The present invention is directed to the field of football holders, and is more specifically directed to a football holder for place-kicking which closely simulates a person holding the football.
Place-kicking plays an important role in the game of football. It is therefore necessary for place-kickers to practice a great deal, in order to attain and maintain proficiency. However, the kicker requires the ball to be held in place he is kicking it for field goal practice. In order to enable the kicker to practice when a person to hold the ball is not available, various football kicking tees and holders have been devised.
One such device is that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,762,706 to Cavett. The Cavett device employs a lever arm pivotally mounted at one corner of a large, rectangular support base. The lever arm is provided with a retaining member for engaging the top surface of the ball, while the base is provided with a removable head on which to position the bottom surface of the ball. Although means are provided to adjust the tension exerted by the lever arm on the football, adjustment is a multi-step process which makes the device difficult to use. Also, the device as a whole is of limited value as the position and small size of the mounting pad allow for only minor angular adjustments of the football, and the requirement of placing the lower end of the football on the base prevents use of the device with a tee or with the ball on the ground or artificial turf, circumstances which are required if real game conditions are to be simulated. Furthermore, because of the relatively large size of the base and the mounting of the lever arm at a corner of the base, the device cannot be used by both left-and right-footed kickers.
Another football holding device is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,546,974 to Brown. This device comprises a base portion, a support structure extending upwardly from the base, and a holding arm. The holding arm is pivotally attached under tension to the support structure. The end of the holding arm is provided with a downwardly projecting, pointed member which engages the seam of the football. As the tension on the holding arm itself is not adjustable, the support structure must be provided with means for adjusting its height, in order to accommodate a football positioned at an angle or to adjust the tension exerted by the holding arm on the football. Moreover, the member projecting into the seam of the football creates a substantial drag on the ball when it is kicked, so that the device cannot simulate actual playing conditions wherein a person lightly holds the football in position with his index finger.
A number of football holding devices have been provided wherein a holding arm is supported by a base and the end of the holding arm is positioned above the base. In these devices, one end of the football is placed o the base and the other end of the football is placed under the holding arm. Such devices are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,049,267 to Forrest, U.S. Pat. No. 4,634,122 to Kline, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,807,880 to Deal. The requirement that one end of the football be placed on the base precludes the use of these devices with the ball engaging the ground or artificial surface.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,897,948 to Gerela also discloses a device wherein a holding arm is supported by a base, but the end of the holding arm extends beyond the base. Although the position of the arm is adjustable, there is no actual mechanism for adjusting the tension exerted by the arm.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,477,077 and 4,632,395 to Ferrebee disclose football holders comprising a base and a series of pivotable arm elements mounted to the base, the outermost arm element of which terminates in a point for engaging one end of the football. Although the extension of the pivotable arm elements beyond the base would permit these devices to be used with a conventional kicking tee, these devices have certain disadvantages. For example, the tension applied to the football by the arm elements is adjusted by varying the positions of the arm elements, which is a complicated and time-consuming procedure. Also, the use of the pointed end to engage the football results in the same undesirable drag on the upper end of the ball as is present in the device of Brown.
In summary, no football holder for place-kicking exists which both simulate the holding action of a real person and eliminates the disadvantages of the prior art devices. It is the solution of these and other problems to which the present invention is directed.