NL2019671B1 - A free-kick wall assembly for simulating a free-kick scenario. - Google Patents

Abstract

A free-kick wall assembly, comprising a moveable free-kick wall for mimicking a wall of players when taking a free kick on a playing field, alignment means arranged for determining an alignment between a goal post and said moveable free­kick wall, projection device arranged for projecting a ball location at said playing field based on a predetermined distance between said ball location and said free-kick wall and based on said determined alignment between said goal post and said moveable free-kick wall.

Description

Title A free-kick wall assembly for simulating a free-kick scenario.

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to the field of sporting equipment and more specifically to device for facilitating the training of football players. Even more specifically, the present invention relates to a device for simulating a condition of freekick in football and provides a method for football players to train for free-kick scenarios.

Background of the Invention

For sportspersons, a lot of time goes into practice before the big day of a game. The time spent in practicing and sharpening your skills clearly has an impact on the game during a match. In football, dead ball situations are particularly attractive since they present a unique opportunity to score a goal. Often such situations can present an opportunity to change the course of a game. Hence, it is really important to spend a good amount of time in practicing free-kicks.

During an actual match, for a free-kick, the opponent team usually creates a wall acting as an obstacle in the direct path between the ball and the goalpost. Coaches are known to employ training aids that simulate a wall during training sessions thereby allowing football players to practice taking free-kicks, but it is also important to place the wall in a correct position, thereby accurately simulating a real life scenario.

Current known techniques for free kick training merely employ a wall, that in some instances emulates the jumping of players upon taking a kick. Other known embodiments also employ other sensors placed either on the field or worn by the player taking the free-kick. These add complexity to the system and at the same time do not achieve correct positioning of the wall in respect to the position of the ball on the ground and the goal. Hence, known techniques are not entirely efficient in simulating a real life situation.

Summary of the Invention

In a free-kick training scenario, it would be advantageous to achieve a device that is capable of providing a reference position to place the ball for a freekick such that the wall is aligned with the goal post.

To better address this concern, in a first aspect of this disclosure, there is provided a free-kick wall assembly, comprising: a moveable free-kick wall for mimicking a wall of players when taking a free kick on a playing field; alignment means arranged for determining an alignment between a goal post and said moveable free-kick wall; projection device arranged for projecting a ball location at said playing field based on a predetermined distance between said ball location and said free-kick wall and based on said determined alignment between said goal post and said moveable free-kick wall.

Free kick wall assemblies are known from the prior art, which mimic a wall of players standing in between the ball and the goal post, thereby presenting an obstacle in the direct path of the ball towards the goal. The wall could be of any shape and size such that it presents an obstacle to the person taking the free-kick. The person skilled in the art is able to imagine any number of suitable shapes and sizes. The inventors consider that making the free-kick wall movable is an advantage in terms of offering mobility. The mobility may be achieved by using at least one wheel attached at the bottom of the free-kick wall. Alternately, the free-kick wall maybe designed and constructed using light-weight materials such that the wall may be lifted and placed at a convenient location by a user of the wall.

Football fans and players are familiar with the sight of a goalkeeper screaming at the top of his/her lungs to place the wall at a unique position. Thus from a real life perspective, it is also important to position the wall correctly with respect to the position of the ball. It was the insight of the inventors to include alignment means for this purpose. Once the wall is placed at a particular position on the ground, the alignment means calculates a straight line between the wall and the goal post.

For this purpose, the alignment means comprises of a unit mounted on the wall and attached by suitable means, and a means to detect the position of the goalpost. As is known, a football goalpost comprises of a rectangular frame comprising two vertical posts and a horizontal posts. Preferably, the alignment means detects the position of any one of the two vertical posts. Alternately, the alignment means could also detect a central point of the goal, therefore aligning the free-kick wall with the centre of the goal rather than the end. In practice however, it is more desirable to align the wall with an end of the goal post.

Once the wall is aligned with the goal post, i.e. a straight line between a point in the goal post and the wall has been calculated, the correct position for taking the free-kick is projected by the projecting means on to the playing surface. The correct position is calculated by taking into account a predetermined distance to be maintained between the wall and the free-kick spot. This predetermined distance may be defined by a user of the wall via suitable input means. Alternately, the pre-determined distance may be defined as being constant. Such a constant distance corresponds to the minimum distance to be maintained between players of the opponent team forming the wall and the ball during a free-kick scenario according to the rules of football. Such a predetermined distance is between 8 to 12 metres, preferably 9.15 metres.

