GB2483067A

GB2483067A - Goal target

Info

Publication number: GB2483067A
Application number: GB1014090.3A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Stephen Mark Johns
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2010-08-24
Filing date: 2010-08-24
Publication date: 2012-02-29
Also published as: GB201014090D0; WO2012025750A1

Abstract

A goal target comprises a rigid frame 202 with a net 204 attached thereto and coupling means 206, 208 arranged to couple the rigid frame 202 to the goal posts of a goal. The rigid frame maintains the shape of the goal target even upon impact from a ball and allows the goal target to be placed into the corners of the goal without leaving any gaps through which a ball can pass. A coupling means 210 may be provided at the rear of the target net 204, such that in use, the target net is extended.

Description

SPORTS TRAINING AID

The present invention relates to a sports training aid, in particular, it relates to a goal target for use in

sports such as field hockey.

Various training aids are used throughout all sports in order to improve performance. In sports such as field hockey and association football, in which getting the ball into the goal is of vital importance, various training aids have been deve]oped with a view to improving shooting accuracy.

One goal target is proposed that is designed for use in association football, which comprises a net/cover which covers the entire goal area. Figure 1 shows such a goal target 110. As can be seen in figure 1, the net/cover 112 is attached to the goal posts 114 by a plurality of straps 116 and is pegged into the ground to secure it in place and prevent it from moving. Five square target holes 118 are provided in the net/cover, which are of a suitable size to let footballs pass through. In use, the training participant aims to kick the football through the square target holes 118 in order in improve shooting accuracy.

This particular goal target suffers from a number of disadvantages. Firstly, the goal target is only suitable for a particular size of goals and cannot be adapted to fit goal posts of different sizes for training in different sports. Also, the square target holes are in a fixed position within the goals and cannot be moved to different areas to practice shooting into different areas of the goal. Further, it is necessary to strap the net/cover 112 to the goal posts 114 in a plurality of places and to peg it in to the ground, making it a time consuming training aid to install and also making it suitable for use only on grass surfaces and making it impossible to use on artificial surfaces. Further still, once a ball has successfully passed through a square target hole 118, the ball will either settle into the back of the goal net (not shown) or will travel beyond the goal if no goal net is provided. Therefore, after a ball passes through a target hole, there is no lasting indication of which target hole the ball has passed through and hence no indication of how successful the practice was. Also, in sports such as field hockey where the balls travel at very high speed, it may not be easy to determine which target hole a ball passed through.

Another goal target 120 has been proposed as shown in figure 2, for use in ice hockey. As shown in figure 2, four solid planar targets 122 are provided, which couple to the goal posts 124 with straps or screw clamps 126. As with figure 1, when using the goal target 120, it may be difficult to determine which target 122 has been hit, with high ball/puck speeds as there is no lasting indication of which target has been hit and hence no indication of how successful the practice was.

Wa 2008017252 discloses another goal target 130, as shown in figure 3. In figure 3, four target nets 132 are provided in the four corners of the goal. The target nets 132 comprise of a cord perimeter 138 with netting attached to the cord perimeter 138. All four target nets 132 are attached together with a series of cords 134 and are coupled to the goal posts through a series of ties 136.

This goal target has a number of disadvantages.

Firstly, as the target nets 132 only have a chord perimeter 138, the targets may not keep their shape and may deform if the perimeter chord 138 is struck by a fast moving ball.

Also, as the target nets are held in place by chords 134 and ties 136 and have a chord perimeter 138, it is likely that the targets will not be held tightly to the goal posts. Also, given the arrangement of the chords and ties, it is not possible to move the goal targets 132 from the positions shown in figure 3.

Embodiments of the present invention aim to address at least some of the above problems to some extent.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a sports training aid for use with a sports goal having goal posts and a goal net, comprising: a rigid frame; a target net coupled to the rigid frame; and coupling means for coupling the rigid frame to the goal posts.

The sports training aid may further comprise a clip arranged to connect the end of the target net furthest away from the rigid frame to the goal net, such that in use, said target net may be extended.

The coupling means may comprise one or more straps to couple the rigid frame to the goal posts. The coupling means may comprise one or more straps arranged to couple the rigid frame to the cross bar of the goal posts and one or more straps arranged to couple the rigid frame to the post of the goal posts. The straps may be self stick straps.

