Patent Publication Number: US-11660517-B2

Title: Hockey faceoff training device with dual-purpose support posts, retractable grip spikes, inline spring joint and gripping cavities

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to training devices for athletes, and more particularly to a face-off training device for hockey players. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Applicant&#39;s prior U.S. Pat. No. 10,272,311 and corresponding Canadian Patent No. 2,953,597 both disclose a hockey faceoff training device, the illustrated embodiments of which were based on early prototypes of the device to which numerous improvements and modifications have since been made, preferred embodiments of which are disclosed herein below. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a hockey faceoff training device comprising: 
     a base for placement in a seated position atop an underlying playing surface, said base having an underside that faces said playing surface in said seated position and an opposing topside that faces upwardly away from said playing surface in said seated position; 
     one or more support posts attached or attachable to said base in a position standing upright therefrom over which disc weights are lowerable into stacked condition atop the base to weigh down said base in the seated position atop the underlying playing surface; 
     a connector removably attached or attachable to said one or more support posts at top ends thereof; and 
     an impact member coupled to said connector via a moveable joint, said impact member having a proximal end adjacent said connector and an opposing distal end opposite said connector; 
     wherein said impact member is biased into a default position extending downwardly from the connector and placing the distal end of the impact member in contact or adjacency to the playing surface, and the impact member, by way of the movable joint, is movable in one or more directions lifting said distal end of the impact member upwardly away from said playing surface. 
     According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a hockey faceoff training device comprising: 
     a support structure positioned or positionable in a position standing upright from a playing surface; 
     an impact member having a proximal end supported, or arranged for support, on the support structure by a moveable joint at an elevated distance above said playing surface; 
     wherein:
         said impact member is biased into a default position extending downwardly from the connector and placing the distal end of the impact member in contact or adjacency to the playing surface;   the impact member, by way of the movable joint, is movable in one or more directions lifting said distal end of the impact member upwardly away from said playing surface; and   said movable joint comprises a coil spring and/or resiliently flexible rod that, in the default position of the impact member, resides in an unflexed default linear spanning along a linear axis in an in-line relationship with the proximal end of the impact member.       

     According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided a hockey faceoff training device comprising: 
     a base for placement in a seated position atop an underlying playing surface, said base having an underside that faces said playing surface in said seated position and an opposing topside that faces upwardly away from said playing surface in said seated position; 
     an impact member having a proximal end supported, or arranged for support, by a moveable joint at an elevated distance above said base and an opposing distal end opposite said proximal end; 
     wherein:
         said impact member is biased into a default position extending downwardly from the connector and placing the distal end of the impact member in contact or adjacency to the playing surface;   the impact member, by way of the movable joint, is movable in one or more directions lifting said distal end of the impact member upwardly away from said playing surface; and   the base comprises deployable and retractable grip spikes movable between deployed positions of downwardly protruding relation to the underside of the base, and retracted positions of non-protruding relation to the underside of the base.       

     According to a fourth aspect of the invention, there is provided a hockey faceoff training device comprising: 
     a base for placement in a seated position atop an underlying playing surface, said base having an underside that faces said playing surface in said seated position and an opposing topside that faces upwardly away from said playing surface in said seated position; 
     one or more support posts attached or attachable to said base in a position standing upright therefrom over which disc weights are lowerable into stacked condition atop the base to weigh down said base in the seated position atop the underlying playing surface; 
     an impact member having a proximal end supported, or arranged for support, by a moveable joint at an elevated distance above said base and an opposing distal end opposite said proximal end; 
     wherein:
         said impact member is biased into a default position extending downwardly from the connector and placing the distal end of the impact member in contact or adjacency to the playing surface;   the impact member, by way of the movable joint, is movable in one or more directions lifting said distal end of the impact member upwardly away from said playing surface; and       

     the topside of the base, at one or more locations situated around each support post, comprises one or more recessed access cavities to accommodate a user&#39;s fingers during placement or removal of said disc weights onto or from said base. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       One embodiment of the invention will now be described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which: 
         FIG.  1    is a perspective view of a hockey faceoff training device of the present invention. 
         FIG.  2    is a front elevational view of the hockey faceoff training device. 
         FIG.  3    is a rear elevational view of the hockey faceoff training device. 
         FIG.  4    is a top plan view of the hockey faceoff training device. 