The purpose of the projection means is to make known to the player practicing, a spot on the ground from which to take a shot at the goal. For this any known image projection means may be employed. Such image projection means may include laser, LEDs or any other light sources. It may be advantageous to consider that the projected image should be clearly visible against a coloured background, for example a green background.

According to an embodiment, the alignment means further comprise: an indicator device connectable to said goal post and arranged for indicating a position of said goal post to alignment determination means; said alignment determination means provided at said moveable free-kick wall, wherein said alignment determination means are arranged for determining said alignment between said goal post and said moveable free-kick wall based on said indicated position of said goal post by said indicator device.

The alignment means may comprise, for example, a camera unit for aligning the wall with the goal post. The camera unit may capture images from the goal, and may perform image recognition algorithms to detect the goal posts of the goal. These detected goals may be used for the alignment purposes.

According to the inventors, it may be advantageous to attach to the goalpost, an indication device which is capable of indicating its position to the wall. In an embodiment, the indication device is attached to any one of the two vertical bars of the goal post and the alignment is performed always with respect to that post. The person skilled in the art understands that if it is required, for training purposes, to align the wall with the other post, the indication device may be removed from the first vertical bar and attached to the second vertical bar. For this purpose, the indicator device shall be removable attached to the vertical bar using suitable means.

Alternately, an indication device may attached to each of the two vertical bars. In such a scenario, the free-kick wall may further comprise of a selection means to select with which of the two indication means, the wall should be aligned. For example, the selection means comprise of a toggle switch with two options, viz. -left and right, wherein if left is selected, alignment is checked with the left vertical bar and if right is selected, alignment is checked with the right vertical bar.

In an embodiment, where two indication devices are present, one on each one of the two vertical bars, it may be advantageous to include a determination means in the wall. The function of the determination means is to determine the distance between the wall and both the indication devices. The determination device is further arranged to select the post which is closer to the wall and to instruct the alignment means to perform the alignment with respect to the selected post. If the wall is equidistant to both the posts, either of the two posts may be selected and the alignment means is informed of the selection.

According to an embodiment, the free-kick wall further comprises: indicating means arranged for indicating that said alignment means have determined said alignment between said goal post and said moveable free-kick wall and that said ball location is projected at said predetermined distance between said ball location and said free-kick wall and based on said determined alignment between said goal post and said moveable free-kick wall.

It was the insight of the inventors that it might be further advantageous to include an indicating device the free-kick wall. Such an indicating device may indicate to the user that calculations or alignment is being processed or alternately, that wall has been aligned properly and a ball location has been projected on to the ground. Such an indication may be performed by means of coloured LED, which indicates in a first colour that the device is not ready and in a second colour that the wall is aligned and a ball location has been indicated. Such colours may be universally understood colours of red and green, Red indicating that an alignment is being performed and that the device is not quite ready yet and green indicating that the alignment has been made and a ball location has been indicated by the projection means. Alternatively, or in addition to the above, a sound or for example a beep may be used.

The inventors further consider that it may be advantageous to indicate to the goal keeper practicing to block free-kicks that the player is ready to take the kick. Therefore such an indication means may serve the purpose of indicating both to the goal-keeper and the player that a kick may be taken. Therefore, it may be advantageous to place such an indication means at a position on the wall from where it can be seen both by the player taking the free kick as well as the goal keeper.

According to an embodiment, the moveable free-kick wall comprises a plurality of wall members for simulating a plurality of soccer players; wherein said alignment means are arranged to receiving an indication of a specific wall member of said plurality of wall members, and wherein said alignment means are arranged for determining said alignment between said goal post and said inputted specific wall member.

For the purposes of practicing, it may be desirable that the free-kick wall resembles soccer players as closely as possible. In this respect, the free-kick wall may comprise a plurality of wall members whose outline resembles a human shape. Furthermore according to an embodiment, the alignment means is arranged to receive an input for selecting one among the plurality of wall members. If no selection is made, alignment is determined between a wall member at an end of the wall. If no selection is made and alignment is to be determined with the right vertical bar, the member at the right end is selected by default. If no selection is made and alignment is to be determined with the left vertical bar, the member at the left end is selected by default. If a specific member is selected by the provided means, the alignment means determines the alignment of the wall with respect to the goal post with the selected member.

