Sport ball training devices and methods for releasably holding a tennis ball or other sport ball at an appropriate height for the practice of striking the ball, either directly or indirectly with a racket or the like. An embodiment may have a support device with a base and an adjustable vertical tubular assembly for the support of a transverse arm from which a ball sling is suspended. A retainer member of the ball sling circumferentially holds a sport ball. An embodiment of the retainer member may be made from an elastometric material that lightly squeezes the ball with sufficient force to restrain it, but releases easily when the ball is hit so that the trajectory of the ball is not affected by the presence of the retainer member nor is the racquet significantly affected by the presence of the ball sling generally.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. section 119(e) from U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/489,959, titled "SPORT BALL TRAINING DEVICE AND METHOD", filed Jul. 23, 2003, by John L. Wardle and James M. Jensen and U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/517,935, titled "SPORT BALL TRAINING DEVICE AND METHOD", filed Nov. 5, 2003, by John L. Wardle and James M. Jensen, both of which are also incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.
A pet toy and exercise device comprising a first length non-elastic of cord extending from a ball in one direction, an elastic cord coupled to the first length of non-elastic cord, and a shorter length of non-elastic cord providing a chewing or grasping aid extending from the ball in another direction. A method of using a pet toy and exercise device is also disclosed.
A tennis ball holding apparatus includes a central tubular shaft that has a bore formed therein and has apertures formed along a length thereof. A base has legs radially extending outward from a central shaft bottom end and is monolithically formed with the central shaft. A non-linear boom is spaced above the central shaft and has an eyelet mated to a proximal end thereof. The proximal end of the non-linear boom is linearly offset from a distal end thereof. A support bracket has a bottom arm telescopically engaged with the central shaft and includes a tubular top sleeve that is adjustably connected to the linear bottom arm. A mechanism is included for automatically returning the boom to an equilibrium height. A cord is tethered to the eyelet, includes a fastener attached to a bottom end thereof for holding a tennis ball, and is spaced proximal to the automatic returning mechanism.
