SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR OBJECTIVELY MEASURING A PLAYER'S ABILITY
A system for objectively measuring a player's ability, such as the ability to field a baseball, including a programmable ball machine programmable to throw a ball to a player according to different plays; a back stop sensing unit for receiving a ball from a player; a display unit for displaying cues to a player indicating that the programmable ball machine will be throwing a ball; and a central processing unit for determining for each of the different plays a time period between when the programmable ball machine throws a ball and when the back stop sensing unit receives the ball from the player. The central processing unit uses the determined time period to calculate a score representing the player's ability.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 61/942,889 filed Feb. 21, 2014, and entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MEASURING A PLAYER'S ABILITY,” the entire contents of which are expressly incorporated herein by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates to a system and a method for objectively Evaluating a player's ability, such as a baseball player's ability to field a baseball.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONExisting baseball player showcases provide access to scouts from both the pros and colleges. Some events are designed so the scouts can evaluate a player in practice and some are organized to portray the player in game competition. Either presentation of the baseball player boils down to an opinion, which can vary among different scouts. If the player runs fast or throws the ball hard, hits the ball well that particular day, and/or makes a spectacular play in the field, the player may be noticed by one or more scouts. But these situations are but only a small snapshot of the player's overall performance. Moreover, these situations rely on the opinions of scouts, which may not be consistent. What is needed is an objective way to evaluate players based on a history of performance in order to more accurately evaluate a player's abilities.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention provides a system and method of objectively measuring a player's ability, such as a baseball player's ability to field a baseball based. The system and method simulates actual game situations and is based on a history of real reaction times and a mixture of plays that, for example, may be baseball fielding plays that a big leaguer must make in an actual game.
According to one embodiment, the system for objectively measuring a player's ability to field a ball includes:
a programmable ball machine programmable to throw a ball in a plurality of different ways to a player;
a back stop sensing unit for sensing when a ball is received from a player;
a display unit for displaying cues to a player indicating that the programmable ball machine will be throwing a ball; and
a central processing unit, coupled to the programmable ball machine, to the display unit, and to the back stop sensing unit, the central processing unit operable for determining a time period between when the programmable ball machine throws a ball and when the back stop sensing unit senses when the ball is received from the player; the central processing unit using the determined time period to calculate a score representing the player's fielding ability; and
an input unit for inputting an identifier for uniquely representing the player, the central processing unit operable for communicating the calculated score and the player's unique identifier.
A method and apparatus for objectively measuring a player's ability in performing various sporting activities is described below.
The method and apparatus may be used for objectively measuring a player's ability in various sporting activities, including, for example, such sporting activities as fielding a particular position in baseball.
As shown in
The CPU 10 receives a first timing signal T1 when the Programmable Ball Throwing Machine 20 is enabled and throws a ball to the player, and the CPU 10 also receives a second timing signal T2 when the Back Stop Sensing Unit 30 senses that a ball has been fielded and thrown from the player and has reached the intended target of the Back Stop Sensing Unit 30. In this way, the CPU can calculate the time period T between when the baseball is thrown to a player from the Programmable Ball Throwing Machine 20 and when the Back Stop Sensing Unit 30 receives the baseball (e.g., after it has been fielded and thrown by the baseball player).
As described in detail below, the CPU 10 includes several software routines, including a Data Collection Routine as detailed in
Those skilled in the art will understand that Programmable Ball Throwing Machines are known in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,766,770; 7,691,012; 8,287,404 and 7,980,967 (each of which is incorporated herein by reference), disclose various programmable ball throwing machines. These Programmable Ball Throwing Machines can be used to throw baseballs. However, other Programmable Ball Throwing Machines are also known in the art for other sports, such as Tennis Ball Throwing Machines, and the system described herein may be implemented with a Tennis Ball Throwing Machine and a tennis player that hits a tennis ball to a particular target.
Although
Back Stop Sensing Units are also generally known in the art. For example, the commercial product, Radar Pitching Trainer, described at the website: http://www.hittingworld.com/Radar Pitching Trainer p/rpt-100.htm includes a portable ball back stop in the form of a frame with netting, and sensors included on the netting for determining the speed of the ball when it hits the netting, as well as whether the pitched ball is within a certain area of the netting, indicating whether the pitch is a strike or a ball. In the exemplary embodiment, the Back Stop Sensing Unit 30 needs only to measure the time at which the ball reaches the netting, and to issue the signal T2 at that time. In other embodiments, however, it may also be desirable to know whether the thrown ball is within a certain area of the netting, as well as the speed of the ball when it hits the netting. As mentioned above, such features are known in the art as the commercial product Radar Pitching Training provides these features.
