How can a ball create thermal energy or “get hotter”?
When a ball bounces, some of its molecules slide across one another rather than simply stretching or bending. This sliding leads to a form of internal sliding friction and sliding friction converts useful energy into thermal energy. The more sliding friction that occurs within the ball, the less the ball stores energy for the rebound and the worse the ball’s bounce. The missing energy becomes thermal energy in the ball and the ball’s temperature increases.