APPARATUS AND METHOD INCLUDING HAND CONTROLLING AND BALL TOSSING FEATURES
A ball-toss training aid is provided, which includes a base piece configured to a user's wrist and having an axis parallel to the wrist. The base piece includes a curvature at an offset angle from the axis which protrudes into the user's palm so as to hold the wrist back at a desirable angle for tossing a ball. The training aid further includes a second piece having a first and second end such that the first end releasably attaches to the base piece and has a contour substantially parallel to the axis of the base piece. The second end of the second piece includes a curvature that protrudes over a ball held by the user so as to keep the index and middle fingers of the hand in a desirable extension. The training aid also includes a member coupled to the base piece, which releasably attaches to the user's forearm.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/918,533 filed Mar. 16, 2007 and of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/955,849, filed Aug. 14, 2007, both of which are incorporated herein by reference.
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates to methods and devices useful for training, such as for training proper form. More specifically, the present invention is directed towards a method and device for training a user to properly toss a ball.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONSeveral flaws are common among racket game players when making a service toss. Many of these flaws occur in the toss due in part to that player having improper positioning and/or movement of the wrist, fingers, body lean or jerky speed when tossing the ball. Examples of this can be seen when a player flexes the wrist, fails to keep body weight on the front foot and/or fails to release ball consistently with the hand/fingers.
The recommended hand position for the service toss is one with the wrist laid back and the body weight on the front foot while allowing the ball to come out freely from the hand at the proper ball release point giving a rhythmic, slow, predictable trajectory of the ball. A large majority of top tennis professionals release their toss with the wrist laid-back and the palm facing straight up so that the ball lifts directly upward into the player's desired service contact point time after time. Pros use this tossing motion for good reason because it greatly helps the consistency of their toss. Players can emulate this tossing motion by use of the present invention.
For most tennis players, a repeatable service toss is both challenging and often extremely frustrating, as most players never learn a proper tossing motion, especially the proper wrist, hand and finger position and release point of the tossed ball. These nuances of the toss are important factors to learn to have a consistent toss.
Common problems that cause inconsistent tosses are players incorrectly flexing the wrist or fingers upwards/backwards during the toss, which causes the toss to navel too far behind the player and can create a very inconsistent toss height. Many players also fail to keep weight on the front foot throughout the toss or lean back excessively, and/or release the ball at an improper release point, all of which can cause the ball to travel too far behind the player. The ball traveling erratically or too far behind the player causes a service motion problem that can adversely affect the player's placement of the serve, power and consistency of the serve, and eventually can affect that player's success and enjoyment of the game. This problem is found in all levels of tennis players from beginners to some touring tennis pros and is often difficult for a player to correct.
Illustrations of some of these common problems with respect to tossing a ball are provided in
It is desirable to provide a tennis training aid that is light weight, intuitive to use, operable in multiple usage modes and allows a player to easily, effectively and comfortably practice different styles of service tosses to find the one that suits the player best.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONIn an embodiment of the present invention, a ball-toss training aid is provided. The ball-toss training aid includes a base piece shaped to configure to a user's wrist and having an axis parallel to the user's wrist. Within such embodiment, the base piece includes a first end having a curvature that is at an offset angle from the axis such that the curvature protrudes into a palm of a hand of the user so as to hold the wrist back at a desirable wrist angle for tossing a ball. The ball-toss training aid also includes a member coupled to the base piece and configured to be releasably attached to a user's forearm.
In another embodiment of the present invention, another ball-toss training aid is provided. Within such embodiment, the ball-toss training aid includes a base piece shaped to configure to a user's wrist and having an axis parallel to the user's wrist. The base piece includes a first end having a curvature that is at an offset angle from the axis such that the curvature protrudes into a palm of a hand of the user so as to hold the wrist back at a desirable wrist angle for tossing a ball. The ball-toss training aid further includes a second piece having a first end and a second end such that the first end is configured to be releasably attached to the base piece and has a contour substantially parallel to the axis of the base piece, and where the second end includes a curvature, and where the curvature of the second end protrudes over a ball held by the user so as to keep the index and middle fingers of the hand in a desirable extension. The ball-toss training aid also includes a member coupled to the base piece and configured to be releasably attached to a user's forearm.
