An American style football including an inflatable prolate spheroidal shaped bladder, a cover assembly, a lacing and an electronic circuit. The bladder includes a valve assembly and a pocket that are symmetrically spaced about a longitudinal plane. The cover assembly includes at least first, second, third and fourth cover panels collectively positioned over the bladder. One of the first and fourth cover panels extending over the valve assembly and the other of the first and fourth cover panels extending over the pocket. The lacing extends along the longitudinal plane and coupled to the first and fourth cover panels. The electronic circuit is retained by the pocket. The electronic circuit includes at least one sensor and the electronic circuit being configured to produce a signal to enable at least one characteristic of the football to be monitored during use.

Devices are disclosed which are configurable to be worn by each of the players or persons on one or more teams playing a team sport or during activities requiring distance monitoring and notification of a breach in proximity. The devices are configurable to operate in a network environment to detect a device signal from one or more similarly configured devices worn by other players. The devices administer a proximity signal or alert to the users wearing the devices. The signal or alert can be audible, haptic, or both. The nature or quality of the proximity signal may change to reflect a distance to one or more other users. The devices can use RF or Bluetooth to measure the existence of a received signal, received signal strength of a like configured device. Devices can use an isotropic or omnidirectional antenna.

A sports bag configured as a backpack for use in storing gear is provided. The sports Tag includes a main body having a pair of straps coupled to the top or back of the main body, and a pair of storage pouches coupled to the back and bottom of the main body, each pouch including a fastening member to provide access to the pouch, and each pouch including at least one strap to stow the pouch when not in use.

A practice ball with an off-axis weight distribution allows sportspeople to practice their ball catching, passing and other skills using a ball that flies through the air with a wobbly trajectory.

An inflatable sports training ball made as an inflatable exterior surface formed of an air tight flexible outer casing which, when inflated, defines an exterior surface; an interior air pocket surrounded by an interior liner defining a bladder, the interior liner made of an air tight and water tight rubber; an inflation and fill valve; and a solution filling a portion of the bladder, the solution being substantially heavier than air and occupying an amount of said interior volume wherein a pre-determined amount of the solution is forced into the interior air chamber of the sports ball with a pump and the resulting partially solution filled sports ball is used for training drills by a sports player.

A ball, and in particular a baseball or softball, including one or more sensors such as accelerometers and/or inertial measurement units, and systems and methods using the same to improve a pitcher's pitching performance are described herein. In some embodiments, the ball may include one or more inertial measurement units and/or accelerometers capable of monitoring motion of the ball while it is thrown. Once a ball is thrown, in response to the inertial measurement unit(s) and/or accelerometer(s), one or more indicators may be caused to perform an action. For example, one or more user interfaces may be used to display graphs for illustrating a trajectory of a ball after it has been thrown. Various statistics, such as velocity, a change in vertical displacement, a change in horizontal displacement, and a spin rate may also be indicated on the user interface.

A sports bag configured as a backpack for use in storing gear is provided. The sports Tag includes a main body haying a pair of straps coupled to the top or back of the main body, and a pair of storage pouches coupled to the back and bottom of the main body, each pouch including a fastening member to provide access to the pouch, and each pouch including at least one strap to stow the pouch when not in use.

Systems and methods for sensing and monitoring various athletic performance metrics, e.g., during the course of a game, a practice, a training session, training drills, and the like, are described. These systems and methods can provide useful metrics for players and coaches relating to athletic performances in various sports, including various team sports.

An Internet of Thing (IoT) device includes a transceiver coupled to a processor. Blockchain smart contracts can be used with the device to facilitate secure operation.

An instep weighting training accessory to be releasably fastened around the instep of a shoe having studs or cleats on its sole is provided. The accessory includes a strip, a weight and a layer of padding material. The strip includes an inner layer intended to be in contact the shoe and a sheath to be arranged on the instep of the shoe. The weight is enclosed inside the sheath and the padding material is located between the weight and the inner layer of the strip. In an alternative, an instep weighting training set having a plurality of training accessories is provided.