Color coded teaching system

Abstract

The system provides a mat having indicia thereon to indicate foot placement for teaching various skills required for playing softball and baseball. Foot-marker pieces are disengageably attached to the mat, at selected locations, and the members of a pair thereof have features, such as contrasting colors, that enable them to be visually distinguished from one another. The system may additionally include shoe-marker elements, visually characterized to correspond with the foot-marker pieces, as well as similarly characterized bat-marker elements and hand-marker elements.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation-in-part of copending application Ser. No. 11/083,587, filed Mar. 18, 2005 and published on Sep. 21, 2006 as No. US 2006/0211522, the entire specification of which is incorporated hereinto by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for a color coded sport teaching device and, in particular, to a system for teaching skills employed in playing hardball and/or softball. (Albeit the word “baseball” may be used synonymously with “hardball,” softball is considered a form of baseball and that term is therefore sometimes used herein to connote both hardball and softball.)

When a novice begins to play a sport such as hardball, softball, cricket, stickball, and the like, he or she often learns through observation and experimentation the difficult skills involved in properly gripping a bat, positioning his or her body for batting, and striking the ball; as a result, the player's abilities are not, in many instances, well or correctly developed. Learning to throw a ball properly is also difficult, especially for players who want to be pitchers, as is learning to properly field and then throw a ball, particularly in regard to positioning of the feet and hands. The optimal acquisition of such skills will usually require good instruction and considerable practice and time, due in large part to the need to coordinate feet, hands, eyes, and body movements.

Indicative of the prior art pertinent in the field of the invention are the following patents, all of which are of the United States:

U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,258,858, to Cariffe, and 5,244,233, to McCraney, both relate to markings, such as with paint or stickers, that are applied to designate left and right shoes and gloves for assisting children in putting them on properly.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,532,344, to Masstab, provides a golf grip and glove having self-attractive surfaces that permit the glove to be secured to the handle of a golf club for preventing relative movement.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,649,029, to Worrell, provides golf practice apparatus that includes luminescent material, preferably on a decal, secured to a golf head and a practice mat to permit visual observation of club head movement relative to a desirable path.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,290, 043, to Vidinic, provides a target with sections of different colors, and a shoe with corresponding colored sections, to designate the portion of the foot that should be used to kick a ball into a corresponding section of the target. A special shoe may be provided, or an ordinary shoe may be adapted by applying stickers or Velcro (hook-and-loop type) attachments.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,462,280, to Dickerson, provides a golf training device comprising a full glove, used on the leading hand and having a diagonal strip for indicating placement of the golf club and, on the back of the thumb and running the length of the thumb, a strip of material carrying a plurality of hook-like members to be hooked with a corresponding strip of material on a half glove on the other hand.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,542,126, to Harvanek, discloses the use of a glove having markings for providing the wearer with a visual indication of the proper position for gripping a golf club or baseball bat.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,642,880, to Wiseman, discloses a training mat for teaching proper baseball batting position. The mat is marked with first indicia, designating home plate, and a plurality of second indicia showing sequential segments for foot placement. Wiseman normally provides color coding to match one of a plurality of front-foot markings with one of a plurality of back-foot markings, and to match the foot markings with markings on a tee.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,836,828, to Sinton, provides to a golf training system for aligning the hands on a club, wherein the upper hand glove may have indicia or color coding for relative positioning of the lower hand and for aligning the thumb along the centerline of the club.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,947,845, to Canelas, discloses a combination of soccer shoes and a soccer ball in which an exterior surface of each shoe is marked to correspond with selected areas of the ball so as to facilitate striking a particular area of the ball with a particular area of the shoe.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,279,164, to Martin, discloses interlocking gloves worn by a batter to help in hitting a baseball. The gloves inhibit the batter from rotating her hands while holding a bat, and they help to maintain proper knuckle alignment throughout the swing.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Despite the foregoing, the need remains for a novel system for teaching and developing a plurality of baseball playing skills, which system is conveniently and effectively utilized, is incomplex, is readily transported, and is facile and inexpensive to manufacture. The broad objects of the invention are therefore to provide such a system, and to provide a novel teaching method utilizing it.

