Athletic instruction apparatus, system and method

Abstract

An athletic instruction apparatus including a head positioner adapted to be disposed under a user's chin, a strap adapted to secure the head positioner to the user, and a fastener to removably fasten the strap to the head positioner, and a system and method of use thereof.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An athletic instruction apparatus comprising:
 a head positioner adapted to be disposed under a user's chin;   a strap adapted to secure the head positioner to the user; and   a fastener to removably fasten the strap to the head positioner.   
     
     
         2 . An athletic instruction apparatus as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the head positioner comprises at least one of a sphere, a ball, a cylinder, a plurality of conjoined spheres, or an ergonomic form. 
     
     
         3 . An athletic instruction apparatus as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the head positioner comprises at least one of a tennis ball, a conventional ball, a resilient material, a rubber material, or a plastic material. 
     
     
         4 . An athletic instruction apparatus as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the strap comprises at least one of a synthetic material, a woven material, or a stretchable material. 
     
     
         5 . An athletic instruction apparatus as recited in  claim 1 , further comprising an adjuster dimensioned and configured to allow an adjustment of the strap. 
     
     
         6 . The athletic instruction apparatus as recited in  claim 5 , wherein the adjuster comprises at least one of a buckle, a hook-and-loop closure, a snap closure, or a clip closure. 
     
     
         7 . An athletic instruction apparatus as recited in  claim 1 , the head positioner further comprising:
 an on/off switch;   a battery operatively in communication with the on/off switch;   a feedback component operatively in communication with the on/off switch and the battery; and   a pressure switch operatively in communication with the feedback component.   
     
     
         8 . An athletic instruction apparatus as recited in  claim 7 , the feedback component comprising one or more of a vibrator, an audial emitter, a timer, a pace counter, a stroke rate counter, and a computer. 
     
     
         9 . An athletic instruction apparatus as recited in  claim 8 , wherein the audial emitter is configured to emit a human-perceptible sound. 
     
     
         10 . A system for athletic instruction, comprising:
 a head positioner adapted to be disposed under a user's chin;   a strap dimensioned and adapted to secure the head positioner to the user while the user performs a predetermined athletic activity;   a fastener dimensioned and adapted to removably attach the strap to the head positioner; and   a feedback component integrally disposed with the head positioner, the feedback component dimensioned and configured to provide a predetermined user-perceptible stimulus to the user performing the predetermined athletic activity.   
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the athletic activity is swimming. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the feedback component is dimensioned and configured to provide one or more of an audial stimulus, a tactile stimulus, or a metric stimulus. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein at least one of the audial stimulus and the tactile stimulus is provided to the user when the user fails to maintain a predetermined optimized body position. 
     
     
         14 . A method for athletic instruction, the method comprising:
 attaching to a user an athletic instruction apparatus comprising a head positioner adapted to be disposed under the user's chin; a strap adapted to secure the head positioner to the user; and a fastener to removably fasten the strap to the head positioner;   engaging the user in an athletic activity; and   encouraging the user to adopt a predetermined optimized body position for the athletic activity by maintaining user chin and chest contact with the athletic instruction apparatus.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the athletic instruction apparatus further comprises a feedback component dimensioned and configured to provide a predetermined user-perceptible stimulus to the user performing the predetermined athletic activity. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the predetermined user-perceptible stimulus comprises at least one of an audial stimulus, a tactile stimulus, and a metric stimulus. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , further comprising providing at least one of an audial stimulus and a tactile stimulus to the user when the user fails to maintain the predetermined optimized body position. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the athletic activity is swimming. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the predetermined optimized body position comprises at least one of a neutral body position and a ‘banana’ body position.