         FIG.  5    is a bottom plan view of the hockey faceoff training device. 
         FIG.  6    is a side elevational view of the hockey faceoff training device with an impact member thereof spring biased into a default position ready for impact by a practicing athlete&#39;s hockey stick. 
         FIG.  7    is another side elevational view of the hockey faceoff training device, but showing the impact member pivoted upward from the default position under impact by the hockey stick. 
         FIG.  8    is a partially exploded view of the hockey faceoff training device, illustrating stacked placement of disc weights atop a base thereof to weigh down base and help hold the training device stationary during use. 
         FIG.  9 A  is a side elevational view of the hockey faceoff training device with a joint-concealing cover thereof removed to illustrate internal components of a spring-loaded joint by which the impact member is movably supported. 
         FIG.  9 B  is a partially exploded side elevational view of the hockey faceoff training device better revealing the internal joint components of  FIG.  9 A . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The hockey faceoff training device  10  of the preferred embodiment shown in the drawings features a base  12  for placement in a horizontally seated position atop a playing surface  100 , a support structure  14  featuring two rigid support posts  16  standing vertically upright from the base  12 , a Y-shaped connector  18  connected to the rigid support posts  16  at top ends thereof furthest from the base  12 , and an impact member  20  having a proximal end  20 A movably coupled to the connector  18  by a movable joint  22  that allows an opposing distal end  20 B of the impact member to movable, at least upwardly and downwardly, relative to the playing surface  100  atop which the base is seated. 
     The base  12  has a planar underside  12 A that faces toward and lies in parallel relationship to the playing surface  100 , whether this playing surface is a sheet of hockey ice, an indoor floor or an outdoor ground surface at which an athlete wishes to perform faceoff training with the device. A topside  12 B of the base  12  resides oppositely of the planar underside, and thus faces upwardly away from the underlying playing surface  100  on which the base is seated. An outer periphery  12 C of the base  12  is 8-shaped in plan view, whereby the overall shape of the base in plan view is composed of two circular lobes  24  interconnected by a central neck  26 . The central neck  26  joins together the two lobes  24  and is of reduced width relative to the diameter possessed by the two equally-sized lobes  24 . Each of the two rigid support posts  16  stands vertically upright from the topside  12 B of the base at a center point of a respective one of the circular lobes  24 . At each lobe  24 , the topside  12 B of the base features a planar resting surface  28  residing in an uppermost plane of the base that lies normal to the upright axes of the two rigid support posts  16 . 
     For the most part, an outer perimeter  28 A of the resting surface  28  of each lobe  24  follows a concentric circular path around the respective support post  16  at a uniform radial distance outward therefrom. However, in the illustrated embodiment, the outer perimeter  28 A of the resting surface  28  deviates from this circular path at two diametrically opposite locations, where the resting surface&#39;s outer perimeter  28 A is recessed radially inward form the remaining circular majority of this outer perimeter. This creates a pair of access cavities  30  that reside oppositely of one another across the center point of the respective lobe  24  of the base. At each access cavity  30 , the topside  12 B of the base is recessed vertically downward from the resting surface  28 , thereby creating a cavity floor  30 A that of lesser elevation than the resting surface  28 . The purpose of these access cavities  30  is explained herein further below. 
     The connector  18  has two angularly separated arms  32  joined together at a stem  34  of the connector&#39;s Y-shape. The two arms  32  are of convergent relation to one another in a direction moving toward said stem  34 , and divergent relation to one another in the opposing direction moving away from said stem  34  toward the support posts  16 . The connector thus possesses a greatest width at a mounting end  18 A thereof at which free ends of the two arms  32  are removably mounted atop the two support posts  16 , and a smallest width at the stem  34  that defines an opposing support end  18 B of the connector where the two arms  32  are joined together at the to cooperatively support the impact member  20  via the movable joint  22 . 
