AU2019204860A1

AU2019204860A1 - Training device

Info

Publication number: AU2019204860A1
Application number: AU2019204860A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Robert Sladojevic
Original assignee: Casne Verige Pty Ltd
Current assignee: Casne Verige Pty Ltd
Priority date: 2009-08-18
Filing date: 2019-07-05
Publication date: 2019-07-25
Anticipated expiration: 2030-08-18
Also published as: AU2017203422A1; AU2019204860B2; AU2010212429A1

Abstract

Disclosed herein is a training device (10) for training ball-catching, or "marking", skills. The training device (10) includes a stand (12) having a base (14) for engaging a fixed surface, such as the ground, and a distal end (16) spaced from the base (14). A resiliently extensible member, in the form of an elasticised rope (18), is anchored, at its proximal end (20), relative to the stand (12) and has a distal end (22) extends downwardly from the distal end (16) of the stand. A ball (24) is connected to the distal end (22) of the elasticised rope (18). to /4-

Description

TRAINING DEVICE

FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0001] The present disclosure relates to a training device and, in particular, to a training device for training ball-catching skills.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] The training device has been developed primarily for use in improving ballcatching, typically known as marking, skills for sports such as football, including Australian rules football, rugby league, rugby union, American football, and the like. However, it will be appreciated that the training device is not limited to this particular application and may also be used, for example, as a training aid for other ball sports, such as netball (catching practice), basketball (catching practice), soccer (attacking player heading practice and volley practice, as well as goal keeper catching practice), tennis (volley practise and general hand-eye coordination exercises), cricket (slips catching practise, as the suspended ball can be made to swing at a desired height).

[0003] Prior art techniques for improving marking skills involve an assistant throwing or kicking a ball into the air and the person being trained jumping to mark the ball. When marking a ball during a ball game, it is usually advantageous to mark the ball as high as possible to improve one’s chances of marking the ball before a competitor. During a ball game, increased marking height is often obtained by leveraging off another player. Accordingly, during training, a padded mat, simulating another player, may be provided and the person being trained may spring from the mat to gain additional height before attempting to mark the ball thrown by the assistant.

[0004] A problem with conventional techniques for improving marking skills is that it is very difficult for the assistant to control the height at which the person being trained marks the ball, as doing so requires a high degree of synchronisation between the assistant and the person being trained. Also, when a padded mat is used, the assistant is faced with the added complexity of having to not only time the flight of the ball to arrive at the appropriate height for the person being trained to mark, but also to ensure that the ball’s trajectory passes accurately over the padded mat.

[0005] Any discussion of documents, acts, materials, devices, articles or the like which has been included in the present specification is solely for the purpose of providing a

2019204860 05 Jul 2019 context for the present invention. It is not to be taken as an admission that any or all of these matters form part of the prior art base or were common general knowledge in the field relevant to the present invention as it existed before the priority date of each claim of this application.

[0006] Throughout this specification and the claims which follow unless the context requires otherwise, the word “comprise”, and variations such as “comprises” and “comprising”, will be understood to mean the inclusion of a stated feature or step, or group of features or steps, but not the exclusion of any other feature or step, or group of features or steps.

2019204860 05 Jul 2019

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0007] In one aspect, the present invention provides a training device, including: a stand having (i) a base for mounting on a surface, (ii) an upright section extending substantially upwardly from the base, and (iii) an outwardly extending arm including at least a first section connected to, or integrally formed with, the upright section and forms an obtuse angle with the upright section; a resiliently extensible tether having a proximal end anchored to the upright section and a distal end suspended from the outwardly extending arm of the stand; and a connecter associated with the distal end of the extensible tether for connection to a ball to enable suspension of the ball from the outwardly extending arm at a first height, wherein the tether is sufficiently resilient to enable the ball to return to the first height after being moved in a generally downward direction and then released.

[0008] In an embodiment, a plurality of guides is provided along the stand between an anchor point of the resiliently extensible tether and a distal end of the outwardly extending arm to maintain the resiliently extensible tether generally parallel with the stand along a portion of its length between the anchor point and the distal end of the outwardly extending arm.

[0009] In an embodiment, the first height of the ball is adjustable by shortening or lengthening the resiliently extensible tether or by varying the position of the anchor point of the resiliently extensible tether.