In yet another embodiment of the present invention, another ball-toss training aid is provided. The ball-toss training aid includes a base piece shaped to configure to a user's wrist and having an axis parallel to the user's wrist. Within such embodiment, the base piece includes a first and second portion. The first portion includes a first end having a curvature that is at an offset angle from the axis of the base piece such that the curvature protrudes into a palm of a hand of the user so as to hold the wrist back at a desirable wrist angle for tossing a ball. The second portion of the base piece extends from the first end of the first portion and includes a curvature, where the curvature protrudes over a ball held by the user so as to keep the index and middle fingers of the hand in a desirable extension. The ball-toss training aid also includes a member coupled to the base piece and configured to be releasably attached to the user's forearm.
These and other features, advantages and embodiments will be appreciated by a review of the following detailed description and related drawings.
The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings, which are provided as illustrative examples of the invention so as to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention. Notably, the figures and examples below are not meant to limit the scope of the present invention. Moreover, where certain elements of the present invention can be partially or fully implemented using known components, only those portions of such known components that are necessary for an understanding of the present invention will be described, and detailed descriptions of other portions of such known components will be omitted so as not to obscure the invention. Preferred embodiments of the present invention are illustrated in the Figures, like numerals being used to refer to like and corresponding parts of various drawings.
The present invention is directed towards racket game training devices and methods that train players to accurately toss a ball, such as a tennis ball, into the air with such accuracy and consistency that they can reliably hit the ball with a powerful service motion. A device consistent with aspects of the present innovations guides the player's tossing hand to lift the ball into the same, predictable location and thereby build the proper “feel” of a correct service toss. This accurate service toss complements the player's service motion by building confidence, rhythm and muscle memory into the service motion by enabling the ball to be tossed consistently in the right location, a key ingredient to a good serve. In particular, the present invention helps train tennis players to properly and consistently lift their service toss into a hitting contact area where the serve can be hit with maximum efficiency. By controlling the wrist position at release and forcing the index/middle fingers to extend open and not flex upward, the player is greatly helped because he/she is able to learn how to toss ‘straight up’. Moreover, the present invention restricts improper flexion movement and encourages players to complete the toss open-handed like a plate which in turn greatly improves a players ability to toss consistently.
In a preferred embodiment, the present invention properly guides the server to “throw slow” or lift the tennis ball vertically into the right hitting position for the server to make a smooth, accelerated and powerful contact of the ball with the racket. In
In
In a preferred embodiment, base piece 110 pushes the palm of the server's tossing hand down in such a way as to properly hold the wrist in an extended or laid back position at desired angle 50 (e.g., from about one hundred twenty-five degrees to about one hundred fifty-five degrees relative to an axis parallel to the user's forearm). Namely, base piece 110 restricts the server from flexing the wrist due to the presence of two molded plastic tabs 114 at curvature 112, which protrude into the palm of the hand and are stabilized by attachment member 120 to resist wrist movement. The angled tabs 114 in the hand are preferably designed to be comfortable while the hand is bent in the starting position of the toss and throughout the tossing motion. Moreover, these two tabs are preferably contoured anatomically to apply comfortable force to keep the wrist in the desired extension while simultaneously allowing the hand to be cupped around the ball 10.
In
In the embodiment of
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And finally, in
In another embodiment of the present invention, a target mat may also be provided, which allows a user to build toss accuracy, as shown in
It should be appreciated that the size and shape of desirable landing point 310 may vary. In
In one embodiment, the top side of mat 300 includes adhesive material. Desirable landing point 310, for example, may include an adhesive material that releasably attaches to the outer surface of ball 10 (e.g., via a Velcro system).
It should be recognized that a number of variations of the above-identified embodiments will be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art in view of the foregoing description. Accordingly, the invention is not to be limited by those specific embodiments and methods of the present invention shown and described herein. Rather, the scope of the invention is to be defined by the following claims and their equivalents.
