Football throwing trainer

Abstract

A football throwing trainer has a football holder including first and second end caps adapted to fit over the ends of a football. Holder straps connect the first and second end caps and hold the end caps securely onto the ends of the football. A tether is attached to the first end cap and to a belt or cuff. The trainer allows a lone player to practice throwing a football and to easily retrieve the thrown football.

1 . A football throwing trainer comprising:
 a football holder including first and second end caps adapted to fit over the ends of a football, and two or more holder straps connecting the first and second end caps; and   a tether having a first end attached to the first end cap,   wherein at least a part of each holder strap is stretchable.   
     
     
         2 . The football throwing trainer of  claim 1  wherein each end cap comprises a flexible material and each end cap has two or more spaced apart arms, with the holder straps attached to the arms of the end caps. 
     
     
         3 . The football throwing trainer of  claim 2  wherein each holder strap is attached to an arm by looping it through a strap slot in the arm. 
     
     
         4 . (canceled) 
     
     
         5 . The football throwing trainer of  claim 1  with the first end cap having a central opening, adapted to allow an end of a football in the holder to project through the central opening. 
     
     
         6 . The football throwing trainer of  claim 1  further including a waist belt, with a second end of the tether attached to the waist belt. 
     
     
         7 . The football throwing trainer of  claim 6  with the tether having a non-stretchable section and a stretchable section, the non-stretchable section attached to the first end cap, the stretachable section having a first end and a second end, the first end attached to the non-stretchable section, and the second attached to the belt. 
     
     
         8 . The football throwing trainer of  claim 6  further including a swivel attached to the tether. 
     
     
         9 . The football throwing trainer of  claim 1 , wherein the two or more holder straps are four holder straps, with at least one of the holder straps having an adjustable length. 
     
     
         10 . The football throwing trainer of  claim 9  with at least three of the holder straps permanently attached to the first and second end caps. 
     
     
         11 . The football throwing trainer of  claim 1 , wherein the two or more holder straps are four parallel holder straps, each strap having first and second ends, the first end connected to an arm on the first end cap and the second end connected to an arm on the second end cap. 
     
     
         12 . The football throwing trainer of  claim 1  with each end cap pre-formed into a three dimensional shape having a height that is at least 25% of the width and at least 25% of the length of the end cap. 
     
     
         13 . A football throwing trainer comprising:
 first and second end caps each having three or more spaced apart arms;   a plurality of parallel holder straps connecting the first and second end caps; and   a tether having a first end and a second end, the first end attached to the first end cap via a swivel, the second end attached to a belt,   wherein a first strap slot is formed through a first one of the arms of the first end cap, a second strap slot is formed through a second one of the arms of the first end cap, the two or more holder straps include a first strap and a second strap, the first strap extends through the first strap slot and loops back onto itself, and the second strap extends through the second strap slot and loops back onto itself.   
     
     
         14 . The football throwing trainer of  claim 13  with each end cap comprising a flexible material that has a freestanding three dimensional shape that includes the three or more spaced apart arms. 
     
     
         15 . (canceled) 
     
     
         16 . The football throwing trainer of  claim 13 , wherein a third strap slot is formed through a third one of the arms of the first end cap, a fourth strap slot is formed a fourth one of the arms of the first end cap, the two or more holder straps further include a front holder strap and a back holder strap, the front holder strap and the back holder strap form a single continuous strap that extends through the third strap slot and the fourth strap slot, and the first end of the tether is attached to the single continuous strap, which is attached to the first end cap. 
     
     
         17 . The football throwing trainer of  claim 16 , wherein first end of the tether is attached to the swivel, which is attached to single continuous strap, which is attached to the first end cap. 
     
     
         18 . The football throwing trainer of  claim 1 , wherein each holder strap is a flat web material having an elastic section. 
     
     
         19 . A football throwing trainer comprising:
 a football holder including first and second end caps adapted to fit over the ends of a football, each of the first and second end caps having a freestanding three dimensional shape that includes two or more spaced apart arms that support a central area of the end cap, and football holder further including two or more holder straps, each holder strap respectively connecting one of the arms of the first end cap to one of the arms of the second end cap; and   a tether having a first end attached to the first end cap.   
     
     
         20 . The football throwing trainer of  claim 19 , wherein a first strap slot is formed through one of the arms of the first end cap, a second strap slot is formed through another one of the arms of the first end cap, the two or more holder straps include a first strap and a second strap, the first strap extends through the first strap slot and loops back onto itself, and the second strap extends through the second strap slot and loops back onto itself. 
     
     
         21 . The football throwing trainer of  claim 19 , wherein a strap slot is formed through each arm of the first end cap, the two or more holder straps includes a front holder strap and a back holder strap, the front holder strap and the back holder strap form a single continuous strap that extends through two of the strap slots, and the first end of the tether is attached to the first end cap via the single continuous strap. 
     
     
         22 . The football throwing trainer of  claim 19 , further comprising a waist belt or a wrist cuff, and a second end of the tether is attached to the waist belt or wrist cuff.