[0010] In an embodiment, the first section of the outwardly extending arm is connected to the upright section in a telescopic configuration that enables adjustment to the height of the outwardly extending arm. In other embodiments, a height of the stand is fixed. In either case, the stand includes a plurality of interconnectable sections including the upright section and at least the first section of the outwardly extending arm.

[0011] In an embodiment, the interconnectable sections are fixed against relative rotation, by an end of one of the adjoining sections being tapered and snugly engageable with the corresponding end of the adjacent other adjoining section. Moreover, circumferential flanges may be provided adjacent ends of the adjoining sections, with the flange on one of the adjoining sections having a pin for engaging an aperture in the flange of the adjacent other adjoining section.

2019204860 05 Jul 2019 [0012] In an embodiment, a pair of pins is provided for engaging a corresponding pair of apertures.

[0013] In an embodiment, one of the flanges also includes a male thread engageable by a female threaded collar on the adjacent other adjoining section to draw the flanges into engagement with each other and to draw the pin into the aperture. The stand sections and base may be similarly interconnected.

[0014] In an embodiment, the upright section and outwardly extending arm of the stand form a generally goose neck shape.

[0015] In an embodiment, the outwardly extending arm includes a second section connected to, or integrally formed with, the first section and forms a right angle or an acute angle with the upright section.

[0016] In an embodiment, the base includes a plurality of attachment points for anchoring the stand to the fixed surface. The attachment points may be defined by apertures in the base, through which ground-engaging pegs may be driven.

[0017] In an embodiment, the resiliently extensible member is an elasticised rope. However, in other embodiments, for example, the resiliently extensible member may include a non-elasticised rope that is connected to the stand via a spring. In yet further embodiments, the stand may be resiliently deformable to facilitate resilient extension of the extensible member.

2019204860 05 Jul 2019

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0018] Preferred embodiments of the training device of the present disclosure will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0019] Figure 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of a training device in accordance with the present disclosure;

[0020] Figures 2A to 2D are perspective views showing assembly of the training device of Figure 1; and [0021] Figure 3 is an enlarged view of a connection between adjoining sections of the stem of the training device.

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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENT(S) OF THE INVENTION [0022] Referring to the drawings, there is shown a training device 10 for training ballcatching, or “marking”, skills. The training device 10 includes a stand 12 having a base 14 for engaging a fixed surface, such as the ground, and a distal end 16 spaced from the base 14. A resiliently extensible member, in the form of an elasticised rope 18, is anchored, at its proximal end 20, relative to the stand 12 and has a distal end 22 extending (downwardly) from the distal end 16 of the stand. A ball 24 is connected to the distal end 22 of the elasticised rope 18.

[0023] A plurality of guides 26 are provided along the stand 12 between the anchor point 28 of the elasticised rope 18 and the distal end 16 of the stand to maintain the elasticised rope 18 generally parallel with the stand 12 along that portion of its length between the anchor point 28 and the distal end 16 of the stand.

[0024] The stand 12 includes a plurality of interconnectable sections 12a, 12b, 12c, 12. As shown in Figure 3, these stand sections are fixed against relative rotation by one of the adjoining stand sections having a tapered end 12d snugly engageable with a socketed end 12e of the adjacent other adjoining section. Moreover, circumferential flanges 12f, 12g are provided adjacent ends of the adjoining sections, with the flange 12f on one of adjoining sections having a pair of diametrically opposite pins 12h for engaging a corresponding pair of diametrically opposite apertures 12i in the flange 12g of the adjacent other adjoining section. Flange 12f also includes a male thread 12j engageable by a female threaded collar 12k on the adjacent upper adjoining section to draw the flanges 12f, 12g into engagement with each other and to draw the pins 12h into the apertures 12i.

[0025] The stand 12 is of a generally goose neck shape, such that the distal end 16 of the stand is offset relative to the base 14, as best seen in Figure 1. This ensures that the upright portion of the stand 12 is clear of the zone of movement of a person using the training device 10.

[0026] The base 14 includes a plurality of attachment points for anchoring the stand 12 to the ground. The attachment points are defined by apertures 30 in the base 14, through which ground-engaging pegs 32 may be driven.