Claims
1. A ball-toss training aid, comprising:
- a base piece shaped to configure to a user's wrist, having an axis parallel to the user's wrist, wherein the base piece includes a first end having a curvature that is at an offset angle from the axis, and wherein the curvature protrudes into a palm of a hand of the user so as to hold the wrist back at a desirable wrist angle for tossing a ball; and
- a member coupled to the base piece and configured to be releasably attached to a user's forearm.
2. A ball-toss training aid according to claim 1, wherein the curvature comprises tabs extending from the plane of the first end.
3. A ball-toss training aid according to claim 1, wherein the desirable wrist angle is from about one hundred twenty-five degrees to about one hundred fifty-five degrees.
4. A ball-toss training aid according to claim 1, wherein the member comprises a weight pouch.
5. A ball-toss training aid according to claim 4, further comprising one or more weights configured to fit within the weight pouch.
6. A ball-toss training aid according to claim 1 further comprising a target mat, wherein the target mat identifies a desirable landing point for a tossed ball.
7. A ball-toss training aid according to claim 6, wherein the target mat includes a bottom side having an adhesive material for attaching to a court surface.
8. A ball-toss training aid, comprising:
- a base piece shaped to configure to a user's wrist, having an axis parallel to the user's wrist, wherein the base piece includes a first end having a curvature that is at an offset angle from the axis, and wherein the curvature protrudes into a palm of a hand of the user so as to hold the wrist back at a desirable wrist angle for tossing a ball;
- a second piece having a first end and a second end, wherein the first end is configured to be releasably attached to the base piece, and has contour substantially parallel to the base piece, and wherein the second end includes a curvature, and wherein the curvature of the second end protrudes over a ball held by the user so as to keep the index and middle fingers of the hand in a desirable extension; and
- a member coupled to the base piece and configured to be releasably attached to a user's forearm.
9. A ball-toss training aid according to claim 8, wherein the curvature of the base piece comprises tabs angled out in the plane of the first end.
10. A ball-toss training aid according to claim 8, wherein the desirable wrist angle is from about one hundred twenty-five degrees to about one hundred fifty-five degrees.
11. A ball-toss training aid according to claim 8, wherein the member comprises at least one weight pouch.
12. A ball-toss training aid according to claim 8, wherein the second piece is generally shoe-horn shaped.
13. A ball-toss training aid according to claim 8 further comprising a target mat, wherein the target mat identifies a desirable landing point for a tossed ball.
14. A ball-toss training aid according to claim 13, wherein the target mat includes an adhesive material adapted to releasably attach to the tossed.
15. A ball-toss training aid, comprising:
- a base piece shaped to configure to a user's wrist, having an axis parallel to the user's wrist, and having a first and second portion, wherein the first portion includes a first end having a curvature that is at an offset angle from the axis of the base piece, and wherein the curvature protrudes into a palm of a hand of the user so as to hold the wrist back at a desirable wrist angle for tossing a ball; and wherein the second portion extends from the first end of the first portion and includes a curvature, and wherein the curvature protrudes over a ball held by the user so as to keep the index and middle fingers of the hand in a desirable extension; and
- a member coupled to the base piece and configured to be releasably attached to the user's forearm.
16. A ball-toss training aid according to claim 15, wherein the curvature of the first portion of the base piece comprises tabs angled out in the plane of the first end of the first portion.
17. A ball-toss training aid according to claim 15, wherein the second portion of the base piece is generally shoe-horn shaped.
18. A ball-toss training aid according to claim 15, wherein the desirable wrist angle is from about one hundred twenty-five degrees to about one hundred fifty-five degrees.
19. A ball-toss training aid according to claim 15, wherein the member comprises at least one weight pouch.
20. A ball-toss training aid according to claim 15 further comprising a target mat, wherein the target mat identifies a desirable landing point for a tossed ball.
Type: Application
Filed: Mar 17, 2008
Publication Date: Nov 20, 2008
Inventors: Raymond Neil Bilsey (Belmont, CA), James Bowmar Rodgers, JR. (Atherton, CA), Maurice Authur LeBlanc, JR. (Redwood City, CA)
Application Number: 12/050,150
International Classification: A63B 69/00 (20060101);