A self-contained, portable and retractable apparatus is described that transforms a sufficient smaller space into a suitable place, either indoors or outdoors, where a large space is unavailable, into a practice facility for sporting activity skills. This backdrop apparatus allows practice of hitting or throwing of a ball or other object in a contained environment and may also be used for virtually playing at any famous location.

A trampoline comprising a trampoline mat defining a jumping area and supported via springs from a circumextending support structure, the support structure including a plurality of legs so that the trampoline mat is positioned at a height above ground or flooring; the trampoline being provided with a safety enclosure surrounding the jumping area. The safety enclosure comprises a net supported by a plurality of telescopically extendable poles, each pole when extended comprising a plurality of sections, each successive extended section with distance above the trampoline mat having a cross-section less than that that of the next less extended section whereby the sections nest when telescopically collapsed. The lowermost such section is supported at a position above the ground or flooring by the support structure.

A basketball training system includes a server computer and a basketball training machine. The server computer executes a workout module that manages operation of a graphical user interface that presents a graphical representation of a portion of a basketball court and receives user inputs that define a workout program that includes selected ball delivery locations relative to the visual representation. The basketball training machine receives the workout program and delivers basketballs to the selected ball delivery locations.

Rate of deceleration is an important factor in determining the severity of injuries, such as head and neck injuries, possibly sustained when participants collide with a wall assembly while playing, for example, ice hockey. The described wall assemblies each include a support assembly and a movable wall assembly supported by and movable with respect to the support assembly. Telescoping parts of the movable wall assembly enable deflection of the movable wall assembly to complex angles with respect to the support assembly. In addition, movable wall assemblies can be couple such that impact on one wall assembly can cause deflection of an adjacent wall assembly. Covers, shields, and spacers can be positioned to decrease gap formation during deflection of the movable wall assembly to reduce the risk of pinch points.

A ball net structure arranged to be portable, collapsible, and able to be configured into different arrangements for different nets and/or different sports-related activities. The ball net structure comprising a base structure including at least one support portion, at least one base extension, and at least one base extension hinge, wherein the at least one support portion and the at least one base extension are coupled to the at least one base extension hinge. At least one rod is removably coupled to the base structure and received by a net, wherein the net is adapted to exert a force on the at least one rod causing the at least one rod to exert a force onto said base structure.

The present invention comprises a unique system and method for providing adaptable ball delivery and tracking, including appropriate sensor hardware, interactive gameplay user interfaces and point of sales systems. The system and method of the present invention are especially relevant to baseball and softball as, among other components, the system comprises a vertical, ground-up soft toss ball delivery mechanism, automated player and ball-tracking devices, and ball-collection and transport systems. The ball collection and return components eliminate the need for “fielders” and enable the creation of the first “batting range”. The vertical, ground-up soft-toss pitch machine further enables the first multi-story batting facility with player batting bays that open onto a sports field. Further, certain embodiments of the present invention integrate hitting screens, augmented reality display and simultaneous coordination of gameplay and communication between players, regardless of the players' physical location.

A trampoline anchor comprising a trampoline frame, a trampoline bed attached to the trampoline frame, trampoline springs connecting the trampoline frame to the trampoline bed, a fluid chamber formed as a toroidial enclosure, and an outside skirt attached to the fluid chamber, wherein the outside skirt connects between the fluid chamber and the trampoline frame at a fluid chamber skirt connection. The trampoline anchor can also have fluid chamber pods attached to the legs of the trampoline.

A pitcher safety system may be disclosed. The pitcher safety system may be a highly portable weather resistant collapsible pitching net. The pitcher safety system may have a curved body with an opening side, a permanently closed side, a handle side, and a carriage side. A collapsible frame comprising two pivoting base members may be permanently coupled to the interior of the curved body. The collapsible frame, a first pair of connecting members, a second pair of connecting members, and a top connecting member may be quickly coupled to one another to form a fully erected frame and safety net. The pitcher safety system may have a wheeled carriage system coupled to the carriage side, a grab handle coupled to the handle side, and hinged stabilizers coupled to the underside of the permanently closed side of the curved body.

A protective screen system having a protective screen made up of a protective screen frame and a primary net, and including a protective screen safety apparatus coupled to the protective screen. The protective screen safety apparatus includes one or more spacing connectors adapted to couple a structure such as a protective screen frame, and support and suspend a safety net in front of and spaced from the protective screen frame to minimize bounce back of a ball from the protective screen frame. Methods of protecting a batter with the protective screen safety apparatus are provided. Retrofitting and adjustable protective screen safety apparatus are described, including embodiments adapted to minimize damage to chain-link fences, as are other aspects.

Ball collection apparatus and methods for forming ball collection apparatus are disclosed. In one aspect, a ball collection apparatus includes a netting body that includes netting, edges around a perimeter of the netting, and corners along the perimeter of the netting at intersections of the edges, the edges including a front edge, a back edge, a first side edge, and a second side edge, a plurality of connectors attached to the netting body at the corners of the netting body, a plurality of fasteners attached to the netting body, and a guiding device operably coupled to the netting proximate an aperture defined by the netting, the guiding device having a weight to produce a slope in the netting sufficient to guide a sport ball to exit the netting body via the aperture.