
I agree with Eric. Math really can be involved in every aspect of sports and I'm sure we might even be able to find ways its incorporated when we're celebrating!
-Jess Quintanilha
November 30, 2008 at 1:11 PM
Olivia said…
When I worked with the Hall of Fame last year, I had so much fun. It's such a great way to incorporate math into something so prevelant in people's lives.
September 7, 2012 at 1:49 PM
Anonymous said…
I would love to talk about sports and math this year in Calc.
September 16, 2012 at 2:57 PM
Olivia said…
I'm really struggling with projectile motion in AP Physics. Yikes!
September 20, 2012 at 9:12 PM
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