Training Basketball

Abstract

A training game ball is described having cues for visually indicating the rotational alignment of the ball when it is thrown. If the ball is improperly thrown so that the axis of rotation does not stay perpendicular to the direction of flight, then the rotational alignment cue line will appear to wobble as the ball travels. The ball also has a rotational speed cue formed from a plurality of spaced panels arranged parallel with the alignment cue. If the ball is thrown with a high rotational speed, the panels will appear to the player as a solid line. Still further, the ball also includes hand alignment cues for assisting a player in properly positioning his or her hands for throwing the ball. The hand alignment cues include finger positioning pads, which are positioned sufficiently close together about the circumference of the ball to allow even a small youth's hand to easily reach a finger positioning pad from any position of the ball. The hand alignment cues may also include a stabilizing hand positioning mark located over one or both opposite poles of the ball. Each of the cues may have a different appearance, so that they may be visually distinguished. The hand alignment cues may also have a different surface to provide a tactile indication of their location to a player.

1 . A basketball, comprising: 
 a plurality of more than eight panels extending longitudinally across the basketball; and    a plurality of seams, such that a seam separates each panel from an adjacent panel.    
   
   
       2 . The basketball recited in  claim 1 , wherein the basketball has twelve panels.  
   
   
       3 . The basketball recited in  claim 1 , wherein at least two of the panels converge at a first pole of the basketball and at a second pole of the basketball opposite the first pole.  
   
   
       4 . The basketball recited in  claim 3 , wherein at least two of the panels converge at locations displaced from either the first pole or the second pole.  
   
   
       5 . The basketball recited in  claim 3 , further comprising a rotational alignment cue positioned between the first pole and the second pole.  
   
   
       6 . The basketball recited in  claim 1 , further comprising a rotational speed cue or a finger positioning pad on two or more of the seams.  
   
   
       7 . The basketball recited in  claim 6 , further comprising a rotational speed cue on each of the seams.