The rigid frame may comprise at least one right angled vertex. The right angled vertex may be arranged to be located in the vertex between the post and cross bar of the goal posts. The right angled vertex may be arranged to be located in the vertex between the post of the goal posts and the ground.

The sports training aid may further comprise a base section coupled to the rigid frame and arranged in use to support the rigid frame on the floor. The base section may be a rigid extension to the rigid frame that in use extends along the ground.

The rigid frame may be made of metal reinforced plastic. The rigid frame may be made of metal, plastics, The periphery of the rigid frame may be of a triangular, square, rectangular or quarter circle shape.

The invention may comprise any combination of the features and/or limitations referred to herein, except combinations of such features as are mutually exclusive.

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows a prior art goal target;

Figure 2 shows a prior art goal target;

Figure 3 shows a prior art goal target;

Figure 4 shows a goal target according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 5 shows a goal target for a bottom corner of a goal according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 6 shows the goal target of figure 4 in use with

a field hockey goal;

Figure 7 shows further embodiments of the goal target of the present invention.

A goal target 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown in figure 4, in front and side views. As can be seen in figure 4, the goal target 200 comprises a rigid frame 202, with a net 204 attached to the rigid frame 202. In the embodiment shown in figure 4, the rigid frame 202 is of a quarter circle shape with a right angled vertex. No net 204 is shown in the front view of goal target 200.

The goal target 200 is suitable for use with a goal having goal posts and a goal net. In particular, goal target 200 is suitable for use with field hockey goals, both outdoor goals with a backboard and indoor goals. In use, goal target 200 can be used in various shooting training drills and to practice various different techniques, such as hitting and drag flicks. In a training drill, a participant will shoot a ball at a goal, aiming for goal target 200. If the shot is accurate, the ball will enter the goal target 200, where the net 204 catches the ball. As the net catches the balls that enter the target, at the end of a drill, an indication of how many times the target has been hit can be fed back to participant because of the number of balls within the net.

In the embodiment shown in figure 4, two straps 206 are provided on one side of the rigid frame 202 and two straps 208 are provided on the other side of the rigid frame 202.

The straps may be self stick straps, with a hook and eye arrangement, for example.

A clip 210 is provided to the end of the net 204 furthest from the rigid frame 202 that can be used to attach the net 204 to the back of a goal net of a goal (not shown) . The net 204 may be dimensioned such that it extends from the rigid frame 202, which will be level with the goal posts, to the goal net at the back of a standard field hockey goal. By attaching the net 204 to the goal net, the net 204 is effectively opened up, preventing the net 204 from obstructing the opening of the goal target 200. The clip 210 may be a clip, a self stick strap with a hook and eye arrangement, a chord, a clamp or any other suitable fastening means.

As can be appreciated, the goal target 200 can be fitted in various locations in a goal. When the goal target 200 is to be fitted to a top corner', i.e. in the vertex between the cross bar and the posts of the goal posts, the right angled vertex is arranged to be located into the vertex between the cross bar and posts. The straps 206 attach the rigid frame to the cross bar and straps 208 attach the rigid frame to the post, or vice versa depending on whether it is the right or left hand corner.

when the goal target 200 is to be fitted to a bottom corner', i.e. in the vertex between the posts of the goal posts and the ground, the right angled vertex is arranged to be located into the vertex between the posts of the goal posts and the ground. In this position only one set of straps 206/208 is used to attach the rigid frame to the post, depending on whether it is the right or left hand corner.

The rigid frame 202 of the goal target ensures that the shape of the target is maintained, even when struck by a fast moving ball, such as in field hockey. Also, the rigid nature and shape of the riqd frame 202 allows the goal target to be located securely into the corners of a goal, such that no gaps are left that a ball could pass through.

In order to more securely place goal target 200 in the bottom corners', an additional support may be provided to the goa] target. Figure 5 shows a qoa] target 300 according to an embodiment of the present invention, in front and side views. The goal target 300 has a square shaped rigid frame 302 and a net 304 and is specially adapted for use as a bottom corner' target, by use of a base portion 306, which extends away from the upright rigid frame 302 to stabil±se the goal target when it is placed on the ground. As with the embodiment shown in figure 4, one or more straps may be used to attach the rigid frame to the post of the goal posts.