According to an embodiment, the alignment means are arranged to receive said indication via any of a Wi-Fi signal, a Bluetooth signal, a ZigBee signal and a remote control. It was the insight of the inventors to incorporate a communication means through which the alignment means may receive the indication of the position of the goal post.

According to a further embodiment, the moveable free-kick wall comprises a plurality of wall members for simulating a plurality of soccer players, wherein said assembly further comprises: member height adjustment means arranged for setting a height of each of the wall members separately.

In order to simulate real life scenarios as closely as possible, it may be advantageous to be able to adjust the height of each of the wall members separately. In addition to simulating real life scenario, a higher setting of the height of each wall members may present a bigger obstacle to the player taking the free-kick and can help in improving the free-kick abilities of the player.

According to an embodiment, the moveable free-kick wall comprises a plurality of wall members for simulating a plurality of soccer players, wherein said assembly further comprises: vertical member movement means arranged for vertically moving each of the wall members separately thereby simulating jumping of each of the wall members separately; jump height setting means in communication with said vertical member movement means and arranged for setting jump heights of said simulated jumps of each of the wall members, and wherein said vertical member movement means are further arranged for vertically moving each of the wall members based on said set jump heights respectively.

As explained earlier, in order to accurately simulate a real life scenario, it may be advantageous to include a vertical member moving means. The vertical member movement means is designed to individually move the individual members of the free-kick wall. The direction of the motion may be in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the playing field. Such a movement means may be a pneumatic or hydraulic piston, for example.

It may further be advantageous to include height setting means to control how high each of the individual members move. Such a setting may be applied uniformly to all the individual members forming the wall, or alternately each individual member may have its own setting. Such a setting may be realized by controlling the pressure in the pneumatic or hydraulic piston, for example.

During a jump, the arms of a wall member may rotate or move as well to even more simulate a realistic scenario. The same is valid for, for example, the legs of a wall member.

According to an embodiment, the moveable free-kick wall comprises a plurality of wall members for simulating a plurality of soccer players, wherein said plurality of wall members are arranged to be moveable in a horizontal direction for expanding the amount of simulated soccer players in said free-kick wall. In actual situations, a wall standing to prevent a free-kick may be formed of two or more players. Therefore, it may be advantageous for the wall to be able to expand in a horizontal direction

According to an embodiment, the free-kick wall assembly further comprises: a motor arranged for moving said moveable free-kick wall over said playing field.

It was the insight of the inventors that it may be advantageous to include a motor that is arranged for moving the wall over the playing field. Such a motor may be coupled to the moving means, such as a wheel already present in the wall. In a preferable embodiment, the motor is an electric motor and the wall contains an energy source such as a battery that is capable of driving the motor. In an embodiment the wall may include multiple motors to move the wall in multiple directions. Preferably, there are at least two motors configured to move the wall in at least two directions along the plane of the playing field.

It is noted that, with the presence of multiple motors, it may be advantageous to include control means necessary to individually control the multiple motors such as to achieve precise positioning in the playing field.

According to an embodiment ,the free-kick wall assembly further comprises: a communication module arranged for wireless communication, and arranged for receiving any of said indication of said specific wall member of said plurality of wall members in accordance with claim 4; heights of each of the wall members separately in accordance with claim 6; jump heights of said simulated jumps of each of the wall members in accordance with claim 7; the amount of simulated soccer players in said free-kick wall in accordance with claim 8; a location to which said moveable free-kick wall is to be moved in accordance with claim 9.

It may be advantageous to include a wireless communication module in the wall. Such a wireless module may receive input parameters from an external input device such as a smartphone, for example. Once the input parameters are received, the wireless module may transmit the parameters to the relevant control means for adjusting the characteristics of the wall according to the received input parameters. The received input parameters may be one or more of a position of the wall on the playing field, the number of individual members forming the wall, the height of each individual member, the height which each individual member jumps. The wireless means may also communicate with which of the two vertical bars of the goal posts, the wall should determine to be aligned. The wireless means may be arranged to communicate via any suitable means such as Wi-Fi, an IP based Multimedia Subsystem, IMS, telecommunication network, ZigBee etc.