As shown in
After a ball is thrown, the Programmable Ball Throwing Machine 20 sends a time signal T1 indicating the time that the ball was thrown to the CPU 10. When the Back Stop Sensing Unit 30 senses that the ball has been received from the fielder, it sends a signal T2 to the CPU 10 representing the time at which the ball was received. In this way, the CPU can calculate the time period T it takes a player to field a ball thrown by the Programmable Ball Throwing Machine 20 and then throw the ball to the Back Stop Sensing Unit 30. As discussed below, the respective time periods for several different balls provided to the player are calculated, and stored for further analysis. As also mentioned, the Back Stop Sensing Unit 30 can be implemented to determine which area the ball is received as well as the ball's speed at the time it is received. These further parameters can be used for further analysis.
As shown in
In Step S100, a time period T is calculated as the time period between the time T1 when the ball was thrown by the Programmable Ball Throwing Machine 20 and the time T2 when the Back Stop Sensing Machine 30 senses the ball thrown by the fielder (i.e., T2-T1=T). In step S110, the time period T corresponding to the eighth fielding play is stored.
In step S120, the variable n is incremented by one (i.e., n=n+1). At this stage of the flow, n was equal to zero so n now because it is incremented becomes equal to 1 (i.e., n=0+1). The routine then checks in step S130 whether n is equal to 8. If so, then the routine stops (since n equal to 8 means all eight plays have been performed) and proceeds to the Raw Data Calculation Routine shown in
If the routine proceeds to step S200 (i.e., because step S160 was Yes) then the score of 2 is assigned to fielding play 8. Thereafter, in step S210, the routine determines whether the time T for fielding play 8 was within or less than the range between 3.95 seconds and 4.1 seconds. If NO, then the routine flows to step S180 where n is incremented by one, and if the value of n is not 8 in step S190, then the process flows back to step S150 for consideration of the time periodT for the next fielding play. If the time period T in step S210 is within or less than the range 3.9 seconds to 4.1 seconds, then the routine proceeds to step S220 where a Bonus score of 0.5 is assigned to fielding play 8, and the routine then flows to step S230. In step S230, the time T for fielding play 8 is checked to determine whether it is within or less than the range between 3.7 seconds and 3.9 seconds. If NO, then the process proceeds to step S180 where n is incremented by one and then back to step S150 if n is not equal to 8 in step S190.
If in Step S230 is it determined that the time T for fielding play 8 is within or less than the range 3.7 seconds and 3.9 seconds, then the routine proceeds to step S240 and the Bonus assigned is now set to 1.0 for fielding play 8. As shown in
Once the time T is evaluated for all eight of the fielding plays, such that n is equal to 8 in step 190, then the Raw Data Calculation Routine stops and the program then proceeds to the routine shown in
As shown in
As shown in
In step S320, the average of all Ripken Subscores is calculated to obtain the Ripken Score. As will be appreciated the current Ripken Score will improve if the player is improving, i.e., performing the fielding play with lower times. As will also be appreciated, the best Ripken Score is one that is small in number since lower numbers were assigned to shorter time periods T, and since bonus scores given to very short time periods T are subtracted from the total score.
It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the calculations performed by the software routines shown in
Also, in an alternative embodiment, instead of eight different plays, the system can be applied to a four-play model called the Fundamental Four for both infielders and outfielders. The Fundamental Four test can be completed at 1st base, 2nd base, Shortstop and 3rd base. With this arrangement, there will be test for each age group. The fundamental four plays for infield that are thrown by the Programmable Ball Throwing Machine 20 are ground balls that are: 1) right at you 2) to your left 3) to your right 4) at you but a slow roller.
For outfield, there will be two sets of the Fundamental Four plays that Outfielders will go through twice completing a total of 8 plays as follows:
Ground ball test—1) right at you 2) to your left 3) to your right 4) at you but a slow roller. For the ground ball plays, the player will throw to the 3rd base target. Accordingly, a Back Stop Sensing Unit 30 would be positioned at 3rd base.
