Some I’ve seen for soccer that I think are good:

- Defensive line tied so they move as a block.
- Tennis ball for juggling.
- 2kg Weights to train dribble speed (Cristiano Ronaldo).

Dan: This post has sparked a follow-up on my blog: http://www.helpingyouharmonise.com/gadget

Please take that as a compliment! You are giving us all some great ideas to think with. (I must remember also to thank the guy who recommended your book to me.)

I frequently like to turn all lights off and play piano in a very dark room. I find it helpful in many ways – it helps me relax and really hear / feel the music, it clearly yet gently brings out how much I’ve internalized the music of the piece. At a recent class recital however, everything seemed so damned bright! Haha! It was weird. I made it through after flubbing one small part, but next time, I’m definitely doing final practice sessions in a setting that emulates the performance environment more, as it’s unlikely they will oblige me by turning all lights off.

So, I guess I have mixed feelings about the subject. The idea of a gadget gently coaxing the body to train itself to compensate for certain factors is intriguing. An external device “forcing” some contrived repetitive action strikes me as ill-conceived.

To “liz garnett”: Yeah! Agreed: The “brrr” singing exercise is the best ever ever! And no gizmo needed to strap to your body.

Here’s a great gadget: “Relax”.

We call it ‘bubbling’ – also known as the lip trill – i.e. singing to a continuous ‘brrrr’ made with the lips (not with the tongue). It does a lot of things at once, both technical and musical:
– it forces the singer to supply an effective airflow to fuel the voice
– it reduces tension in the face and jaw
– it brings resonance forward
– it requires singers to conceptualise the music in terms of melodic phrase rather than content of lyrics
– it makes the singers listen harder to each other in order to keep together

I have also found that the need to demonstrate the technique keeps me challenged!

Nice post. Those goggles can be found in retail sporting goods stores. I have two gadgets I like to use with my QB clients:

1. When I have clients who get flat footed in the pocket, I make them wear a gadget that was intended as an aide in catching the football with the fingertips. The gadget is a tiny tennis ball with an elastic strap. I make QBs wear on the bottom of their feet toward the heel. That way they know when their heel strikes the ground.

2. The other tool I use is also for QB pocket awareness and is called “The Blocker”, used in boxing. It is a 24″ stick with a soft foam pad at the end. I use it to hit QBs during throwing drills and pocket drills. Since we don’t hit QBs during training, this helps them block out distractions when throwing.