A sports implement for obtaining autographs, having a core, a hole in the core having an open end and a closed bottom end, a housing disposed within the hole further comprising a latch, a spring, and a stop rim. The implement further includes a cap rotatably and slidably disposed within the housing comprising a first position wherein the cap compresses the spring toward the closed bottom end and a second position wherein the spring urges the cap against the stop rim, and a writing utensil removably coupled with the cap and rotationally coupled with the housing, further comprising a striker selectively interfacing with the latch.

Ball return devices may include a body having a front surface configured to return a ball incident thereon and a back surface. The body may be configured to be positioned at an angle to, and coincident with, an underlying surface, the angle between the ground surface and the body being variable. The ball return devices may also include an attachment mechanism coupled to the body and adapted to attach the body to an external anchoring mechanism.

In one embodiment, a method includes receiving, from one or more sensors, biomechanical data of a first user performing a plurality of actions of a first action-type and outcome data of a plurality of outcomes corresponding to the respective plurality of actions. A plurality of sets of action-parameter values may be determined based on the received biomechanical data, where each of the sets of action-parameter values corresponds to a respective action of the plurality of actions. An athletic-performance model of the first user may be generated based on the plurality of sets of action-parameter values. The athletic-performance model may be a statistical model including probabilities computed with respect to the sets of action-parameter values and the outcome data.

In one embodiment, a method includes accessing an athletic-performance model of a first user, where the model is based on a plurality of sets of action-parameter values of action parameters of the first user. The action-parameter values may be determined based on biomechanical data of the first user performing a plurality of actions of a first action-type and outcome data of each action. A current skill level of the first user may be determined based on a measure of variances associated with action parameters of the first action-type. Target ranges of action-parameter values may be calculated for action parameters based on the athletic-performance model. Each target range may be based on a measure of probability with respect to the particular action parameters and the outcome data. A report of athletic-performance feedback may be generated and may include current skill level information and the target ranges of action-parameter values.

A system for capturing and analyzing a trajectory of a tennis ball or other object associated with a play of a game of tennis and providing feedback is described. The system may be designed to capture and analyze a trajectory of a tennis ball during various activities related to the play of a game of tennis. The system may be configured to provide immediate feedback that may be utilized by a player to improve their performance as well as provide entertainment value above and beyond what is normally associated with the play of a game of tennis. Further, the system may be operable for use in an area where tennis is normally played during normal playing activities, such as player playing a game or practicing on an outdoor tennis court. The system may be operable to account for factors associated with its ambient environment, such as wind, temperature and humidity.

A system and method for using performance signatures can include generating a set of performance features during an activity of the first participant by collecting kinematic data from at least one inertial measurement unit and generating a set of biomechanical signals; combining the set of performance features into the performance signature; generating at least a second performance signature from a set of participants; comparing the performance signature of the first participant to at least the second performance signature; and applying a result of the comparison to an interaction with at least one participant.

The present invention is directed to a wireless basketball shot tracking system, method and processor-readable medium that allows a basketball player to train shooting from different locations as instructed by a hands-free-portable electronic device, and to track the results by a shot detector placed on the basketball goal. The shot detector is in wireless communication with the hands-free-portable electronic device. The electronic device stores whether basketball shots are made or missed from the various shooting locations, and can provide real-time shooting percentages of basketball players during basketball shooting sessions. The electronic device can provide a program mode, a play mode, a review mode and a random mode to help improve the shooting skills of a basketball player from different shooting locations on a basketball court. The electronic device can interface with external devices via a wired or wireless communications port for uploading or downloading program updates or shooting session data.

A convertible game system configured to be used by a player at home who wishes to practice skills from multiple sports on an apparatus that does not require extensive space requirements. The game system has a frame, with a hopper section and a mounting section, a ball return, and a rotational component. The rotational component is mounted to the frame at the mounting section by a locking bearing system. For use, a player unlocks the locking bearing system, rotates the rotational component to display the desired game face, then re-locks the locking bearing system before beginning game play. The rotational component can have as few as 3 faces, and as many as 8 faces.

Techniques where a computer or mobile device performs video analysis of a person performing a physical activity such as a basketball jump shot are described. The computer or mobile device performs video analysis based on one or more reference skeletons. The reference skeleton may be superimposed over captured video of the person performing the physical activity or compared to a generated player skeleton based on the captured video to determine derivation from the reference skeleton in the physical activity performed by the person.

A basketball goal stand that utilizes a bubble generating device that is housed within an upper portion of a basketball backboard to emit soap bubbles from the upper perimeter of the backboard when a basketball goal is made. It utilizes a tractor fed belt that is passed through a soap mixture filled vessel, and a dynamic air source that dispels air bubbles from loaded soap bubble orifices on the tractor fed belt. Optionally, it may use a bubble venture nozzle to created the bubbles that are emitted fro the backboard. A second embodiment utilizes a floating platform for use in a pool that supports a toroidal ring that houses the bubble generating components. There is no backboard utilized in the pool version.