Fly ball test—1) right at you 2) to your left 3) to your right 4) short fly ball. For the fly ball test, the player will throw to the home plate target. The format of the plays follow the infield plays.
In another alternative embodiment, the data and information obtained from the software routines shown in
In the embodiment above in which a player is able to retrieve information at a designated website, each player could be assigned a unique player identification code, such as an alphanumeric code, so that the information obtained for that player could be stored at the designed website at an address corresponding to the player's unique code. The Central Processing Unit 10 shown in
It should also be understood that the Ripken score could be calculated based on an average of, for example, several fielding tests of the various shortstop plays, or could be calculated as the best score of several different scores.
It should also be understood that although the invention was described in connection with fielding plays performed in baseball, the invention is not so limited. The method and apparatus according to the invention may be applied to various different skills in baseball, including for example, pitching and catching.
In addition, the method and apparatus for measuring a player's ability according to the invention can be applied to different sports for measuring a player's skill levels, including tennis, basketball, hockey and several other sports. As one example, various different tennis shots could be performed by a player and then evaluated and rated to achieve a rating score. The rating score can be used to rank athletes amongst each other, as a benchmark to incentivize athletes to practice certain skills and improve their overall ranking, and as a way to identify specific tendencies and skills that a player performs well or needs to improve.
Although several embodiments have been described, it will be understood that additional modification may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims.
Claims
1. A system for objectively measuring a player's ability, comprising:
- a programmable ball machine programmable to throw a ball to a player according to a plurality of different plays;
- a back stop sensing unit for receiving a ball from a player;
- a display unit for displaying cues to a player indicating that the programmable ball machine will be throwing a ball; and
- a central processing unit, coupled to said programmable ball machine, to said display unit, and to said back stop sensing unit, said central processing unit operable for determining for each of the plurality of different plays a time period between when the programmable ball machine throws a ball and when the back stop sensing unit receives the ball from the player; said central processing unit using the determined time period to calculate a score representing the player's ability; and
- an input unit for inputting a unique identifier representing the player, said central processing unit operable for communicating the player's calculated score, and the player's unique identifier.
2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the central processing unit calculates the player's score by assigning a predetermined value depending on the determined time period for each of the plurality of different plays.
3. The system according to claim 1, wherein the central processing unit calculates the player's score by assigning bonus scores when the determined time period is below a predetermined period.
4. The system according to claim 1, wherein the central processing unit communicates the calculated player's score and the player's unique identifier to a server for storage, and wherein the calculated player's score can be retrieved from the server using the player's unique identifier.
5. The system according to claim 1, wherein the central processing unit pseudo-randomly selects the order of the plurality of different plays.
6. The system according to claim 1, wherein the calculated score is an average score based on a plurality of tests, and each test corresponds to the score after performing a plurality of different plays.
7. The system according to claim 1, wherein the programmable ball machine is operable for throwing a baseball to a player.
8. The system according to claim 7, wherein the back stop sensing unit receives the baseball after the player has fielded and thrown the baseball.
9. The system according to claim 7, wherein the calculated score represents the ability of the player to field a baseball.
10. The system according to claim 7, wherein the plurality of plays include infield plays performed by a shortstop in a baseball game.
11. A method for measuring a player's ability, comprising:
- providing a programmable ball machine for throwing a ball to a player according to a plurality of different plays;
- providing a back stop sensing unit for receiving a ball from a player;
- displaying cues to a player indicating that the programmable ball machine will be throwing a ball; and
- determining for each of the plurality of different plays a time period between when the programmable ball machine throws a ball and when the back stop sensing unit receives the ball; using the determined time period to calculate a score representing the player's ability; and
- inputting a unique identifier representing the player, and
- communicating the calculated player's score, and the player's unique identifier.
12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the communicated player's score is stored in a storage location for later retrieval using the player's unique identifier information.
13. The system according to claim 11, wherein the player's score is calculated by assigning a predetermined value depending on the determined time period for each of the plurality of different plays.
14. The system according to claim 13, wherein the player's score is calculated by assigning bonus scores when a determined time period is below a predetermined period.
15. The system according to claim 14, wherein the player's score is an average score.
Type: Application
Filed: Feb 23, 2015
Publication Date: Aug 27, 2015
Inventor: Calvin Edwin RIPKEN, JR. (Baltimore, MD)
Application Number: 14/628,803