More specific objects of the invention are to provide a system and method having the foregoing features and advantages, which are particularly adapted for teaching both pitching and also batting and/or fielding skills.

It has now been found that certain of the foregoing and related objects of the invention are attained by the provision of a system, having ambidextrous applicability, which are particularly adapted for teaching baseball (i.e., softball and/or hardball) skills, comprised of a double-sided panel having a face on both of the opposite sides thereof, and a pair of foot-marker pieces. The panel has indicia on one of its faces designed for teaching ball-pitching skills and comprising an elongated pitcher's rubber representation and a rectilinear power-line representation, the power-line representation extending from a location adjacent to the pitcher's rubber representation and perpendicular to a longitudinal axis thereof. The construction of the panel is such that disengageable attachment of the foot-marker pieces is enabled, at least at a plurality of spaced locations along the pitcher's rubber representation and along the power-line representation. Each of the foot-marker pieces has a visually distinguishing feature that enables it to be readily distinguished from the other foot-marker piece of the pair, and is constructed to enable disengageable attachment, at least at locations along the pitcher's rubber and the power-line representations on the “one” face of the panel. The panel also has indicia, or other means, on the other of its faces indicating at least one area for placement of a student's feet adjacent to at least one edge, for teaching batting skills, fielding skills, or both.

Preferably, the panel will comprise a mat, and it will normally be rectangular and longer than it is wide. The pitcher's rubber representation will usually extend crosswise, between lateral edges of the panel adjacent a narrow end thereof, and the power-line representation will usually extend lengthwise and generally centrally between the lateral edges.

In certain embodiments of the teaching system of the invention, indicia on the “other” side of the panel will comprise a plurality (desirably, three) of pairs of foot-marker representations disposed adjacent one edge, with the foot-marker representations of each pair being mutually spaced and readily distinguishable visually from one another and with the respective mutual spacing between the foot-marker representations of each of the pairs being different. Generally, the foot-marker representations of a relatively narrowly spaced inner pair will be disposed between the foot-marker representations of a more widely spaced outward pair, and the length dimension of the more outward pair will be greater than the length dimension of the inner pair. The indicia comprising the pairs of foot-marker representations will desirably be integral with, and non-removable from, the panel.

The indicia on the “other” of the panel faces may be adapted for teaching batting skills and may, in that instance, comprise a batter's box representation. Such a panel may be constructed to enable disengageable attachment of foot-marker pieces within the batter's box representation, in which case the indicia may designate locations for placement of the foot-marker pieces.

The indicia on the “other” side of the panel may alternatively, or additionally, be adapted for teaching ball-fielding skills and may, in that event, comprise an element that designates a location for hand (glove hand and bare hand) placement, spaced away from one edge of the panel and forwardly toward an opposite edge thereof. The indicia provided may also include a rectilinear throwing-line representation, extending forwardly from the hand-placement element. Most desirably, indicia provided for teaching ball-fielding skills will additionally include a generally rectilinear element, extending along the “one” edge of the panel, designating locations for foot placement and forming the base of an equilateral triangle having the hand-placement element at its apex. In such embodiments, the panel will desirably be constructed to enable disengageable attachment of foot-marker pieces at a plurality of spaced locations along both the throwing-line representation and also along the triangle base-forming rectilinear element.

The visually distinguishing features of the foot-marker pieces will preferably comprise contrasting colors. It will also be advantageous, in most instances, to so construct the foot-marker pieces as to include a foot-direction feature for facilitating proper orientation of a student's feet, by alignment therewith.

The system will usually additionally include a pair of shoe-marker elements, constructed for removable attachment to a student's shoes, with each shoe-marker element having a visually distinguishing feature that enables it to be readily distinguished from the other shoe-marker element of the pair. Such visually distinguishing features of the shoe-marker elements will substantially, or at least effectively, match the visually distinguishing features of the foot-marker pieces provided.

