AGILITY POLES AND PASSING ARCS FOR SPORTS TRAINING
An agility pole or a passing arc includes one or more receptacles adjacent to a first end of a tube. A spike assembly has one or more fittings, and a spike attached to a holder adapted to slide into the first end of the tube, in a spike-in position wherein the spike is within the tube, and in a spike-out position wherein the spike is substantially outside of the tube. The fittings engage the receptacles in the spike-in position and in the spike-out position. The agility pole or passing arc may be transported and stored in the spike-in position so that injury or damage from the spike is avoided.
Agility poles generally have a spike at the bottom end of a pole. Agility poles are typically set up in a pattern on a practice field, with the spike of each pole pressed into the ground to secure the pole in place. Depending on the sport and practice exercise, the agility poles may be arranged in a zig-zag pattern, a slalom pattern, or other pattern that the player runs through. These exercises train the player to make quick changes in direction, while maintaining appropriate body positions.
Spikes on an agility pole anchor the pole into the ground, so that the agility pole remains upright and in place. In most uses the spike also allows the agility pole to deflect somewhat if a player collides with the agility pole. However, spikes have several drawbacks. During transportation and storage of the agility poles, the pointed ends of spikes can present a hazard to people, or damage the interior of a vehicle, or a storage space. The pointed ends may also tend to pierce through a carrying bag. Dirt or mud remaining on the spikes after using the poles may also soil the carrying bag, vehicle or storage space. Accordingly, improved agility poles are needed.
Passing arcs are used primarily in soccer practice to improve passing accuracy and ball control. Typically a pattern of passing arcs is set up on a field to provide a designated ball target or trajectory, and the player dribbles the ball through the arcs. Generally, passing arcs have been provided as a U-shaped or C-shaped tube, with a spike at each free end of the tube, to secure the passing arc in place on the field. As a result, the spikes used in passing arcs involve the same drawbacks as discussed above relative to agility poles. Hence, improved passing arcs are needed as well.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONAn agility pole or a passing arc includes one or more receptacles adjacent to a first end of a tube. A spike assembly has one or more fittings, and a spike attached to a holder adapted to slide into the first end of the tube, in a spike-in position wherein the spike is within the tube, and in a spike-out position wherein the spike is substantially outside of the tube. The fittings engage the receptacle in the spike-in position and in the spike-out position. The agility pole or passing arc may be transported and stored in the spike-in position so that injury or damage from the spike is avoided.
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To move the spike assembly 30 into the spike-in position shown in
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The spike assembly 30 may be inserted into the tube 52 or segments 54 in the spike-out position shown in
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Attached means an element joined to another element, or a single integral element having two features or functions. Rectangular means geometrically rectangular or square, or a four sided shape having equal opposite side, and rounded corners. Substantially outside of the tube means that enough of the spike is outside of the tube to allow the spike to support the tube, e.g., at least 2 or 3 cm, up to the full length of the spike. The fittings and receptacles shown in
Thus, novel equipment 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. Sports training equipment, comprising:
- a tube having a first end;
- one or more receptacles adjacent to the first end of the tube;
- a spike assembly including one or more fittings and a spike attached to a holder adapted to slide into the first end of the tube, in a spike-in position wherein the spike is within the tube, and in a spike-out position wherein the spike is substantially outside of the tube; and
- with the fitting engaging the receptacle in the spike-in position and in the spike-out position.
2. The equipment of claim 1 with the receptacle comprising a hole in the tube and the fitting comprising a button on the holder.
3. The equipment of claim 1 with the receptacle comprising one or more slots at the first end of the tube and the fitting comprising a lug on the holder.
4. The equipment of claim 1 further including a key on one of the tube and the holder, and a complimentary slot on the other of the tube and the holder.
5. The equipment of claim 1 with the spike at a first end of the holder, and further including a plurality of ridges on an outer surface of a second end of the holder, opposite from the first end.
6. The equipment of claim 3 with the slot having a ramp surface.
7. The equipment of claim 1 wherein the tube has four sides.
8. The equipment of claim 7 comprising a first receptacle on a first side of the tube and a second receptacle on a second side of the tube opposite from the first side, and with the holder having four sides with a first fitting on a first side of the holder and a second fitting on a second side of the holder opposite from the first side of the holder.
9. The equipment of claim 8 wherein the sides of the tube and the sides of the holder are substantially flat.
10. The equipment of claim 1 with the tube and the holder having congruent shapes.
11. The equipment of claim 1 with the spike having a length of 80 to 300% of the length of the holder.
12. The equipment of claim 2 comprising first and second resilient fingers on opposite sides of the holder, with the fingers formed via U-shaped slots cut in the opposite sides of the holder.
13. The equipment of claim 1 with the tube further including a second end, and a second spike assembly on the second end of the tube.
14. The equipment of claim 1 further including a second tube telescopically attached to a second end of the tube.
15. The equipment of claim 1 wherein the holder has a shape which prevents the spike assembly from rotating within the first end of the tube.
16. Sports training equipment, comprising:
- a tube having first, second, third and fourth flat sides, with the first and second sides parallel to each other, and the third and fourth sides parallel to each other;
- first and second receptacle holes in the first and second sides of the tube, respectively, adjacent to a first end of the tube having a tube opening;
- a spike assembly including a holder with a cross section shape matching the tube opening, and a spike on a first end of the holder, the spike assembly having a first position where the first end of the holder and the spike are in the tube opening, and a second position where the spike is outside of the tube opening;
- a first fitting on a first side of the holder, and a second fitting on a second side of the holder, with the first and second fittings engaged with the first and second receptacle holes, when the spike assembly is in the first position, and when the spike assembly is in the second position.
17. The equipment of claim 16 with the first fitting comprising a button on a flex arm cut into the first side of the holder, with the button projecting outward from the first side of the holder.
18. The equipment of claim 16 comprising a single rectangular tube.
19. Equipment, comprising:
- a curved tube having a first end and a second end;
- first and second receptacles adjacent to the first end of the tube;
- third and second receptacles adjacent to the second end of the tube;
- first and second spike assemblies on the first and second ends of the tube, with each spike assembly including a spike on a first end of the holder, a left fitting on a first side of the holder, and a right fitting on a second side of the holder, with the left and right fittings of the first spike assembly releasably engaged with the first and second receptacles, and with the left and right fittings of the second spike assembly releasably engaged with the third and fourth receptacles.
20. The equipment of claim 20 with the first spike assembly insertable into the first end of the tube in a spike-in position wherein the spike is within the first end of the tube, and in a spike-out position wherein the spike is substantially outside of the first end of the tube, and the second spike assembly is insertable into the second end of the tube in a spike-in position wherein the spike is within the second end of the tube, and in a spike-out position wherein the spike is substantially outside of the second end of the tube.
Type: Application
Filed: Jan 28, 2015
Publication Date: Jul 28, 2016
Inventors: Allen Keith Holland (Carlsbad, CA), Kash Oris Bell (Carlsbad, CA), Richard Raymond Huth, III (Carlsbad, CA)
Application Number: 14/607,936