Homemade "Blockers"

[Wastelander]

http://i50.tinypic.com/5zjd3o.jpg

Sometimes you have a need for certain training equipment, but don't have the funds to acquire professionally made gear. That was the case with these "blockers" that I made with some PVC pipe, foam pool noodle, contact cement, duct tape, and cloth tape. It was a very simple process--cut the 1" PVC pipe to the desired length, put a small amount of contact cement on it, slide the foam pool noodle onto the pipe, leaving enough pipe left at one end for a handle, then cut the foam off about 2" or 3" past the end of the pipe and use contact cement to fill the hole in the end of the noodle with extra foam. I could have left it that way, but discovered that the foam tended to tear when I grabbed and pulled on it, so I broke out the duct tape. After I wrapped the foam, I decided that the PVC was too slippery and would generate too much static, so I wrapped it with some athletic tape. I already had all of these things sitting around at home, with the exception of the pool noodle, which I purchased at a 99 cent store. After I took this picture, I put a PVC cap on the ends of the handles, too, but you get the idea. All told, each blocker probably cost me about $2 to make, and they may not be pretty but they do work quite well for conditioning and blocking drills!

[sensei8]

Necessity is the mother of every invention!!

I like them, and just as long as they serve the needs of your students, then who cares what they look like. I'm sure I've made my share of home made devices for whatever reason(s).

AWESOME...comes to my mind right now.