The system of the invention may also include a pair of bat-marking elements, constructed for removable attachment to a bat handle, and a pair of hand-marking elements constructed for application, effectively, to a student's hands. In such embodiments, each of the bat-making elements of the pair, and each of the hand-marking elements of the pair, will have a visually distinguishing feature that enables it to be readily distinguished from the other element of the pair, respectively, with the visually distinguishing features of the bat-marking elements substantially or effectively matching the visually distinguishing features of the hand-marking elements. The bat-marking elements will be attachable to a bat in an arrangement for showing proper hand placement by correlating the visually distinguished hand-marking elements to the visually distinguished bat-marking elements. More specifically, the bat-marking elements will desirably comprise strips of colored material, and the hand-marking elements will desirably comprise gloves having color features that match the colors of the bat-marking elements.

Additional objects of the invention are attained by the provision of a method for teaching baseball pitching skills, utilizing the system herein described, comprising the following steps:

• • applying one of the shoe-marker pieces of the pair provided to each of a student's shoes;
  • applying the foot-marker pieces to the “one” panel face in proper locations, relative to the pitcher's rubber representation, for set-up for pitching actions;
  • instructing the student to place her feet on the foot-marker pieces, so positioned relative to the pitcher's rubber representation, such that the distinguishing feature on each of the shoe-marker elements substantially matches the distinguishing feature on each of the foot-marker pieces;
  • thereafter applying the foot-marker pieces of a pair to the “one” panel face in proper locations, relative to the power-line representation, for a power phase pitching action; and
  • instructing the student to move her feet to place them on the foot-marker pieces, so positioned relative to the power-line representation, such that the distinguishing feature on each of said shoe-marker elements substantially matches the distinguishing feature on each of the foot-marker pieces.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A and 1B are plan views showing opposite sides of a mat comprising a system embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 depicts additional components that may comprise the system of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a pair of shoes having distinguishing markers attached to them;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a pair of gloves with applied hand markers;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing two baseball bats having bat-markers applied thereto in different (for right-hand and left-hand hitters) arrangements;

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a portion of the mat of FIG. 1, positioned for teaching batting skills, alternatively for right-hand and left-hand hitters;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary plan view showing a portion of the mat used for practicing pitching drills; and

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary plan view showing an area of the mat used for teaching fielding skills.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED AND ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENTS

Turning now in detail to FIGS. 1A and 1B of the drawings, therein illustrated is a double-sided panel in the form of a mat, generally designated by the numeral 10, having a face 12 (FIG. 1A) and a face 14 (FIG. 1B) on each of its two opposite sides (which may hereinafter be referred to as Sides A and B). Although the mat 10 depicted has a width dimension that is about 60 percent of its length dimension, in practice the mat would typically be considerably narrower, measuring for example about 24 inches wide by 68 inches long. A flexible sheet of foamed synthetic resinous material (e.g., of polypropylene or polyurethane, about ¼ to ⅜ inch thick), will provide a mat having good durability while also enabling folding or roll-up for convenient transport. It will be appreciated however that rigid panels, having a wide range of dimensions, configurations, and constructions (e.g., foldable) may also be employed in the system of the invention.

The face 12 on Side A of the mat 10 is provided with an integral rectangular pitching rubber representation 16 (which may however be an attached structural element, rather than a printed or otherwise incorporated graphic feature, if preferred), which representation 16 extends crosswise adjacent the edge at one of the narrower ends of the mat 10 and between its opposite lateral edges. A securement element 18, which will advantageously be provided as a Velcro (hook-and-loop type fastener) strip or, for example, as a line of snap-fitting fastener elements, extends along the front side of the pitching rubber representation 16. A similar securement element 22 (e.g., of a Velcro or functionally equivalent component) extends rectilinearly from adjacent the front side of the representation 16 along the length of the mat and centrally between its lateral edges; the element 22 provides a power-line representation.

As depicted in FIG. 1A, a pair of foot-marker pieces 20, 20′ are attached at two selected locations along the power-line representation 22. As seen in FIG. 2, each foot-marker piece 20, 20′ has a body 15 with means thereon, in the form of the coacting component 17 of a Velcro set, or the corresponding component of other fastening means employed, for enabling disengageable attachment; adhesive securement may also be feasible in certain instances.

