Quote:
Originally Posted by Duck  What sort of devices?
How were they used?
What was the intended purpose?
What was the result? |
we tried this a few years ago in a training session [can't remember if it was NZ team or a provincial team]
we used aqua-jogging belts and vests
worn the same way the aqua-jogging folk were using them
purpose was two-fold - make training tougher as it would be harder to get to bottom of pool and stay there/play with added bouyancy and to create an unorthodox situation for players to deal with - training games sometimes get stale and routine, so shocking the system mentally and physically makes players concentrate on basic skills and timing again.
result: physical and mental shock was achieved, but aqua jogging belts made most guys unable to bend at the waist, the vests were far too bouyant for some of the younger/lighter guys to be able to get to the bottom [only a 2.0m pool]
experiment was amusing to participants and spectators for about 5 minutes, then abandoned after another 10.
conclusion - less bouyant vests might work better.
perhaps using electrical tape to somehow strap a kick-board to the chest might work? assuming that i can determine a method of fixing that allows players to still bend at the waist and turn etc. i might have to perform a little surgery on some kick-boards.