Abstract: A wood or aluminum practice bat designed to be swung by one arm is provided for developing hitting skills. The bat comprises a continuously tapered barrel portion, and a substantially cylindrical handle portion connected by a sharply tapered portion. The handle portion of the bat has a length which effectively permits grasping by only one hand at a time, thus confining the bat for its intended use. The bat, which has an overall length of about twenty-two inches, and weighs about twenty ounces, is intended to be used in various drills designed to facilitate development and coordination of the movements, and muscle groups which control the movements, of each arm individually.

Abstract: A ball hitting practice device including a supporting base, a vertical support post, and an elongated support bar pivotally attached to the support post for movement between operative and inoperative positions. A protective net is supported in cantilevered relationship to the elongated support bar so that a major portion of the net extends downwardly toward the ground at a distance away from the support bar. A ball, which may be a baseball, softfall or tennis ball is suspended by means of a cable from the elongatged support bar, and is provided with a visual indicator, such as a fluorescent stripe about its middle portion, to aid the user of the device. The cable may also be provided with a kinetic energy damping device to more effectively control the ball and to reduce the interval between successive swings at the ball.