The foot-marker pieces 20, 20′ are visually distinguishable from one another, such as by providing them with contrasting (e.g., red and blue, or black and white) coloration. Each foot-marker piece 20, 20′ is also provided with an arrow mark to indicate the correct foot-direction or orientation during use by a student; a directional aspect may however be indicated by other means, such as by making the piece in the form of a footprint.

Turning now to FIG. 1B, the face on side B of the mat 10 is effectively divided into two areas, the lower area B₁, (as viewed) being designed for teaching ball-fielding skills and the upper area B₂ being designed for teaching batting skills. As can be seen, each area B₁, B₂ has three integral (e.g., printed) pairs of foot-marker representations aligned along the edge at the respective narrower end of the mat 10, the two members of each pair being of the same size but visually distinguishable from one another (e.g., by having contrasting coloration). The members 21, 21′ of a first pair of foot-marker representations are relatively short and relatively close to one another; the members 23, 23′ of a second pair are longer and more widely spaced than the first pair and are arranged in a straddling relationship thereto; and the members 25, 25′ of the third pair are in turn longer and more widely spaced than the members 23, 23′ of the second pair and are, again, arranged in a straddling relationship. As will be appreciated, the student is instructed to use the pair of foot-marker representations that will, according to her size, provide the most effective and comfortable stance for fielding or batting, as the case may be.

Area B₁, on Side B of the mat 10 is also provided with a crosswise rectilinear securement element 26, of any suitable structure (e.g., Velcro), extending generally along, and parallel to, the edge of the mat at the end thereof (although not shown, a similar element may be provided in area B₂ as well). The securement element 26 enables disengageable attachment of foot-marker pieces 20, 20′, as will sometimes be desirable as an alternative to providing (or to using) the integral foot-marker representations 21-25′.

The area B₁, also includes a circular FIG. 28, disposed in an equilateral triangular relationship to a common line that extends through the array of foot-marker representations 21-25′ and parallel to the securement element 26 and the adjacent mat edge; as indicated by the phantom line representation, the common line, and the equilateral triangle of which it forms the base, may be imaginary and not actually present on the mat face 14. The circular FIG. 28 designates the location for proper hand placement, when fielding a ground ball, from a position in which the student's feet are positioned on the appropriate pair of foot-marker representations 21-25′ provided within the ball-fielding area B₁.

Area B₁ also includes a throwing-line representation, which again will preferably take the form of a Velcro strip 32, extending from the circular FIG. 28, centrally between the lateral edges of the mat 10 and perpendicular to base of the imaginary equilateral triangle (and to the securement element 26 and the adjacent mat edge). The strip 32 serves to enable selective placement of the foot-marker pieces 20, 20′ for indicating the proper positions and orientations of the player's feet in the action of throwing a fielded ball.

As discussed above, the batting instruction area B₂ of the illustrative mat 10 is provided with integrated foot-marker representations 21-25′, which may also be replaced by, or supplemented with, means (not shown) for disengageable attachment of foot-marker pieces 20, 20′. The area B₂ is, as illustrated, defined by a rectangular batter's box representation 34, which serves to enhance the learning experience and lend realism to the apparatus; the representation 34 may again be integral with the mat, or made of adhesively (other otherwise) applied elements.

FIG. 2 is an aggregate representation of components that may be included in the system of the invention. In addition to the panel 10 and one foot-marker piece 20, the figure depicts a shoe-marker piece 40 (as does FIG. 3), which is adapted to be removably placed on a user's shoe. Shoe-marker piece 40 may be a sticker, pin, sign, or any indicator removably placed on a shoe (such as by use of a Velcro element like that of the foot-marker piece shown in FIG. 2). Indeed, the shoes may themselves have integral features to distinguish them from one another (e.g., by being of different colors) and to enable them to be matched to foot-marker elements.

