Physics Work

[Bob Steele]

You are going to have to find the impulse and not just the force.
Impulse is Force * time.

A small force over a long time could give the same impulse as a large force for a short time.

Think about it as the force being applied to the ball over a certain time.
If you can maintain contact with the ball you accelerate the ball for a longer time (The Force is applied over a greater distance (time))

This is equal to the total change in momentum.

If you want to learn more ... you can find a physics book and read the chapter on linear momentum for a start.

More things are happening, of course, but this is a good place to start.