In a second aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method of preparing for a simulated free kick using a free-kick wall assembly in accordance with any of the previous claims, wherein said method comprises the steps of: determining, by said alignment means, an alignment between said goal post and said moveable free-kick wall; projecting, by said projection device a ball location at said playing field based on said predetermined distance between said ball location and said freekick wall and based on said determined alignment between said goal post and said moveable free-kick wall.

It is noted that the advantages and definitions as disclosed with respect to the embodiments of the first aspect of the invention also correspond to the second aspect of the invention, being the method of preparing for a simulated free kick using a free-kick wall assembly.

In an embodiment according to the second aspect, the method further comprises the step of: indicating, by said indicating means, that said alignment means have determined said alignment between said goal post and said moveable free-kick wall and that said ball location is projected at said predetermined distance between said ball location and said free-kick wall and based on said determined alignment between said goal post and said moveable free-kick wall.

In an embodiment according to the second aspect, the method comprises the step of: receiving, by said alignment means, said indication of a specific wall member of said plurality of wall members, and determining, by said alignment means, said alignment between said received specific wall member and said goal post.

The above mentioned and other features and advantages of the disclosure will be best understood from the following description referring to the attached drawings. In the drawings, like reference numerals denote identical parts or parts performing an identical or comparable function or operation.

Brief Description of Drawings

Figure 1 is an illustration of an embodiment of a free-kick wall according to the present invention.

Figure 2 is an illustration of an embodiment of a free-kick wall according to the present invention.

Figure 3 is an illustration of an embodiment of a free-kick wall according to the present invention.

Figure 4 is an illustration of an embodiment of a free-kick wall according to the present invention.

Description

Referring now to figures 1-4, the following is observed. An aspect 1 of the present invention shows a free-kick wall 2 in use for free-kick training. Such a free-kick wall 2 is an obstacle in the direct path between the ball and the goal post in a free-kick scenario. Furthermore, the free-kick wall 2 is designed to simulate a freekick situation during an actual football match.

The free-kick wall 2 comprises of an alignment means 3 that are employed to determine an alignment between the free-kick wall 2 and the goal post 4. According to an embodiment, the goal post 4 may comprise of an indicator device that serves as a reference for alignment. The alignment means detects the goal post by detecting the indicator device. According to an embodiment, the indicator means is removably attached to the goal post. Therefore, when it is desired to align the freekick wall 2 with the other end of the goal post 4, the indicator device 5 has to be removed and attached to a post at the other end of the goal post 4. Alternately, an indicator device 5 may be attached to each one of the two vertical bars of the goal post 4. In such a scenario, the alignment means further comprises of distance detection means arranged for detecting a distance between the free-kick wall and each of the two vertical bars. The alignment means 3 will then perform an alignment with the nearer of the two posts.

The alignment between the alignment means 3 and the goal post 4, may be achieved by, for example, sending a pulse of laser beam and receiving a reflected beam at the alignment means 3, wherein the laser beam is reflected towards the alignment means 3 by the indicator device 5. Once an alignment has been made by the alignment means 3 between the free-kick wall 2 and the goal post 4, projection means 3 projects a position 20 on the ground from where the free kick is to be taken. Although the alignment means and the projection means are separate entities, from a viewpoint of making the device compact, the two may be integrated in to a single unit, as shown in the figures. The person skilled in the art understands that the two means, viz.- alignment means and projection means may be installed on the free-kick wall 2 as two separate units. For the course of this description, both the alignment means and the projection means are referred to using the same reference numeral since they are incorporated within the same physical entity.

The projection means 3 may project a beam of light 7, for example, to indicate a position 20 on the ground from where the free kick should be taken. Projection means 3 may be any light or imaging source such as a laser or a projector. The projection means 3 may indicate the position 20 on the ground by indicating a spot on the ground, or indicating an ‘X’ mark on the ground, or projecting an image of the football on to the ground, for example.

It may be desirable to incorporate movable means 21 on the free-kick wall 2. Such movable means 21 may be wheels as shown in the figure which allow the free-kick wall 2 to be moved over the playing field. Furthermore, the free-kick wall 2 may comprise of an indication means (not shown in figure). The purpose of the indication device is to indicate to the player and/or the goal keeper that the free-kick wall 2 is aligned with the goal post 3 and the position 20 from which the free-kick is to be taken has been indicated by the projection means 3.

