Baseball Swing Trainer

A swing trainer comprising:

• a ball pivotally attached to a vertical arm;
• the vertical arm attached to a vertical arm support member which is slidably attached to an oblique arm having a stopping member at a first end and a stopping bar at a second end positioned to limit the slidable travel of the vertical arm a predetermined amount;
• a stopping member backing arm mounted to the oblique arm and positioned behind and contacting the stopping member;
• a first and second guide arm, each attached at a first end to a guide arm support first end, the guide arm support attached at its second end to a second end of the oblique arm;
• each guide arm attached at a second end to the stopping member such that first and second guide arms are positioned to encase the vertical arm throughout its entire length of travel;
• a saddle attached to the first and second guide arms positioned to direct the returning vertical arm to a start position and shaped to effectively create a dead stop;
• the oblique arm pivotally attached at a first end to a second end of a horizontal arm at an effective angle to permit gravitational return of the vertical arm to the start position after the vertical arm slidably traverses the oblique arm;
• and
• a mounting bracket attached to a first end of the horizontal arm for mounting the swing trainer to a support structure;
• the stopping bar attached to a first end of a pair of mounting arms;
• the pair of mounting arms pivotally attached at a second end to the first and second guide arm;
• a first and second spring elastically attaching each mounting arm to the first and second guide arm, respectively;
• such that when the ball is struck, the ball pivots on the vertical arm as the vertical arm support member slides up the oblique arm, striking the stopping bar and thereafter sliding back down the oblique arm to return to the start position.

A method for training a swing comprising the steps of:

• adjusting a ball to a predetermined swing height;
• swinging a bat to strike the ball;
• and
• watching a travel path of the struck ball to gauge swing effectiveness,
• wherein the ball is pivotally attached to a vertical arm;
• the vertical arm is attached to a vertical arm support member which is slidably attached to an oblique arm having a stopping member at a first end and a stopping bar at a second end positioned to limit the slidable travel of the vertical arm a predetermined amount;
• the oblique arm is attached at a first end to a second end of a horizontal arm at an effective angle to permit gravitational return of the vertical arm to a start position after the vertical arm slidably traverses the oblique arm;
• and
• a mounting bracket is attached to a first end of the horizontal arm for mounting the swing trainer to a support structure;
• such that when the ball is struck, the ball pivots on the vertical arm as the vertical arm support member slides up the oblique arm, striking the stopping bar and thereafter sliding back down the oblique arm to return to the start position.