     For supporting the connector  18  atop the support posts  16 , the free ends of the two arms  32  at the mounting end  18 A of the connector feature hollow mounting bores that open upwardly into the arms from the undersides thereof, and that have a sufficient diameter to accommodate receipt of the top ends of the support posts  16  within these mounting bores. These mounting bores at the free ends of the arms thus define attachment points by which the connector is removably attachable to the support posts  16 . In the illustrated embodiment, a lowermost portion of a boundary wall that delimits each mounting bore is of reduced thickness relative to a thicker upper portion of the boundary wall that surrounds the uppermost tip of the respective support post. This lowermost portion of the boundary wall is also axially split at one or more locations around the wall, whereby the reduced thickness and axially split character of the lowermost portion of the boundary wall cooperatively impart a flexibility thereto by which this lowermost portion can be selectively constricted and relaxed to clamp and release the arm  32  of the connector  18  to and from the respective support post  16 . A respective securement clamp  36  is fitted around this lowermost boundary wall portion of each arm  32  of the connector  18 , and is manually actuable between a tightened clamping state constricting the lowermost boundary wall portion, and a loosened release state relaxing the lowermost boundary wall portion. 
     Actuation of the securement clamp  36  into the tightened clamping state when the top end of the respective support post  16  is received in the hollow mounting bore of the arm  32  thus frictionally clamps the lowermost boundary wall portion tight against the support post. This helps prevent inadvertent separation of the removable connector  18  from the support posts  16  during use of the training device  10 . In the illustrated embodiment, each securement clamp  36  is a quick-release skewer clamp of the type commonly used on removable bicycle wheels and bicycle seats, which is manually operable in tool-free fashion to enable quick assembly and disassembly of the training device  10 . When the connector  18  is mounted and clamped to the support posts  16 , the installed position of the connector  18  reaches outward from the shared vertical plane of the two support posts  16  to a front side of the device  10 . This places the support end  18 B of the connector outwardly past the periphery of the base  12  in this forward direction to a location overlying the playing surface  100 . Here, the support end  18 B of the connector resides at an elevation that is spaced above the playing surface  100 , and that exceeds the elevation of the topside  12 B of the base  12 . As shown, the elevation of the support end  18 B of the connector  18  may optionally be slightly lower than the top ends of the support posts  16 , and thus also slightly lower than the mounting end  18 A of the connector that is mounted atop the support posts. 
     The impact member  20  is of elongated shape whose length, as measured between the proximal and distal ends  20 A,  20 B thereof, notably exceeds its width and thickness, which are more comparably equal to one another. A proximal portion  38  of the impact member  20  that embodies the proximal end  20 A thereof spans a respective linear distance from the movable joint  22 , and thereby denotes a first fractional portion of the impact member&#39;s overall length. A distal portion  40  of the impact member  40  that embodies the distal end  20 B thereof is integrally connected to the proximal portion  38 , and spans a linear distance therefrom that denotes a second, and optionally shorter, remaining fractional portion of the impact member&#39;s overall length. The respective linear axes A p , A d  of the proximal and distal portions reside at a small acute angle to one another, whereby they collectively resemble to the angularly distinct shaft and blade sections of the lower part of a hockey stick. In a normal default position of the impact member, the proximal portion  38  thereof extends downward from the movable joint  22  toward the playing surface  100  at a relatively steep oblique angle thereto, and stops short of the playing surface  100 . The distal portion  40  continues downward from the proximal portion  38  toward the playing surface, but at a more subtle (i.e. less steep) oblique angle thereto. 
     With reference to  FIGS.  9 A and  9 B , the movable joint in the illustrated embodiment is a multi-piece assembly comprising an top end fitting  42  coupled to the support end  18 B of the Y-shaped connector  18 , a bottom end fitting  44  coupled to the proximal end  20 A of the impact member  20 , a resilient rod  46  formed or rubber or other resiliently flexible material, and a coil spring  48 . Each end fitting  42 ,  44  is made of metal, rigid plastic or other non-flexible material, and features a tubular body  42 A,  44 A having a cylindrical through-bore sized to accept axial insertion of the resilient rod  46  therethrough. Somewhere between the two ends of the tubular body, each end fitting  42 ,  44  has an enlarged stop flange  42 B,  44 B that projects from the tubular body and span circumferentially therearound. The stop flange  42 B,  44 B of each fitting  42 ,  44  serves to limit how far the end fitting is insertable into a hollow interior of the respective one of either the support end  18 B of the Y-shaped connector  18  or the proximal end  20 A of the impact member  20 . An insertion portion of the tubular member  42 A,  44 A on one side of the stop flange has a pair of cross-bores  42 C,  44 C therein that, when the end fitting is in its installed position of maximum insertion into the respective one of either the Y-shaped connector  18  or the impact member  20 , aligns with a matching pair of cross-bores therein. 