The free-kick wall 2 may further be designed in such a manner that the wall 2 comprises of individual members 8 designed to emulate soccer players on a playing field. The individual members 8 may further be arranged to be height adjustable using height adjustment means 22. Such height adjustment means 22 may be adjusted manually or electrically. If height is to be adjusted electrically, the freekick wall may further comprise of driving means, such as a linear motor or an electrical motor coupled with a suitable converter to convert the rotary motion into a linear motion to adjust the height. It may be understood that in case the free-kick wall 2 comprises of an electrical height adjustment means, the wall 2 shall further comprise an electrical energy source (not shown in figure). Preferably, such a source is a battery such that the portability of the free-kick wall is maintained.

Such a height adjustment means 22 may apply the preferred height adjustment to the overall free-kick wall 2. Alternately, the height of each the individual members 8 may be adjusted individually. Furthermore, the free-kick wall 2 may also employ vertical member-movement means 22. The purpose of the vertical membermovement means is to simulate a jumping action of the players forming the wall. The vertical member-movement means may employ the same physical entities as that used for the height adjustment means 22. When the free-kick fall comprises of vertical member-movement means arranged for simulating a jump of an individual member 8 forming the free-kick wall 2, the free-kick wall 2 may further comprise of jump height setting means (not shown in figure) arranged to determine the height jumped by each one of the individual members 8 forming the free-kick wall 2. Figure 4 shows a view of a device according to the present invention while in use. It may be seen that different individual members 8 of the free-kick wall 2 have a different vertical height setting.

The free-kick wall, in certain embodiments, may also comprise of wireless communication means (not shown in figure) arranged for communicating wirelessly with an external device (not shown in figure). The wireless communication device may communicate with a mobile device 9, for example. The mobile device 9 may further comprise of a bespoke app that is designed to adjust the settings of the free-kick wall 2. Settings such as the number 10 of individual members 8 in the wall, the vertical height 11 of each of the individual members and the jump height of the individual members may be input through said bespoke app running on the mobile device 9. As indicated earlier, the wireless communication means may be physically integrated within the free-kick wall 2 or included within the alignment means 3.

The free-kick wall 2 may further maintain data with respect to the amount of shots, from which distances and how often the player has scored a goal.

In certain embodiments, the free-kick wall may comprise an electric motor (not shown in figure) arranged for driving said wheels 21 to a desired position on the playing field. It may further be advantageous to consider that the desired location of the free-kick wall 2 may be received as an input from the external mobile device 9. Upon receiving the desired location as an input, the electric motor drives the wheel in such a manner that the free-kick wall is positioned at the desired location on the playing field.

As discussed earlier, the bespoke app running on the external mobile device 9 may comprise an setting to adjust the number of individual members 8 in the free-kick wall 2. Such a setting may physical realized by incorporating extending means that are arranged to increase or decrease the length of the free kick wall 2. From a practical point of view, the individual members may be arranged one behind the another when the desired length is smaller than the current length of the wall. The person skilled in the art understands that the number of individual members forming the free-kick wall defines the length of the wall.

For example, if the wall currently constitutes 3 members - a first member, a second member and a third member, and it is desired to form a wall with only 2 individual members. The third member may be moved so as to be aligned behind the second member. The person skilled in the art is aware of various mechanisms available so as to realize this.

According to an embodiment, the free-kick wall comprises a kick detection means arranged for determining that the person taking the free-kick has kicked the ball towards the goal post. The kick detection means may comprise of a sensor arranged to determine that the ball has been kicked. Furthermore, the kick detection means is arranged to instruct the vertical member-movement means to move the individual member with a desired vertical displacement thereby simulating a jump of the individual member.

In the description and summary of the present invention, the terms “wall” and “free-kick wall” have been interchangeably used. Both these terms refer to a free-kick wall assembly according the claims provide herein.

Other variations to the disclosed embodiments can be understood and effected by those skilled in the art in practicing the claimed invention, from a study of the drawings, the disclosure, and the appended claims, In the claims, the word “Comprising” does not exclude other elements or steps, and the indefinite article “a” or “an” does not exclude a plurality. A single processor or other unit may fulfil the functions of several items recited in the claims. The mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used to advantage. Any reference signs in the claims should not be construed as limiting the scope thereof.

The present disclosure is not limited to the examples as disclosed above, and can be modified and enhanced by those skilled in the art beyond the scope of the present disclosure as disclosed in the appended claims without having to apply inventive skills.

