If you’re an athlete or the coach of a youth team, it can be difficult to simulate game conditions or defenders. Who wants to stand in one spot and play the role of living obstruction? None of your friends and none of the kids on your team.

POWERHANDZ has come up with a solution and recently launched the Pop Up Defender. The Pop Up Defender is a compressed, collapsible barrier designed to simulate live defenders during play on the basketball court, football field or soccer pitch. It also contains storage space inside of it to store training gear and is only $34.99.

Here are a few specs:

– 3-foot-5 standing barrier created to mimic a real defender
– Can easily be collapsed to take on the road
– Durable solution to previously used training methods like garbage cans or chairs
– Designed for basketball, football and soccer

On top of all the functionality, the Pop Up Defender is a lot of fun. As the coach of my daughter’s youth league soccer team, we’ve named ours Hope Solo, famed goalie of the U.S. women’s national soccer team. One day, I told my daughter we were going to have a special visitor join us in the backyard for a training session. When she came outside, the Pop Up Defender had donned a Landon Donovan jersey.

I was surprised how lightweight yet sturdy this thing is. The base is filled with some type of synthetic sand material that is heavy enough to keep it in place but light enough to give in case someone runs into it. The hollow interior belies a sturdy frame.

The other thing that really impressed me was how easy it is to transport. At 3-foot-5 inches tall, you’re basically transporting a small child around, which can make for a difficult proposition. But it literally collapses to the diameter of its circular shape (almost like a Slinky) and is easily secured; it’s about as difficult as carrying around a Frisbee in terms of size and weight.

The Pop Up Defender from POWERHANDZ is an awesome gift for anyone in your life into sports training. The company also offers several additional products for specific skill and strength development that are as well-conceived as the Pop Up Defender. Check out the site at powerhandz.com.