     In the fully inserted and fastened position of each fitting  42 ,  44 , a protruding portion of the tubular member  42 A,  44 A on the other side of the stop flange remains outside the hollow end of the respective one of either the Y-shaped connector  18  or the impact member  20 . The protruding portion of the tubular member  42 A,  44 A of each fitting  42 ,  44  is received within the hollow center of the coil spring  48  at a respective end thereof, and the end of the spring  48  is preferably secured, for example by welding, to the fitting&#39;s stop flange  42 B,  44 B. The resilient rod  46  has an axial length exceeding that of the coil spring  48 , and long enough to span from the hollow interior of the insertion portion of one end fitting  42  to the hollow interior of the insertion portion of the other end fitting  44 . Near each of its ends, the resilient rod  46  has a pair of diametric cross-bores therein that align with both the cross-bores in the insertion portion of the respective fitting, and the matching cross-bores in the respective one of either the Y-shaped support  18  or the impact member  20 . Via the sets of aligned cross-bores  42 ,  44 , the two end fittings and the two ends of the resilient rod are respectively fastenable to the Y-shaped support  18  and the impact member, for example using bolts  43  or pins passed through these aligned bores. Though the illustrated embodiment uses a pair of adjacent bores at each fastening location for improved fastening strength and/or failure redundancy purposes, a singular bore for accepting a singular fastener may alternatively suffice. 
     Referring to the assembled state of the movable joint  22  in  FIG.  9 A , the resilient rod  46  connects the Y-shaped support  18  and the impact member  20  together, and in doing so spans across a gap space between the two end fittings  42 ,  44 . The flexibility of the rod  46  allows movement of the impact member  20  in multiple directions relative to the Y-shaped support  18 . The coil spring  48  spiralling externally around the flexible rod  46 , and round the protruding portions of the end fittings, can likewise flex in multiple directions, thus likewise permitting such multi-directional movement of the impact member relative to the Y-shaped support. The resiliently flexible nature of both the resilient rod  46  and the coil spring  48  serve to automatically return the impact member to a normal default position. 
     An early prototype using a compression spring was found to impart less stiffness to the movable joint  22  than a later prototype using a tension spring, whose greater stiffness provided greater user-resistance to movement of the impact member, and faster return of the impact member to the normal default position. Though the tension spring was preferred, both options are possible, and selection of the spring type (compression vs. tension), spring coil quantity, and/or other parameters of the spring may be left to a matter of preference. The combination of both the spring and the resilient rubber rod is preferred, where the inclusion of the resilient rod is believed to help with impact absorption and vibration damping vs. use of the spring alone, while the coil spring is believed to impart a faster more reliable snapping of the of the impact member  20  back into a properly centered default position vs. use of the resilient rod  46  alone. That being said, alternate embodiments may include spring-only joints lacking a resilient internal rod running axially through the spring, and rod-only joints lacking a coil spring spiraling externally around the resilient rod. 
     Via the movable joint  22 , the forwardly and downwardly angled impact member  20  can swing upwardly and downwardly relative to the playing surface  100 , thus allowing a training athlete to use the blade of their hockey stick  101  to lift the distal end  20 B of the impact member  20  from a normal default position that touches, or is at least closely adjacent to, the playing surface  100 . Such movement of the impact member&#39;s distal end  20 B between the normal default position and a lifted position can be seen through comparison of  FIG.  6    (normal default position) and  FIG.  7    (lifted position). On top of gravitational resistance to such stick-performed lifting of the impact member  20 , the movable joint  22  of the illustrated embodiment adds additional resistance through inclusion of the resilient rod  46  and coil spring  48 . For safety purposes, or other motivated reason to conceal the moving internal parts of the movable joint  22 , a flexible cover  22 A, for example in the form of an accordion pleated sleeve, may be used as shown to circumferentially encompass the spring  48 , the rod  46  and the fittings  42 ,  44 , and may span a full axial length of the joint from the proximal end  20 A of the impact member  20  to the support end  18 B of the connector  18 . 
