SOCCER PASSING TRAINER APPARATUS AND GAMES

• US 20120329584A1
• Filed: 06/21/2012
• Published: 12/27/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 06/22/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: John D. Pinezich, Kingsley James Cox
• Original Assignee: John D. Pinezich, Kingsley James Cox
• Inventors: Pinezich, John D., Cox, Kingsley James
• Granted Patent: US 8,882,612 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 473/446
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2071/026 stabilised by weight
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2243/0025 Football
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 63/004 Goals of the type used for football, handball, hockey or the like
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 63/007 Target zones without opening defined on a substantially horizontal surface
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 69/002 for football American-football dummies A63B69/34

Abstract

We disclose an apparatus for improving passing skills in soccer, consisting of one or more triangles that can be placed on the ground to demarcate regions and boundaries on a playing field within which player movement is constrained or otherwise guided. The triangle edges are made from a flexible or extensible material and are attached at the triangle vertices by some type of joining device. The triangles can be placed on any surface suitable for soccer and held in place with stakes or other means. Multiple triangles can be placed on the ground to create a variety of demarcated regions and boundaries. This apparatus can be used for basic practice or to play various skill-enhancing games in which the ball is passed into and out of, or between, a triangle or a set of triangles.

Claims

1. ) A device consisting of one or more triangles used for soccer training applications in which players and/or the ball are constrained by the triangles.

2. ) A device as described in claim 1 consisting of a single triangle in which a ball is moved or a person moves into and out of the triangle, and a method of securing it to a playing surface, e.g. with stakes or weights.

3. ) A device as described in claim 1 whereby multiple triangles are touching one another or arranged in close proximity on a playing surface, such that players have constrained areas for player movement and receiving and passing the ball.

4. ) A device as described in claim 1 in which the triangle or triangles are projected or otherwise rendered onto the playing surface by means of an electronic or similar system.

5. ) A device as described in claim 1 whereby the edges comprising the triangle or triangles are colored (monochrome, bichrome, and/or multichrome) by electronic means or pigment so as to more easily differentiate designated areas and allow for switching of the triangle colors.

6. ) A device as in claim 1 that uses material such as webbing, rope, or tubing for the triangle edges, and uses joiners such as loops, cones, stakes, male and female connectors for triangle vertices, in a manner that allows for modular expansion to an arbitrary number of triangles.

7. ) A device as in claim 1 whereby a different shape, such as a square, circle, or half-circle, may be used instead of a triangle.

8. ) A game using the device described in claim 1, in which the triangle or triangles are used to constrain ball and/or player allowed motion, and points are awarded for completed passes or similar achievement.

9. ) A game as described in claim 8 in which a ball is passed between players constrained inside different triangles to improve passing and ball control skills in well-defined regions, in which points are awarded for completed passes or similar achievement.

10. ) A game as described in claim 8 in which players outside the triangles pass or propel the ball to players who are constrained inside the triangles, and for which points may be awarded for completed passes or similar achievement.

11. ) A game as described in claim 8 in which players on teams are constrained by defined subsets of triangles and for which points may be awarded for successful completion of skill enhancing maneuvers, such as moving a ball from one corner to another corner without interruption from an opposing team.

12. ) A game as described in claim 8 in which the path or parts of the path traced by the motion of the ball are constrained to include certain triangles and/or exclude certain triangles.

13. ) A game as described in claim 8 in which players have a preset amount of time to achieve certain goals, e.g. moving the ball between triangles, or are timed in achieving certain goals.