A hockey stick blade cover comprises a viscoelastic sleeve that may be coupled to a hockey stick blade, wherein a friction force between the viscoelastic sleeve and the hockey stick blade retains the viscoelastic sleeve on the blade. The viscoelastic sleeve comprises a self-healing material. In some embodiments, the sleeve comprises a vitrimer elastomer. In some embodiments, the sleeve comprises a composite material, such as including one or more selected from a group of natural fibers, synthetic fiber, boron nitride nanotubes, carbon nanotubes, and graphene. The hockey stick blade cover is typically attached to the hockey stick blade by expanding the viscoelastic sleeve, sliding the expanded viscoelastic sleeve over the blade, from the toe of the blade toward the heel of the blade, and then releasing the viscoelastic sleeve, thereby allowing the viscoelastic sleeve to contract. A pre-taped hockey stick comprises a viscoelastic wrap that is pre-coupled to the blade.

A method and an apparatus for playing golf on a hard surface comprises a replaceable striking pad attached to a conventional golf club head by means of at least one attachment means, a spiked ball, a portable ball trap to trap the spiked ball and an optional remotely controlled vehicle to position the portable ball trap. The replaceable striking pad includes a small lip at a bottom end on a front face and a holding ledge having substantially curved edges extending away from the bottom end of the front face. The holding ledge is adaptable to wrap around a bottom sole of the golf club head. The portable ball trap includes a thin flat platform with tapered edges, a central threaded pole positioned on the thin flat platform and a circular frame having a plurality of hinged tabs threaded to the central threaded pole.

A method of enhancing surface strike performance, includes providing a club head having a face surface and a receiving portion recessed into the club face. The receiving portion is configured to receive a strike surface material. The surface strike material is an amorphous ceramic material which is inserted as an inlay into the receiving portion as a liquid slurry. The slurry is distributed evenly within said receiving portion forming a uniform layer of ceramic material filling said receiving portion. Microgrooves are added to the ceramic material in a vertical direction to further increase the strike performance of the club head.

A sports ball for use in baseball-type games includes a hollow, substantially spherical plastic ball that has a plurality of substantially planar, intersecting regions covering an outer surface thereof. Preferably the ball also has a weight that is substantially less than a weight of a regulation baseball, for enhancing safety in use. The sports system further includes a bat for use with the ball, or with any similar ball, preferably a plastic ball. The bat is a hollow, elongated member that has a handle portion adjacent a bottom end and a barrel portion between the handle portion and a top end. The bat further has a sheath surrounding at least a portion of the barrel portion. The sheath has a coefficient of friction higher than a coefficient of friction of a surface of the barrel portion, for imparting “traction” to a struck ball.

The present invention can provide a sports paddle including a paddle member having first and second paddle surfaces. At least one paddle surface can have a series of spaced apart protrusions on at least a portion of the paddle surface. The protrusions can be about 0.014-0.016 inches in size, and can be spaced apart from each other by about 0.06-0.15 inches.

A method of enhancing surface strike performance, includes providing a club head having a face surface and a receiving portion recessed into the club face. The receiving portion is configured to receive a strike surface material. The surface strike material is an amorphous ceramic material which is inserted as an inlay into the receiving portion as a liquid slurry. The slurry is distributed evenly within said receiving portion forming a uniform layer of ceramic material filling said receiving portion. Microgrooves are added to the ceramic material in a vertical direction to further increase the strike performance of the club head.

Provided are a golf club head and a method for producing the golf club head. The golf club head comprises a striking face that in turn comprises a recurrent texture pattern that has a period T and that is defined by a plurality of depressions, each depression having an average depth no greater than 0.10 mm. The striking face also comprises a plurality of scorelines that at least partially intersect the recurrent texture pattern and that have a scoreline pitch Ps such that T/Ps is greater than 1.0, each scoreline having an average depth no less than 0.10 mm.

A sports paddle including a head portion coupled to a handle portion. The head portion includes at least one core layer positioned between first and second face plates. The first and second face plates have first and second outer surfaces, respectively. The head portion defines a plurality of through-head portion holes extending from the first outer surface to the second outer surface and a plurality of grooves extending into the first and second face plates. The head portion can include first and second face plates having first and second outer surfaces, respectively, and the handle portion can include a grip. Each of the first and second outer surfaces can include a roughened region and a generally smooth region. The smooth region of the first outer surface can space apart the grip from the roughened region of the first outer surface.

Provided are a golf club head and a method for producing the golf club head. The golf club head comprises a striking face that in turn comprises a recurrent texture pattern that has a period T and that is defined by a plurality of depressions, each depression having an average depth no greater than 0.10 mm. The striking face also comprises a plurality of scorelines that at least partially intersect the recurrent texture pattern and that have a scoreline pitch Ps such that T/Ps is greater than 1.0, each scoreline having an average depth no less than 0.10 mm.

Provided are a golf club head and a method for producing the golf club head. The golf club head comprises a striking face that in turn comprises a recurrent texture pattern that has a period T and that is defined by a plurality of depressions, each depression having an average depth no greater than 0.10 mm. The striking face also comprises a plurality of scorelines that at least partially intersect the recurrent texture pattern and that have a scoreline pitch Ps such that T/Ps is greater than 1.0, each scoreline having an average depth no less than 0.10 mm.