Throwing Rollers | Speed & Angles

Ron explains how disc speed and release angle work in throwing Rollers with discs using the BackhandThe Backhand toss is the traditional disc throw. While it might not be the easiest throw of them all, it is the easiest to throw a hundred yards, and it is the easiest... More and SideArm releases. These throwing principles hold true with all RollerThe Roller is a great throw for reinforcing a dog with a disc. Instead of flying through the air like a wing, the Roller rolls on the ground like a wheel; a fast,... More throws.

Making a Disc Roll

Making a disc roll successfully is a combination of speed and release angle. Either attribute on it’s own can make a disc roll, but successful rolling of discs more often than not relies on getting the proper mix of these two throwing attributes.

Rolling and Speed

A disc that is going too fast will turn over in the direction of the spinSpins and Twists are tricks where the dog spins 360 degrees in a clockwise or counter clockwise fashion. Spin is clockwise and Twist is counter clockwise so it is important to have a... More and roll. This can be thought of as “over-speeding”. This happens rather easily with competitive dog discs due to their understable flight principles.

A disc that is thrown flat at a high enough rate of speed will turn over and roll. This rate of speed differs based upon the type of disc being thrown – model, the type of plastic, and the degree of wear on the disc all play a role in what speed, exactly, is required to turn a disc over for the roller.

The key idea here is that if you throw it fast enough it will roll, even if you throw it flat. The more speed you add, the flatter the release angle required for successful rolling.

Rolling and Release Angle

The release angle of the disc is critical to successful and accurate Rollers.

The faster you throw it, the flatter the release angle, as per above, which means that the slower the throw, the more vertical the release angle needs to be for the disc to roll properly.

For very short, slow throws the disc can be released completely vertical, but other than the shortest and slowest throws some horizontal angle must be applied to the disc.

The further and faster you go the flatter the throw.

SideArm Mechanical Advantage

The power of the flick on the SideArm throw is often overwhelming. Perhaps you have experienced the disc turning over on your SideArm. This is the most common mistake with the SideArm throw. It is very easily to over-speed the disc as it comes out of your hand even on short, tiny throws because there is great mechanical advantage applied on the release.

Purposefully rolling discs and rolling discs with purpose and accuracy in mind is a great way to get a better handle on the SideArm throw. It can be very helpful to play around with the great mechanical advantage of this while being successful rather than repeating the same old mistake over and over.

After you learn how to make the disc roll and learn to control the roll it is much easier to make the disc not roll.

On Over-Speeding, Stability, and Spin

It must be mentioned that the amount of spin changes the stability of the disc while it is in flight. The more spin, the more stable the disc becomes and the less likely it is to roll.

Not trying to over-complicate things, but it is something that must be kept in mind and experienced. Just bookmark this idea and keep it in mind while you play around with throwing Rollers and while throwing in general.

Happy Jamming!