     In the normal default position of the impact member  20 , the rod  46  and coil spring  48  are in default linear states in which their coincident central axes A r , A c  are linear, and reside coincidently parallel with the proximal axis of the impact member and with a matching stem axis A s  of the connector&#39;s stem, all within a default vertical plane P d  normally occupied by the axes of the impact member  20 . This default vertical plane bisects the Y-shape of the connector  18 , and is oriented normal to a vertical reference plane P r  that contains the two support posts  16 . The rod  46  and spring  48  thus reside in-line with both the stem  34  of the connector  18  and the proximal portion  38  of the impact member when the impact member is in the normal default position and the rod and spring are in their corresponding default linear states. Lifting of the impact member  20  by the athlete&#39;s hockey stick flexes the rod  46  and coil spring  48  out of their default linear states, thus providing resistance to such movement of the impact member. On removal of the hockey stick&#39;s lifting force, the natural tendencies of the rod  46  and spring  48  to return to their default linear states will bias the impact member  20  back into its corresponding default position, placing the distal end  20 B thereof into contact, or close adjacency, to the playing surface  100 . Likewise, knocking of the impact member sideways by the athlete&#39;s hockey stick acts to swing the impact member laterally out of its default vertical plane, thus again flexing the rod  46  and coil spring  48  out of their default linear states and thereby causing resistance to such movement, until the lateral hockey stick force is removed, whereupon the natural return tendencies of the rod and spring again bias the impact member back into its default vertical plane. Any stick action tending to angularly rotate the impact member about its proximal axis will impart a twisting action on the rod  46  and coil spring  48 , again creating resistance to such movement, and the natural tendencies of the rod and spring to the return to their default untwisted states will subsequently return the impact member to is normal angular orientation about its proximal axis once the rotation-imparting stick force is removed.  FIG.  8    illustrates use of disc weights  102  placed on the resting surfaces  28  of the base in order to stabilize the base in a stationary position by weighing it down against the support surface  100 . To enable placement and removal of disc weights  102  onto and from the topside of the base, the securement clamps  36  are released and the connector  18  is lifted off the support posts  16 . The disc weights  102  are stackable on the base  12  by sliding a central axial opening  102 A of each disc weight over one of the support posts  16 . Each support post  16  is of slightly lesser diameter than the axial opening  102 A in each of the disc weights  102 . A respective stack of weights  102  can be placed over each support post  16 , and a bottom face of the lowermost disc weight  102  in each stack rests on the resting surface  28  of the respective lobe  24  of the base  12 , and covers a full or substantially full area of this resting surface  28 . Below the resting surface  28 , the access cavities  30  remain unoccupied by any disc weight that is being placed, or is already sitting, on the resting surface  28 . Therefore, the fingers of a user&#39;s hand being used to grip the outer edge of the disc weight  102  at a respective side thereof can be accommodated in each access cavity  30  during both placement and removal of disc weights  102  onto and from the base  12 . The disc weights  102  increase the overall effective weight of the base  12  to help retain a stationary state thereof on playing surface  100  during use of the device  10 . 
     Once one or more disc weights  102  have been stacked atop the base  12 , the connector  18  is placed atop the support posts  16  and secured thereto by tightening of the securement clamps  36 . The support ports  16  are preferably removable from the base  12  for optimal collapse the size of the device for compact storage or transport when not in use. For such purpose, the bottom ends of the support posts  16  may be externally threaded for mating with an internally threaded coupler provided on the base at the center point of each lobe  24 . This way, the base  12 , support posts  16 , and connector  18  may all be disassembled from one another to allow optimally compact storage or transport of the device  10 , for example with the removed support posts  16  and removed connector  18  laid down alongside or atop the base  12 . 
     The illustrated embodiment of the present invention makes use of the same support posts  16  both to keep the stacked disc weights  102  in place atop the base  12 , and to form part of the support structure  14  by which the proximal end  20 A of the impact member  20  is movably supported at a spaced elevation above the base and playing surface. This denotes one improvement over Applicant&#39;s prior U.S. and Canadian patents cited above. The novel design of the movable joint also represents a more elegant solution that the hinge-joint and spring setup shown in the illustrated embodiment of Applicant&#39;s said prior patents. While the illustrated embodiment features two support posts  16 , a base sufficiently sized to accommodate two respective stacks of disc weights  102 , and a Y-shaped connector  18  suitably shaped to mount atop both support posts  16  such that swivelling of the connector  18  about the upright axis of either support post is prevented, other embodiments could employ only a singular support post  16  and a differently shaped connector  18 , provided that a suitable means for preventing swivel of the connector relative to the singular support post is included in such variants. 