The base portion 306 may be dimensioned such that it is of appropriate]ength to extend and make contact with the backboard of a field hockey goal, when the goal target is in use. This would provide additional stability to the goal target.

Goal target 300 target could be made to flat pack via the use of a hinge or other device to allow the base portion to fold up to the rigid frame 302. The base portion 306 may be made of the same material as the rigid frame 302, or it may be a different material.

Figure 5 shows the goal target 300 with the rigid frame not having a complete perimeter, i.e. with no cross bar across the base. However, as would be understood, the base portion 306 cou]d be adapted to fit a rigid frame with a complete rigid perimeter.

Although the above embodiments are described with reference to straps, it should be understood that any suitable coupling means could be used, such as ties, clamps, jubilee clips and the like. Also, although two straps are shown in figures 4 and 5 on each side to be coupled to the goal posts, one strap may be provided, or alternatively, multiple straps may be provided.

Figure 6 shows four goal targets 200 in use in a field hockey goal 400. As can be seen, the four goal targets are positioned in the four corners of the goal. As will be apparent to the skilled person, even though the goal targets 200 are shown only in the corners of the goal 400, the goal targets could be placed at different positions around the goal posts.

Figure 7 shows other embodiments of the goal target of the present invention. Goal target 500 has a triangular rigid frame and goal target 600 has a square rigid frame, similar to the goal target 300 of figure 5. As will be apparent to the skilled person, a goal target according to an embodiment of the present invention is not limited to the shapes shown in the figures, and any shape of rigid frame could be used.

The rigid frame of the goal targets in the above described embodiments may be made of metal, plastic, wood, fibre glass, carbon fibre, metal reinforced plastic or any other suitable material. The net of the goal target may be made of any strong netting or mesh, such as 3mm thick polyethylene net or the like.

The rigid frame may be made from a tubular construction. Alternatively, the rigid frame may have any other suitable form of construction. The rigid frame may be a number of discrete tubes connected together with suitable joints to form the desired shape. Alternatively, the rigid frame may by made of a single piece of material, which is formed to the desired shape.

Although the embodiments of the invention have been described for use with field hockey goals, it should be apparent to the skilled person that the goal target of the claimed invention could also be adapted for use in association football, ice hockey, lacrosse, handball or any other sport that involves shooting an object into a goal.

Claims

CLAIMS: 1. A sports training aid for use with a sports goal having goal posts and a goal net, comprising: a rigid frame; a target net coupled to the rigid frame; and coupling means for coupling the rigid frame to the goal posts.
2. The sports training aid according to claim 1, further comprising a clip arranged to connect the end of the target net furthest away from the rigid frame to the goal net, such that in use, said target net is extended.
3. The sports training aid according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the coupling means comprises one or more straps to couple the rigid frame to the goal posts.
4. The sports training aid according to claims 1, 2 or 3, wherein the coupling means comprises one or more straps arranged to couple the rigid frame to the cross bar of the goal posts and one or more straps arranged to couple the rigid frame to the post of the goal posts.
5. The sports training aid according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the straps are self stick straps.
6. The sports training aid according to any preceding claim, wherein the rigid frame comprises at least one right angled vertex.
7. The sports training aid according to claim 6, wherein the right angled vertex is arranged to be located in the vertex between the post and cross bar of the goal posts.
8. The sports training aid according to claim 6, wherein the right angled vertex is arranged to be located in the vertex between the post of the goal posts and the ground.9. The sports training aid according to claim 8, further comprising a base section coupled to the rigid frame and arranged in use to support the rigid frame on the floor.
9. The sports training aid according to claim 6, wherein the base section is a rigid extension to the rigid frame that in use extends along the ground.
10. The sports training aid according to any preceding claim, wherein the rigid frame is made of metal reinforced plastic.
11. The sports training aid according to any of claims 1 to 10, wherein the rigid frame is made of metal, plastics,
12. The sports training aid according to any preceding claim, wherein the periphery of the rigid frame is of a triangular, square, rectangular or quarter circle shape.
13. A sports training aid substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.