Tackling Fundamentals and Safety

It has been stated many times that a defensive teams win games, and the most fundamental part of a defensive team is performing a great tackle. If you, or your players dont take tackling seriously you will not stop the offense and could also cause injuries. Here are three important steps to practice:

First, you need to stop the opponent quickly so make sure to place yourself directly in front of the opponents path. You can do this by placing your foot between your opponents feet. Also, and in coordination with your feet throw your arms back preparing to grab.

Second, push your other foot keeping your knees low and bent, and in sync with your feet throw your hands up hard around the offensive player. As your feet plants your head should be making its first contact. The one golden rule in making a safe tackle is to never, ever lead with or try to tackle with the crown of your head. Tell yourself, or your players to imagine that they are biting the football.

Third, at this point you have successfully grabbed your opponent and all thats left is to lunge your hips forward and bear all of your momentum against your opponent. Setting yourself up for this last step will ultimately prove the success in the tackle.

Angle tackling

Because not every tackle is direct and head on, it is necessary to set up an angle tackling situations during practice. Accomplish this drill in pairs, having one teammate act as the offense, or ball carrier, running in a straight line and the other as the defender coming in at any angle. As the opponent comes toward the defender he will need to adjust his body position and shorten the angle, put his foot in front of the opponent, and make sure that he put his head in front of the opponent. The tackle is completed as the defender wraps his hands tightly around the opponent, straightens his hips and pushes the opponent to the ground or off sides.

Conditioning: Quick step crossing

Reaction is as skill that players need to develop through conditioning and drills. This drill will help players quickly change directions on the field. It starts by placing players in a small four square box. Once a players positions themselves in one of the corners they will proceed to jump from one corner of the area to other in either a patterned function or randomly. Coaches should encourage one foot jumping to increase further strength and reactions on the field.

Strip Tackling

The faster your defense is at getting the ball back into the offensives hands the more likely you are to win a game. Forcing a fumble is one of the quickest ways that you can turn the tides and retain possession of the football. This drill practices with two players. Have the defender move up on the offensive player, trust his arms back and then forward with his fists clenched. The defender will practice stripping the ball by bringing his hands up quickly with a clenched fist to grab the opponent and as he does so to aim to knock out the football. Practice these movements slowly to start muscle memory and to correct bad habits.