     To better hold the base  12  stationary on at least some types of playing surface  100 , a set of selectively deployable/retractable grip spikes  50  are provided on the base. Each grip spike  50  is movable into and out of a deployed position protruding downwardly from the underside  12 A of the base  12  (as shown in the drawings) so that bottom tips of the spikes  50  engage into the playing surface  100 . In a retracted position, the spike  50  does not protrude beyond the underside  12 A. This way, the user can select whether or not to deploy the grip spikes  50  depending on whether the playing surface is of a type penetrable by such spikes, and if so, whether the playing surface is one that is irrevocably damaged by such penetration of the playing surface. 
     In the illustrated example, each spike  50  is individually actuated for movement between its two positions, though other embodiments may alternatively employ a shared deployment/retraction mechanism. Each spike  50  comprises an externally threaded body received in a correspondingly threaded through-bore  51  of the base  12 , whereby rotation of the spike  50  in opposing directions within said threaded bore  51  axially displaces the spike in opposing upward and downward directions. Each spike has a driving head  50 A at the top end of its threaded body, and a tool-engageable female feature in the top of the driving head  50 A. Using this female feature, the driving head  50 A is engageable by a the male working tip of a suitable driving tool  52  through the open top end of the threaded bore at the topside of the base, thus enabling tool driven rotation of the spike to actuate the linear displacement thereof between the deployed and retracted positions. In the illustrated example, the tool-engageable female feature in the driving head of each spike is a hexagonal cavity, and the driving tool  52  is an L-shaped hex key, though other feature shapes and tool types may alternatively be employed. While typically one would use a male-tipped tool to drive a female feature on the spike head, a female tipped tool (socket) may alternatively be used to engage externally over a suitably shaped head of the spike. 
     In the illustrated embodiment, each lobe of the base  12  features three spikes  50  disposed in three respective through-bores that penetrate the seating surface  28  at a same radial distance outward from the respective support post  16  at uniformly spaced positions therearound. Positioned in the seating surfaces  28  that are occupied by the disc weights  102  when stacked atop the base  12 , the spike-containing through-bores  51 , and thus the driving heads  50 A of the spikes  50  contained therein, are covered by the disc weights  102  when stacked atop the base. Likewise, a tool cavity  54  that is recessed downwardly into the seating surface  28  of one of the lobes  24  of the base  12  for storage of the driving tool  52  therein is situated at a location that is covered by one of the disc weights  102  when stacked atop the base. Accordingly, the user cannot access the spikes  50  or the driving tool  52  in order to change the positions off the spikes, unless the weights  102  have been removed. This way, the user must remove the disc weights before the spikes can be retracted, thus encouraging the user to remove the weights before attempting to move the device from the playing surface to a storage location or into a transport vehicle, presuming that the user does want to incur spike-induced surface damage to said storage location or transport vehicle. To provide some frictional resistance to sliding of the base  12  along the playing surface even when the spikes  50  are not deployed, the underside  12 A of the base  12  preferably includes frictional pads or feet  56 , for example formed of a resilient rubber material. When such frictional pads or feet  56  are included, the deployed positions of the grip spikes protrude beyond the lowermost plane of these pads or feet to ensure engagement with the playing surface. 
     PARTS LEGEND 
     
         
         training device  10   
         base  12   
         underside  12 A 
         topside  12 B 
         outer periphery  12 C 
         support structure  14   
         rigid support posts  16   
         Y-shaped connector  18   
         impact member  20   
         proximal end  20 A 
         distal end  20 B 
         movable joint  22   
         circular lobes  24   
         central neck  26   
         resting surface  28   
         access cavity  30   
         cavity floor  30 A 
         connector arms  32   
         connector stem/vertex  34   
         securement clamp  36   
         impact member proximal portion  38   
         impact member distal portion  40   
         end fittings  42 ,  44   
         bolts  43   
         resilient rod  46   
         coil spring  48   
         spikes  50   
         tool  52   
         tool cavity  54   
         pads/feet  56   
         playing surface  100   
         hockey stick  101   
         disc weights  102   
         disc weight opening  102 A 
       
    
     Since various modifications can be made in my invention as herein above described, and many apparently widely different embodiments of same made, it is intended that all matter contained in the accompanying specification shall be interpreted as illustrative only and not in a limiting sense.