Although the corresponding foot-marker pieces 20, 20′ and the shoe-marker pieces 40, 40′ have the same color in the embodiments illustrated, that is not necessary so (and it might be noted that, while the color designations are not consistent among the several figures of the drawings, they are internally consistent within each figure). It is necessary only that a visual relationship exist that will enable a correlation to be drawn to readily enable proper placement of the student's feet relative to a corresponding foot-marker piece or representation. For example, the visually distinguishing feature may be a shape, a design, a geometric figure, a logo, a pictorial representation, or any other marking having a readily perceived characteristic, as will be evident to those skilled in the art.

With additional reference now to FIGS. 4 and 5, the system may include bat markers 60, 60′, which take the form of tape, elastic elements, adhesive strips or the like, secured to a bat 50, and a glove 71, to which is applied four markers 70. It will be appreciated that markers 70 and glove 71 are intended for use on the right hand; the corresponding left-hand components are designated 70′ and 71′, respectively. The markers 60, 60′, 70, 70′ are colored, or are otherwise visually distinguishable, so as to indicate the proper positioning of a student's hands upon the baseball bat 50.

Needless to say, the markers 60, 60′ may be moved to various locations on the bat 50 as the student grows, or to accommodate other users, different gripping styles, and students whose swing is right-handed or left-handed (or, indeed, ambidextrous). As in the case of the shoe-marker pieces 40, the bat and glove markers may be of any suitable form and may be applied by any suitable means; indeed, markers may be applied directly to the hands of a player or may be permanently integrated into or on a bat or a batting glove.

It will also be appreciated that it will not be necessary in all instances to mark both hands for positioning on a bat, or to mark the bat so as to correspond to the positions of both hands. That is, means for indicating placement of a single hand may suffice, particularly for the older or more advanced student. Also, in preferred embodiments the glove markers 70, 70′ will be placed approximately at the knuckle areas of the gloves 71, 71′, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 5, so as to provide means for proper alignment of the hands, in a rotational sense on the bat 50.

Use of the batting area B₂ of mat 10 is illustrated in FIG. 6. As noted, for a right-handed batter the foot-marker piece 20 is placed further away from a pitcher (as indicated by the approaching ball representation) than is the left foot-marker piece 20′, for proper placement of his right and left legs, respectively. The positions of the foot-marker pieces are of course reversed for a left-handed batter.

Pitching actions are further illustrated with additional reference to FIG. 7. Foot placement is such that the player can learn how to set up on a pitcher's mound prior to starting her motion, presentation of the ball, and movement of the body into a power-phase position. For that purpose, foot-marker piece 20 is positioned partially on and partially in front of the pitcher's rubber representation 16, and foot-marker piece 20′ is positioned on and partially behind the representation. With the foot-marker pieces so arranged, the student can learn proper foot placement and presentation, and can also practice moving into a power phase position.

As shown in FIG. 1A, two foot-marker pieces 20, 20′ are placed on the power-line representation 22. This indicates proper foot placement for positioning the student to carry out wrist snap, arm circle, and full power phase drills.

As a further drill for pitching, the student starts on the mound, in proper position relative to the pitcher's rubber representation 16 (as depicted in FIG. 7), from which position she will rotate her body sideways by pivoting her right foot into the power phase position, as depicted in FIG. 1A, with her left foot planted on the power-line representation, at an angle of 45°. In this drill, placement of foot-marker pieces, and repositioning thereof or (using a second, like pair of pieces), facilitates instruction as to correct foot movement and corresponding body position.

Similar positionings are used to teach a full range of pitching motions; e.g., placing the body into an open, power-phase position, kicking the front leg up an out, pushing off from the rubber with the back leg, and finishing with the feet in proper relationship to one another. That is, from a starting position in which the student's feet are shoulder width apart, the ball is presented to the hitter (real or imaginary), and is then inserted into the pitcher's glove. The ball and glove shoulder are thereafter brought in front of the pitcher's face and, at the top of the delivery arm circle (assuming a softball windmill pitch is being taught), the ball will be separated from the glove. The ball arm motion will continue past the pitcher's ear, while the glove arm will move down toward her left leg as the ball hand moves downwardly to a wrist snap and release point. At this time, the foot that is positioned on the foot-marker piece 20 will simultaneously pivot, and the foot on the piece 20′, along with the hip and body, will move into an open power-phase, or X position, to create the most power. The foot on piece 20′ will plant at a 45° angle, creating resistance on the front side so that the opposite leg (positioned at piece 20) can drive against the leg on piece 20′.

