FOOTBALL THROWING TRAINER

Abstract

A football throwing trainer has a football holder including first and second end caps adapted to fit over the ends of a football. Holder straps connect the first and second end caps and hold the end caps securely onto the ends of the football. A tether is attached to the first end cap and to a belt or cuff. The trainer allows a lone player to practice throwing a football and to easily retrieve the thrown football.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Throwing or passing is an essential skill in football. Improving football throwing skills involves throwing arm strength, accuracy and timing. The football must also maintain a spiral orientation so that it can be more easily caught by the intended receiver. As with most athletic endeavors, perfecting passing ability may take years of practicing by throwing a football. Generally, during practice the player throws the football to a second player who catches and returns the football. Practicing alone, however, is much more time consuming and less useful because the player must spend excessive time retrieving the ball after each practice pass.

For throwing practicing with a round ball, such as soccer or baseball, a player can use a return net where the ball rebounds back towards the player. Unfortunately, rebound nets do not work well for oblong balls, like a football. Due to its oblong shape, a football tends to rebound off of a return net in a random direction, rather than rebound back towards the player. Accordingly, there is a need for equipment which overcomes the disadvantages facing the lone player in practicing throwing a football.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A football throwing trainer has a football holder including first and second end caps adapted to fit over the ends of a football. Holder straps connect the first and second end caps and hold the end caps securely onto the ends of the football. A tether is attached to the first end cap and to a belt or cuff. The trainer allows a lone player to practice throwing a football and to easily retrieve the thrown football.

In another aspect the end caps may have a central opening and comprise a flexible material and have two, three, four, or more spaced apart arms, with the holder straps attached to the arms of the end caps. The holder straps may be attached to one of the arms by looping through a strap slot in the arm. The holder straps may be elastic or have an elastic section.

Other and further aspects will become apparent from the following detailed description and the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION TO THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a football throwing trainer.

FIG. 2 is a back perspective view of the trainer shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged back perspective view of the trainer of FIGS. 1 and 2 with the belt and tether removed.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged rotated perspective view of the end cap shown in FIGS. 1-3.

FIG. 5 is front view of the end cap shown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged perspective view of the trainer shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a football throwing trainer 10 may be described as having a tether 14 attaching a football holder 16 to a belt 12. The belt 12 may be flexible web material, such as leather, fabric, or a synthetic material such as neoprene rubber. The tether 14 may be a flexible line, tube, cable or flat elastic webbing. Generally, at least a portion of the tether 14 is elastic to allow the tether to stretch in use. The tether 14 may be provided as multiple elastic sections connected via swivels, or via inelastic sections, or it may be a single piece. A first end of the tether 14 is attached to the belt 12, optionally via a belt swivel 34.

The belt 12 may be worn around the player's waist, with the belt having a length made adjustable via a buckle, clip or via Velcro hook and loop tape 24. In an alternative design, the belt 12 may be replaced by a cuff designed to be worn on the player's wrist, or attached to a fixed object such as a ground stake or pole.

The holder 16 may include first and second end caps 50, which optionally are identical. Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, the end cap 50 may be a flexible material, such as rubber or plastic, typically about 0.5 to 5 mm thick. The end cap 50 may have a freestanding three dimensional shape, as shown in FIG. 4, with a prolate spheroid curvature adapted to generally match the shape of a standard American collegiate or NFL football. The end cap 50 may have arms 60 separated by an arc shaped recess 66. The arms 60 may have a concave curvature with the recesses 66 having an opposite or convex curvature. A central opening 64 may be located at a center of the end cap 50. The central opening 64 may be round or a square with curved corners. A strap slot 62 may be provided in each of the arms 60. A pair of web support slots 68 may be provided on opposite arms, as shown in FIG. 5. One or more position slots or holes 70 may also be provided in the end cap 50 between adjacent arms.

