PITCHING TRAINING AID

Abstract

A pitching training aid includes a mat, a pitching rubber attached to the mat and indicia displayed on the mat to instruction a baseball player on how to pitch a baseball. The indicia includes the steps of “start,” “rocker,” “pivot/balance” and “step/release.” The indicia also includes a series of arrows which instructs the baseball player on the sequence of the steps. A straight line extends from the pitching rubber down a center of the mat to show where the “step/release” position should be. A top surface of the mat has an artificial grass surface and a bottom surface of the mat includes a nonskid material to prevent the mat from sliding during use. The mat may include two pitching rubbers and two sets of indicia on opposites ends thereof with one pitching rubber and indicia being used to instruct right hand pitchers and the other pitching rubber and indicia being used to instruct left handed pitchers.

Description

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present application is directed to a pitching training aid. More specifically, the present application relates to a pitching training aid for teaching baseball pitchers the proper footwork and technique for pitching a baseball.

BACKGROUND

Pitching a baseball requires very complex mechanics. These mechanics require coordination of footwork, hand and arm position and throwing technique. For a younger player learning how to pitch. These mechanics can be overwhelming to remember.

SUMMARY

In one embodiment, a pitching training aid comprises a mat having a pitching rubber. Indicia are printed on the mat to show proper footwork during the pitching motion. The user starts his pitching motion with his feet on the starting indicia. The user steps through the pitching motion by placing his feet on the subsequent indicia through completion of the pitching motion.

In another embodiment, a pitching rubber is included on both ends of an elongated mat. Indicia for a right handed pitcher are at one end of the mat and indicia for a left handed pitcher are at the other end of the mat.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various embodiments of a pitching training aid are illustrated and described below. It will be appreciated that the illustrated boundaries of elements in the drawings represent one or more examples of the boundaries. One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that an element or step may be designed as multiple elements or steps or that multiple elements or steps may be designed as a single element or step. An element shown as an internal component of another element may be implemented as an external component and vice-versa.

Further, in the accompanying drawings and description that follow, like parts are indicated throughout the drawings and description with the same reference numerals, respectively. The figures are not drawn to scale and the proportions of certain parts have been exaggerated for convenience of illustration.

FIG. 1 shows a top view of the pitching training aid;

FIG. 2 show a side elevational view of the pitching training aid of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows a side elevational view of a second embodiment of the pitching training aid;

FIG. 4 shows a top view of a third embodiment of the pitching training aid;

FIG. 5 shows a top view of a fourth embodiment of the pitching training aid; and

FIG. 6 show a side elevational view of the pitching training aid of FIG. 5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 generally shows the pitching training aid at 100. Pitching training aid 100 includes a mat 102. Mat 102 can be of various shapes but is shown in FIG. 1 in a rectangular shape having at top surface 103 elongated sides 104 and 105, and short sides 106 and 108 which extend between elongated sides 104 and 105 to form the rectangular shape. Mat 102 can be of various materials such as a closed cell EVA foam rubber, recycled rubber buffing, recycled crumb rubber, a synthetic grass or any suitable material for walking or stepping on. A pitching rubber 110 is attached near short side 106 of mat 102. Pitching rubber 110 is rectangular in shape and includes a front edge 120, a rear edge 122, opposed sides 124 that extend parallel to sides 104 and 105 of mat 102, and a top surface 126. Pitching rubber 110 is made of a solid molded rubber material and is glued or otherwise attached to mat 102. A line 130 is drawn, stamped or painted on mat 102 parallel to sides 104 and 105. Line 130 starts at the front edge 120 of pitching rubber 110 and extends longitudinally towards short side 108 of mat 102.

A series of indicia, indicated generally at 140, are drawn, stamped, painted or otherwise displayed on mat 102. Indicia 140 are shown in FIG. 1 in the form of footprints and provide instructions to the user of pitching training aid 100 on the proper footwork and sequence of steps for pitching a baseball. Indicia 140 include a pair of footprints 142 and 144 that indicate the starting position of the pitching motion. Footprints 142 and 144 instruct the pitcher to stand with his feet on pitching rubber 110 with his toes facing short side 108 of mat 102 and slightly overhanging the front edge 120 of pitching rubber 110. Foot prints 142 and 144 include the word START printed therein.

An arrow A is shown leading footprint 144 backwards from the starting position to the second step indicated by footprint 148, which is marked ROCKER. Another arrow B is shown leading footprint 142 to a third step indicated by footprint 150, which his marked PIVOT/BALANCE. Footprint 150 is shown adjacent front edge 120 of pitching rubber 110 with the user's toes pointing towards elongated side 104 of mat 102.

The fourth step is indicated by footprint 152, which is marked STEP/RELEASE. Footprint 152 is placed on line 130 with the user's toes pointing towards short side 108 of mat 102. Alternatively, the words STEP/RELEASE could be printed directly on line 130 to show a user where to step for the fourth step of the pitching motion, as shown in FIG. 4.