The back leg (on piece 20) will drag on the instep of the foot (during windmill pitching). It will push off to the opposite heel and turn the body to complete a figure four position with the body. The foot formerly on piece 20 will finish next to the other foot (shown by piece 20′) in fielding position. (In performing a hardball pitch, the foot on marker 20 would end slightly in front of piece 20′). The arm circle will finish in a loose position in front of the body, which will remain balanced and resting on the front leg until the pitching motion is completed.

FIG. 8 illustrates use of the system of the invention for teaching fielding skills and, more particularly, proper positions of the feet during fielding. In the start position, shown with reference to area “a” of the figure, the feet face toward the upper end of the panel 10 (as depicted, and from which location the ball to be fielded is to originate; foot-marker piece 20′ is for the left foot and foot-marker piece 20 is for the right foot. After the player catches the ball, she steps with her right leg to the position indicated by piece 20 moved (as depicted in area “b” of FIG. 8) to locate it near the apex of the triangular figure (i.e., forwardly, in the direction she wants to throw the ball), and finishes by planting her left leg at the moved position of the foot-marker piece 20′, ahead of piece 20. To properly field a ball, the student places her hands in position at the top of the triangle shown in FIG. 8 (with her feet placed as indicated by the original positions of the pieces, 20, 20′, as shown in area “a”); she must of course bend to assume the correct fielding position.

Thus, it can be seen that the present invention provides a system, and method for use thereof, for teaching and developing a plurality of baseball playing skills, which system is conveniently and effectively utilized, is incomplex, is readily transported, and is facile and inexpensive to manufacture. More particularly, the invention provides such a system and method for teaching both pitching and also batting and/or fielding skills.

Claims

1. A system for teaching at least one of softball and hardball playing skills, comprised of a double-sided panel having a face on both of the opposite sides thereof, and a pair of foot-marker pieces, said panel having indicia on one of said faces designed for teaching ball-pitching skills and comprising an elongated pitcher's rubber representation and a rectilinear power-line representation, said power-line representation extending from a location adjacent to said pitcher's rubber representation and perpendicular to a longitudinal axis thereof, said panel being constructed to enable disengageable attachment of said foot-marker pieces at least at a plurality of spaced locations along said pitcher's rubber representation and along said power-line representation; said panel having means on the other of said faces thereof indicating at least one area for placement of a student's feet adjacent to at least one edge of said panel for teaching at least one of batting skills and fielding skills; each of said foot-marker pieces of said pair having a visually distinguishing feature that enables it to be readily distinguished from the other foot-marker piece of said pair, and being constructed to enable disengageable attachment at least at said locations along said pitcher's rubber and power-line representations on said one face of said panel.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein said panel is rectangular and is longer than it is wide, wherein said pitcher's rubber representation extends crosswise between lateral edges of said panel adjacent a narrow end thereof, and wherein said power-line representation extends lengthwise and generally centrally between said lateral edges.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein said panel comprises a mat.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein said panel is constructed to enable disengageable attachment of said foot-marker pieces at least at a plurality of spaced locations on said other side of said panel and comprising said means indicating at least one area for placement of a student's feet.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein said means indicating at least one area for placement of a student's feet includes indicia on said other side of said panel comprising a plurality of pairs of foot-marker representations disposed adjacent one edge of said panel, said foot-marker representations of each of said pairs being mutually spaced and readily distinguishable visually from one another, the respective mutual spacing between said foot-marker representations of each of said pairs being different.

6. The system of claim 5 wherein said foot-marker representations of a relatively narrowly spaced inner pair are disposed between said foot-marker representations of a more widely spaced outer pair.