The slots 62 and 68 are sized and shaped to allow the straps 52 to pass through the end cap 50. These may be replaced with round openings if round straps are used rather than the flat straps shown in FIG. 3. Other than the web support slots 68 and the position slots 70, if used, the end cap 50 may be symmetrical about its vertical, and horizontal centerlines. Dimension DD in FIG. 3 in most designs is about 10-16 cm as measured with the end cap pressed flat. The end cap may have a height shown as dimension HH in FIG. 4 of 2.5 to 5 cm when free standing. Although the end cap 50 may be a rigid material, flexible end caps may better conform to wider range of football shapes and sizes.

In the example shown, four holder straps 52A, 52B, 52C and 52D are used. The holder straps 52 may be a flat web material, typically an elastic material, or having an elastic section. The front holder strap 52A, may be split into segments attachable to each other via Velcro hook and loop tape, a fastener or a knot. Alternatively the front holder strap 52A may be made long enough to extend from the first end cap, through a slot in the second end cap, and then back towards the first end cap, with the holder strap 52A forming a loop attached to itself. The side straps 52B and 52C may extend through the strap slots 62, loop back on to themselves and may be stitched, adhered or otherwise fastened.

As shown in FIG. 6, the front holder strap 52A and the back holder strap 52D may be provided as a single continuous strap, optionally extending in through the slot openings 62 and out through the web support openings 68. cap web section 78 may then be attached onto the holder strap 52A, optionally at front and back inner attachments 80 and front and back outer attachments 82. The cap web section 78 may be the same material as the straps, and typically is not elastic. The attachments 80 and 82 may be stitched, adhered or fastened. Also as show in FIG. 6, a cap swivel 76 at the outer end of the tether 14 may be attached to the cap web section 78.

Referring back to FIGS. 1 and 2, the tether 14 may optionally have an intermediate swivel 76, with a non-elastic tether section 74 connecting the intermediate swivel 76 to the cap swivel 76. If no intermediate swivel 76 is used, then a non-elastic tether section 74 may be attached directly to an elastic tether section connecting to the belt or cuff. The combined weight of the holder 16 and the tether 14 generally is less than 500 or 400 grams.

In use, a football 100 is secured within the holder by stretching the straps momentarily to allow the end caps 50 to be placed over the ends of the football. The elastic tension of the straps, or sections of the straps, then holds the end caps 50 securely onto the ball. The straps may be equally radially spaced apart to secure the ball within the holder on all sides. The straps may be oriented so that the laces of the football are spaced apart from the straps. Alternatively, if a split or looped front strap is used, the front strap may be momentarily opened or loosened, to allow the holder to be more easily installed around the ball 100.

The player attaches the belt around the waist, or attaches the cuff to the wrist. The player then throws the ball 100. As holder and tether are lightweight, their effect on the trajectory of the ball is moderate. In addition, since the tether is attached on the longitudinal central axis of the ball, via a swivel, interference with the spiral attitude of the ball is reduced. After the ball travels past the nominal length of the tether, the tether stretches, decelerating the ball and ultimately causing the ball to reverse direction and recoil towards the player. The player can then easily retrieve the ball by pulling on the tether. Tension forces applied by the tether in decelerating the ball may be distributed over the web section 78 and the straps 52A and 52D. A second web section may be joined perpendicular to the first web section, and to the side straps 52B and 52C, to further strengthen the ball holder.

As used here, football means any type of oblong ball, such as a football or a rugby ball. Oblong means the length of the ball is at least 1.4 times greater than the maximum diameter of the ball. Elastic or stretchable means easily elongated several centimeters (e.g., 5-10 cm) using nominal hand forces, such as to stretch the holder sufficiently to place into onto a football. Thus, a novel football throwing trainer has been shown and described. Various changes and substitutions may of course be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The invention, therefore, should not be limited except by the following claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A football throwing trainer comprising:

a football holder including first and second end caps adapted to fit over the ends of a football, and two or more holder straps connecting the first and second end caps; and

a tether having a first end attached to the first end cap,

wherein at least a part of each holder strap is stretchable.

