Sports training apparatus and method

Abstract

An athletic training assembly includes a vest to be worn by an athlete. The vest includes attachment points at plural locations on both front and rear regions of the vest. A training coupler has opposite first and second ends, with an attachment mechanism affixed to at least the first end. The attachment mechanism is configured to be attached releasably to one of the attachment points of the vest. A region of the training coupler at or near the second end is configured to be held by a coach or affixed to a support. The training coupler is aligned to require an athlete to exert a force against the training coupler while performing an athletic movement, thereby developing muscles for exerting top-down forces when performing a specified athletic movement.

1 . An athletic training assembly, comprising:
 a vest configured to be worn by an athlete, the vest including at least one attachment point; and   at least one elongate training coupler having opposite first and second ends and an attachment mechanism at the first end of the at least one training coupler, the attachment mechanism being configured to influence a translational movement of a body part of the athlete or a rotational movement of a torso of the athlete about a pivot axis extending along the torso of the athlete.   
     
     
         2 . The athletic training assembly of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the vest is formed from a flexible dimensionally stable material and includes opposite front and rear panels dimensioned respectively for fitting adjacent a chest and back of the athlete, left and right connecting panels extending between the front and rear panels, at least one of the left and right connecting panels being adjustable to enable secure fitting of the vest on the athlete, and left and right shoulder straps connecting the front panel to the rear panel.   
     
     
         3 . The athletic training assembly of  claim 2 , wherein:
 the at least one attachment point comprises at least two front attachment points on the front panel and at least two rear attachment points on the rear panel.   
     
     
         4 . The athletic training assembly of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the training coupler is dimensionally stable.   
     
     
         5 . The athletic training assembly of  claim 1 , wherein:
 at least a part of the training coupler is elastic and flexible.   
     
     
         6 . The athletic training assembly of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 at least one sensor attached to the vest or the training coupler.   
     
     
         7 . The athletic training assembly of  claim 6 , wherein:
 the at least one sensor is configured for measuring at least one of: a position of the at least one sensor; forces applied at the at least one sensor; speed of the at least on sensor; and acceleration of the at least one sensor.   
     
     
         8 . The athletic training assembly of  claim 7 , further comprising:
 a control unit communicating with the at least one sensor for receiving measured data from the at least one sensor, the control unit including a memory for storing the measuring data and an interface for outputting the measured data while performing an athletic movement.   
     
     
         9 . The athletic training assembly of  claim 8 , further comprising:
 at least one camera for recording movement of the athlete while performing an athletic movement, the camera communicating with the control unit, and the control unit outputting a correlation of the measuring data received from the at least one sensor and images recorded by the camera.   
     
     
         10 . A method for improving performance of an athletic maneuver that requires a pivoting movement of a part of an athlete's body about a pivot axis, the method comprising:
 securing a garment around parts of the athlete's body that includes both the pivot axis and the part of the athlete's body that undergoes the pivoting movement about the pivot axis;   providing a training coupler having opposite first and second ends, the first end having an attachment mechanism;   attaching the attachment mechanism of the training coupler to an attachment location on the garment that is spaced from the pivot axis of the athlete's body and that will move with the parts of the athlete's body that undergo the pivoting movement about the pivot axis of the athlete's body;   holding the training coupler at the second end of the training coupler so that an extending direction of at least a part of the training coupler from the first end to the second end is opposed to a moving direction of the attachment location during performance of the athletic maneuver; and   applying tension between the first and second ends of the training coupler for biasing parts of the athlete's body adjacent to the attachment location in a biasing direction that is opposed to the moving direction of the attachment location during performance of the athletic maneuver.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein securing the garment around parts of the athlete's body that includes both the pivot axis and the part of the athlete's that undergoes the pivoting movement about the pivot axis comprises securing the garment around parts of the torso of the athlete's body. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the attachment location is adjacent a shoulder of the athlete. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein:
 the attachment location on the garment is adjacent a part of the upper torso that will undergo a downward movement during performance of the athletic maneuver; and   the holding of the coupler includes holding the coupler at a position higher than the attachment location at completion of the athletic maneuver.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein:
 holding the training coupler at a location spaced from the first end of the training coupler includes manually holding the training coupler while maintaining tension on the training coupler.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein:
 the training coupler is formed from an elastic material and holding the training coupler at the second end of the training coupler includes attaching the second end of the training coupler releasably to a rigid support.   
     
     
         16 . A method for training an athlete to perform an athletic maneuver, the method comprising:
 fitting a dimensionally stable garment on the athlete;   applying at least one external force to at least one force application location on the dimensionally stable garment, the at least one force application location being at least one location that will move in a moving direction during performance of the athletic maneuver, and the at least one external force is applied in at least one direction that is different from the at least one moving direction of the force application location during performance of the athletic maneuver; and   performing the athletic maneuver while overcoming the at least one external force, thereby training the athlete to vary directions and magnitudes of forces generated to perform the athletic maneuver.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the at least one external force is at least one of a linear force and a rotational force. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the dimensionally stable garment is dimensioned and configured to exert a compressive force on the athlete. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 16 , further comprising:
 providing at least one elongated training coupler having opposite first and second ends;   removably coupling the first end of the at least one elongated training coupler to the force application location on the dimensionally stable garment; and   applying the at least one external force to the at least one force application location on the dimensionally stable garment comprises applying a pulling force on the second end of the at least one elongated training coupler.