How do I limit catapult controls to only a small area?

I'm working on a basketball free throw game with catapult physics. It's working well, except for the fact that if I touch any part of the screen that's not part of the ball, it still acts like I'm aiming the ball. Is there a way to only limit the catapult touch controls to the area around the ball only? It makes it frustrating when I click the Pause button and the ball launches off in a weird direction.

Thanks in advance!

You could have an invisible sprite that describes the area of effect.

then in the logic..have your controls active only when in touch with that sprite?

That's a great idea. I'll give it a shot and report back.

Thanks!