Patent ID: 7935009

Claim:
A ball lifting, tossing and striking system by which a user can pick up, toss and strike a ball in such a way that the ball does not come in contact with the user's hands, comprising: (a) a ball; and (b) a multi-purpose implement that may be carried by a user in one or both hands, including: (i) a striking implement, including a handle portion and a striking portion, defining a longitudinal axis and including a proximal end and a distal end, (ii) a press-fit ball inlet, arranged in the distal end of the striking implement and oriented perpendicularly to the longitudinal axis of the striking implement, and (iii) a ball outlet, arranged along a side of the striking implement and oriented generally perpendicular to the ball inlet; (c) wherein a user may grasp the handle portion, hold the multi-purpose implement over the ball, when the ball is resting on a surface, in an orientation that is generally perpendicular to a surface, press the ball inlet directly over the ball to receive the ball into the striking implement, and lift the ball from the surface with the striking implement, and without touching the ball with either of the user's hands, toss the ball from the striking implement via the ball outlet such that it may be struck by the striking portion.