Claims (14)

A free-kick wall assembly, comprising: a movable free-kick wall for simulating a wall of players while taking a free kick on a playing field; alignment means adapted to determine an alignment between a goal post and the movable free stair wall; projection device adapted to project a ball location on the playing field on the basis of a predetermined distance between the ball location and the free-kick wall and on the basis of the determined alignment between the goal post and the movable free-kick wall. A free-kick wall assembly according to claim 1, wherein the alignment means further comprises: an indication device connectable to the goal post and adapted to indicate a position of the goal post on alignment determination means; the alignment determining means provided at the movable free stair wall, wherein the alignment determining means are adapted to determine the alignment between the goal post and the movable free stair wall based on the indicated position of the goal post by the indicating device. 3. Free-stair wall assembly as claimed in claim 2, wherein the alignment means further comprise: distance-determining means adapted to determine a first distance between the free-stair wall and a first vertical bar of the goal post indicated by a first indication device, and a second distance between the free-stair wall and a second vertical bar of the goal post indicated by a second indication device; comparing means adapted to compare the first and second distances, thereby identifying a nearby vertical bar and a distant vertical bar, and instruction means adapted to instruct the alignment determining means for determining an alignment of the free stair wall with the nearest vertical bar. A free-stair wall assembly according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the free-stair wall further comprises: indicating means adapted to indicate that the alignment means have determined that the alignment between the goal post and the movable free-stair wall and the ball location is projected at the predetermined distance between the ball location and the free stair wall and based on the determined alignment between the goal post and the movable free stair wall. The free-kick wall assembly according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the free-kick wall comprises a plurality of wall members for simulating a plurality of football players; wherein the alignment means are adapted to receive an indication of a specific wall member from the plurality of wall members, and wherein the alignment means are adapted to determine the alignment between the goal post and the entered specific wall member. A free-stair wall assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the alignment means are adapted to receive the indication via one of a wifi signal, a bluetooth signal, a ZigBee signal and a remote control. A free-stair wall assembly according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the movable free-stair wall comprises a plurality of wall members for simulating a plurality of football players, wherein the assembly further comprises: member height adjustment means adapted to adjust a height of each of the wall members separately. A free-stair wall assembly according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the movable free-stair wall comprises a plurality of wall members for simulating a plurality of football players, wherein the assembly further comprises: vertical member movement means adapted to move each of the wall members vertically, thereby simulate the jumping of each of the wall members separately; jump height adjusting means in communication with the vertical member moving means and adapted to adjust jumping heights of the simulated jumps of each of the wall members, and wherein the vertical member moving means are further adapted to move each of the wall members vertically based on the set jumping heights, respectively. A free-kick wall assembly according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the movable free-kick wall comprises a plurality of wall members for simulating a plurality of football players, wherein the plurality of wall members is adapted to be movable in a horizontal direction for increasing the amount of the simulated soccer players in the free stair wall. A free-stair wall assembly according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the free-stair wall assembly further comprises: a motor adapted to move the movable free-stair wall over the playing field. A free-stair wall assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the free-stair wall assembly further comprises: a communication module adapted for wireless communication, and adapted to receive one of: - the indication of the specific wall member of the plurality of wall members according to claim 5; - heights of each of the wall members separately according to claim 7; jump heights of the simulated jumps of each of the wall members according to claim 8; - the amount of simulated soccer players in the free-kick wall according to claim 9; - a location to which the movable free stair wall is to be moved according to claim 10. A method for preparing a simulated free kick using a free-kick wall assembly according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the method comprises the steps of: determining, by the alignment means, an alignment between the goal post and the movable free-kick wall; projecting, by the projection device, a ball location on the playing field based on the predetermined distance between the ball location and the free kick wall and based on the determined alignment between the goal post and the movable free kick wall. A method according to claim 12 and claim 4, wherein the method further comprises the step of: indicating, by the indication means, that the alignment means have determined the alignment between the goal post and the movable free stair wall and that the ball location is projected onto the predetermined distance between the ball location and the free stair wall and based on the determined alignment between the goal post and the movable free stair wall. A method according to any of claims 12-13 and according to claim 5, wherein the method comprises the step of: receiving, by the alignment means, the indication of a specific wall member from the plurality of wall members, and determining, by the alignment means , of the alignment between the specific wall member received and the goal post.