2019204860 05 Jul 2019 [0027] In use, a desired height of the ball 24 relative to the base 14 is adjusted by shortening or lengthening the elasticised rope 18 or by varying the position of the rope’s anchor point 28. Once the desired ball height has been set, the person being trained then runs toward the stand 12, jumps, and grabs the ball 24, drawing the ball down toward the ground against the resilient bias of the elasticised rope 18. If desired, a padded mat maybe positioned underneath the stand 12 and the person being trained may spring from the padded mat before grabbing the ball 24, to simulate the effect of springing from another player to gain additional height when marking a ball.

[0028] It will be appreciated that the illustrated training device 10 is well adapted for use in improving ball marking skills. Moreover, it will be appreciated that the illustrated training device 10 allows the position of the ball 24 to be accurately controlled to facilitate such ball marking training.

[0029] It will further be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that numerous variations and/or modifications may be made to the specific embodiment described with reference to the drawings, without departing from the broad scope of the present disclosure. The embodiment described and illustrated is, therefore, to be considered in all respects as exemplary and not restrictive. Examples of possible modifications include, but are not limited to:

• replacing the elasticised rope with a non-elasticised rope connected to the stand via a spring;

• making the stand height-adjustable, for example, by the sections of the stand being telescopic;

• adding a removable backing board to the stand so that a ball can rebound off the backing board for use, for example, in tennis training where the ball rebounds off the backing board;

• adding a removable hoop to the stand at a position lower than the stand’s distal end, for use in basketball tipping/dunking training (i.e. tipping/dunking the ball in mid-air into the hoop);

• adding wheels to the base to facilitate movement of the training device, for example, for use indoors in gymnasiums;

• adding counterweights to the base for stabilising the training device on hard surfaces, where the use of pegs may be impractical;

2019204860 05 Jul 2019 • forming the stand from one or more tubular elements and running the resiliently extensible member through the tubular elements;

• adding a winch to facilitate adjustment of the length of the resiliently extensible member;

• providing the training device with multiple arms extending from a common stem, with each of the arms having a resiliently extensible member to facilitate training a plurality of people simultaneously;

• the stand may be resiliently deformable to facilitate resilient extension of the rope (e.g. joints between the stand sections may be resiliently deformable).

Claims

The claims defining the invention are as follows:

1. A training device, including:

a stand having (i) a base for mounting on a surface, (ii) an upright section extending substantially upwardly from the base, and (iii) an outwardly extending arm including at least a first section connected to, or integrally formed with, the upright section and forms an obtuse angle with the upright section;

a resiliently extensible tether having a proximal end anchored to the upright section and a distal end suspended from the outwardly extending arm of the stand; and a connector associated with the distal end of the extensible tether for connection to a ball to enable suspension of the ball from the outwardly extending arm at a first height, wherein the tether is sufficiently resilient to enable the ball to return to the first height after being moved in a generally downward direction and then released.
2. A training device to claim 1, further including a plurality of guides along the stand, between an anchor point of the resiliently extensible tether and a distal end of the outwardly extending arm, to maintain the resiliently extensible tether generally parallel with the stand along a portion of its length between the anchor point and the distal end of the outwardly extending arm.
3. A training device according to claim 2, wherein the first height of the ball is adjustable by shortening or lengthening the resiliently extensible tether or by varying the position of the anchor point of the resiliently extensible tether.
4. A training device according to anyone of the preceding claims, wherein a height of the stand is adjustable.
5. A training device according to claim 4, wherein the first section of the outwardly extending arm is connected to the upright section in a telescopic configuration that enables adjustment to the height of the outwardly extending arm.

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6. A training device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the stand includes a plurality of interconnectable sections including the upright section and at least the first section of the outwardly extending arm.
7. A training device according to claim 6, wherein the interconnectable sections are fixed against rotation relative to one another.
8. A training device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the upright section and outwardly extending arm of the stand form a generally goose neck shape.
9. A training device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the outwardly extending arm includes a second section connected to, or integrally formed with, the first section and forms a right angle or an acute angle with the upright section.
10. A training device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the base includes a plurality of attachment points for anchoring the stand to the surface.
11. A training device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the resiliently extensible tether is an elasticised rope.

1a. A training device, comprising:

a stand having a base for mounting on a substrate and a distal end spaced from the base;

a resiliently extensible member anchored relative to the stand and having a distal end extending from the distal end of the stand; and a connector on a distal end of the extensible member for connection to a ball to suspend the ball at a desired height.