Pitching training aid 100 is used to instruct a baseball player on the proper footwork to throw a pitch. The user starts with his feet on footprints 142 and 144. The user takes the ROCKER step by moving his left foot backwards from footprint 144 to footprint 148. The user then takes the PIVOT step by moving his right foot from footprint 142 to foot print 150, parallel to and in front of the pitching rubber. At the BALANCE portion of the pitching motion the user will bring his left leg from footprint 148 to a position parallel to footprint 150. The user's knee will be bent and at an approximately 90 degree angle as the user balances on one foot on footprint 150. The user will have his hands together in front of his chest gripping the ball in his throwing hand with the ball and throwing hand in the user's glove. Upon beginning the throwing motion the user will separate his hands reaching back towards short side 106 of mat 102 with the ball in his throwing hand and will move his glove hand towards short side 108 of mat 102. The user will then step on footprint 152 with his left foot and release the ball to throw the pitch.

In another embodiment of the pitching training aid shown in FIG. 3, mat 102 includes a top layer 160 and a bottom layer 162. Top layer 160 is made of a synthetic grass and bottom layer 162 is made of a rubber non-skid surface that would prevent matt 102 from sliding on a hard surface, thus allowing the pitching training aid of FIG. 3 to be used on surfaces such as a gym floor.

Another embodiment of the pitching training aid is shown in FIG. 4. The pitching training aid of FIG. 4 includes an arrow C to instruct the user to move his foot from the ROCKER step of footprint 148 to the position of footprint 164. Footprint 164 is shown in dotted lines to instruct the user to keep his left foot elevated above mat 102 as described above during the BALANCE step of the pitching motion. Footprint 164 is positioned generally parallel to and adjacent PIVOT/BALANCE footprint 150. An additional arrow D may be shown to instruct the user to move his left foot from the elevated position of footprint 164 to the STEP/RELEASE portion of the pitching motion. The fourth step of STEP/RELEASE is displayed in FIG. 4 directly on line 130. This allows for users of various heights to use the pitching training aid, as the user is not directed to step on a footprint that he might not be able to reach or that doesn't give him a sufficient distance to stride. The user will step forward and land on line 130 regardless of the user's height and length of his stride. Additionally, as shown in FIG. 4, the pitching training aid may include an area 170 to direct the user to place his pivot foot after delivering the pitch.

Another embodiment of the pitching training aid is shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 and includes a pitching rubber 110 and indicia 140 and 180 on each end of mat 102. The indicia 140 is closest to short end 106 of mat 102 and includes instructions for right handed pitchers. The indicia 180 is closet to short end 108 of mat 102 and includes instructions for left handed pitchers.

While embodiments of the invention have been described, it would be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalence may be substituted for the pitching training aid without departing from the scope of the invention. Therefore, many modifications may be made to adapt the pitching training aid to the teachings of the invention without departing from the essential scope thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the invention not be limited to particular embodiments, but that the invention will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the pending claims.

Claims

1. A baseball training device used to train a baseball player on how to pitch a baseball, including:

a mat; and

written text displayed on the mat to instruct the baseball player on the sequence of steps required to pitch a baseball.

2. The baseball training device of claim 1 further including a pitching rubber attached to the mat.

3. The baseball training device of claim 1 wherein the written text includes the step of “Start.”

4. The baseball training device of claim 1 wherein the written text includes the step of “Rocker.”

5. The baseball training device of claim 1 wherein the written text includes the step of “Pivot.”

6. The baseball training device of claim 1 wherein the written text includes the step of “Balance.”

7. The baseball training device of claim 1 wherein the written text includes the step of “Step.”

8. The baseball training device of claim 1 wherein the written text includes the step of “Release.”

9. The baseball training device of claim 1 further including arrows to direct the sequence of the steps.

10. The baseball training device of claim 1 wherein the mat further includes a straight line extending longitudinally on the mat.

11. The baseball training device of claim 10 wherein the straight line includes the step of Step.

12. The baseball training device of claim 1 wherein the mat includes an artificial grass surface.

13. The baseball training device of claim 1 wherein the mat includes a nonskid surface on a rear thereof to prevent the baseball training device from moving during use.

14. The baseball training device of claim 1 further including first and second pitching rubbers on opposite ends of the mat.

15. The baseball training device of claim 14 wherein the first pitching rubber is used to instruct a right handed pitcher and the second pitching rubber is used to instruct a left handed pitcher.

16. A baseball training device to instruct a user on how to conduct a pitching motion to pitch a baseball, including:

a mat;

first written text printed on the mat to instruct a baseball pitcher where to place his feet to start the pitching motion;

second written text printed on the mat to instruct the baseball pitcher on where to place his feet to take a rocker step during the pitching motion;

third written text printed on the mat to instruct the baseball pitcher on where to place his feet to take a pivot step during the pitching motion; and

fourth written text printed on the mat to instruct the baseball pitcher on where to place his feet to step and release the baseball.

17. The baseball training device of claim 16 further including a baseball rubber attached to the mat.

18. The baseball training device of claim 16 wherein the third written text further instructs the baseball pitcher on where to balance the baseball pitcher's weight.

19. The baseball training device of claim 16 wherein the mat includes an artificial grass surface.

20. A device for training a baseball pitcher to pitch a baseball, including:

a mat;

a pitching rubber attached to the mat;

written text displayed on the mat to instruct the baseball pitcher on the steps required to pitch a baseball.