7. The system of claim 6 wherein each of said foot-marker representations has a length dimension, wherein the two foot-marker representations of each pair have the same length dimension, and wherein the length dimension of said more widely spaced outer pair is greater than the length dimension of said relatively narrowly spaced inner pair.

8. The system of claim 5 wherein said indicia comprising a plurality of pairs of foot-marker representations are integral with, and non-removable from, said panel.

9. The system of claim 5 comprising three of said pairs of foot-marker representations.

10. The system of claim 1 wherein said means indicating at least one area for placement of a student's feet on said other of said panel faces is for teaching batting skills and comprises a batter's box representation.

11. The system of claim 1 wherein said other side of said panel has indicia thereon is for teaching ball-fielding skills and comprises an element designating a location for hand placement, said hand-placement element being spaced away from said at least one edge of said panel, forwardly toward an opposite edge thereof, said indicia on said other side of said panel additionally including a rectilinear throwing-line representation extending forwardly from said hand-placement element.

12. The system of claim 11 wherein said panel is constructed to enable disengageable attachment of said foot-marker pieces at least at a plurality of spaced locations on said other side of said panel along said throwing-line representation.

13. The system of claim 11 wherein said indicia on said other side of said panel includes a generally rectilinear element extending adjacent and generally along said one edge for designating locations for foot placement, said generally rectilinear element forming the base of an equilateral triangle having at its apex said hand-placement element.

14. The system of claim 11 wherein said panel is constructed to enable disengageable attachment of said foot-marker pieces at a plurality of spaced locations generally along said triangle base-forming rectilinear element.

15. The system of claim 1 wherein said visually distinguishing features of said foot-marker pieces comprise contrasting colors.

16. The system of claim 1 wherein said foot-marker pieces of said pair include a foot-direction feature for facilitating alignment of a student's feet with said foot-marker pieces.

17. The system of claim 1 additionally including a pair of shoe-marker elements constructed for removable attachment to a student's shoes, each of said shoe-marker elements of said pair thereof having a visually distinguishing feature that enables it to be readily distinguished from the other shoe-marker element of said pair.

18. The system of claim 17 wherein said visually distinguishing features of said shoe-marker elements substantially match said visually distinguishing features of said foot-marker pieces.

19. The system of claim 10 additionally including a pair of bat-marking elements, constructed for removable attachment to a bat handle, and a pair of hand-marking elements constructed for application effectively to a student's hands, each of said bat-making elements of said pair thereof, and each of said hand-making elements of said pair thereof, having a visually distinguishing feature that enables it to be readily distinguished from the other element of each of said pairs, respectively, said visually distinguishing features of said bat-marking elements substantially matching said visually distinguishing features of said hand-marking elements, and said bat-marking elements being attachable to a bat in an arrangement for showing proper hand placement by matching, using said distinguishing features, said hand-marking elements with said bat-marking elements.

20. The system of claim 19 wherein said bat-marking elements comprise strips of colored material, and wherein said hand-marking elements comprise gloves having color features that substantially match the colors of said bat-marking elements.

21. The system of claim 1 wherein said panel is constructed for ambidextrous applicability.

22. A method for teaching at least one of softball and hardball pitching skills, comprising:

providing the system of claim 17;

applying one of said shoe-marker pieces of said pair to each of a student's shoes;

applying said foot-marker pieces to said one panel face in proper locations, relative to said pitcher's rubber representation, for set-up for pitching actions;

instructing the student to place his feet on said foot-marker pieces, so positioned relative to said pitcher's rubber representation, such that said distinguishing feature on each of said shoe-marker elements matches said distinguishing feature on each of said foot-marker pieces;

thereafter applying said foot-marker pieces to said one panel face in proper locations, relative to said power-line representation, for a power phase pitching action; and

instructing the student to move his or her feet to place them on said foot-marker pieces, so positioned relative to said power-line representation, such that said distinguishing feature on each of said shoe-marker elements matches said distinguishing feature on each of said foot-marker pieces.