2. The football throwing trainer of claim 1 wherein each end cap comprises a flexible material and each end cap has two or more spaced apart arms, with the holder straps attached to the arms of the end caps.

3. The football throwing trainer of claim 2 wherein each holder strap is attached to an arm by looping it through a strap slot in the arm.

4. (canceled)

5. The football throwing trainer of claim 1 with the first end cap having a central opening, adapted to allow an end of a football in the holder to project through the central opening.

6. The football throwing trainer of claim 1 further including a waist belt, with a second end of the tether attached to the waist belt.

7. The football throwing trainer of claim 6 with the tether having a non-stretchable section and a stretchable section, the non-stretchable section attached to the first end cap, the stretachable section having a first end and a second end, the first end attached to the non-stretchable section, and the second attached to the belt.

8. The football throwing trainer of claim 6 further including a swivel attached to the tether.

9. The football throwing trainer of claim 1, wherein the two or more holder straps are four holder straps, with at least one of the holder straps having an adjustable length.

10. The football throwing trainer of claim 9 with at least three of the holder straps permanently attached to the first and second end caps.

11. The football throwing trainer of claim 1, wherein the two or more holder straps are four parallel holder straps, each strap having first and second ends, the first end connected to an arm on the first end cap and the second end connected to an arm on the second end cap.

12. The football throwing trainer of claim 1 with each end cap pre-formed into a three dimensional shape having a height that is at least 25% of the width and at least 25% of the length of the end cap.

13. A football throwing trainer comprising:

first and second end caps each having three or more spaced apart arms;

a plurality of parallel holder straps connecting the first and second end caps; and

a tether having a first end and a second end, the first end attached to the first end cap via a swivel, the second end attached to a belt,

wherein a first strap slot is formed through a first one of the arms of the first end cap, a second strap slot is formed through a second one of the arms of the first end cap, the two or more holder straps include a first strap and a second strap, the first strap extends through the first strap slot and loops back onto itself, and the second strap extends through the second strap slot and loops back onto itself.

14. The football throwing trainer of claim 13 with each end cap comprising a flexible material that has a freestanding three dimensional shape that includes the three or more spaced apart arms.

15. (canceled)

16. The football throwing trainer of claim 13, wherein a third strap slot is formed through a third one of the arms of the first end cap, a fourth strap slot is formed a fourth one of the arms of the first end cap, the two or more holder straps further include a front holder strap and a back holder strap, the front holder strap and the back holder strap form a single continuous strap that extends through the third strap slot and the fourth strap slot, and the first end of the tether is attached to the single continuous strap, which is attached to the first end cap.

17. The football throwing trainer of claim 16, wherein first end of the tether is attached to the swivel, which is attached to single continuous strap, which is attached to the first end cap.

18. The football throwing trainer of claim 1, wherein each holder strap is a flat web material having an elastic section.

19. A football throwing trainer comprising:

a football holder including first and second end caps adapted to fit over the ends of a football, each of the first and second end caps having a freestanding three dimensional shape that includes two or more spaced apart arms that support a central area of the end cap, and football holder further including two or more holder straps, each holder strap respectively connecting one of the arms of the first end cap to one of the arms of the second end cap; and

a tether having a first end attached to the first end cap.

20. The football throwing trainer of claim 19, wherein a first strap slot is formed through one of the arms of the first end cap, a second strap slot is formed through another one of the arms of the first end cap, the two or more holder straps include a first strap and a second strap, the first strap extends through the first strap slot and loops back onto itself, and the second strap extends through the second strap slot and loops back onto itself.

21. The football throwing trainer of claim 19, wherein a strap slot is formed through each arm of the first end cap, the two or more holder straps includes a front holder strap and a back holder strap, the front holder strap and the back holder strap form a single continuous strap that extends through two of the strap slots, and the first end of the tether is attached to the first end cap via the single continuous strap.

22. The football throwing trainer of claim 19, further comprising a waist belt or a wrist cuff, and a second end of the tether is attached to the waist belt or wrist cuff.