These days, it’s getting tougher for coaches to accomplish everything they need to get done with their football teams during preseason practices and training camp. With strict limits on practice days, the number of full-contact practices allowed, scheme installs, conditioning, putting together special teams and skill development by position – it’s often difficult to focus on any one thing as a priority over another. Football coaches just have a lot to accomplish and not enough time to do it.
Tackling, however, is often one of those critical components common to every team that coaches cannot let slip through the cracks of a chock-full day of practice in July and August.
No matter how brilliant your defensive scheme or how thorough the scouting report is on an opponent, if your defenders suffer from the dreaded disease of poor tackling, you’re going to have a tough time getting opposing offenses off the field. Inevitably, sloppy tackling results in losing the time-of-possession battle, starting with poor field-position on a regular basis, and worst of all, giving up too many points.
With an emphasis on player safety and a philosophical change in the way that football coaches approach tackling – taking good pursuit angles, instilling discipline into defenders and emphasizing proper form-tackling over making ‘the big hit’ – today’s teaching techniques as it pertains to tackling are better than ever.
Championship Productions offers football coaches at all levels a wide array of coaching videos that cover the art of tackling and different teaching techniques to improve the way coaches teach and practice tackling.
A category search of ‘Tackling’ on ChampionshipProductions.com’s search tool at the top of the football page reveals hundreds of coaching videos that includes in-depth, instructional information on improving your defensive approach to tackling.
Below shows an informative look at some of these highly valuable tackling videos and provides informative video clips to help arm you with good practice drills, coaching pointers and philosophical defensive insights to improve your team’s ability to tackle.
The Shoulder Leverage Tackling Method by Mike Alexander
Often called ‘Hawk Tackling,’ a tackling technique famously used and promoted by former Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll, in this video, Mike Alexander shows you the ins and outs of his Shoulder Leverage Tackling Method – and provides useful drills, teaching points and a full explanation on why this game-tested approach to tackling works especially well for his team and the type of players he has on his roster.
Fundamental and Advanced Techniques for Blow Delivery and Rugby Style Tackling by Jay Niemann
Rugby style tackling has become an extremely popular tackling technique taught by coaches around the country. Promoted as a safe and sound tackling technique, in this video, Jay Niemann, covers all the skill techniques and drills that Rutgers University used when training Rugby Style Tackling.
Coach Niemann teaches a tackling progression for Rugby Tackling that begins on the knees and focuses on blow delivery and wrapping a ball carrier up, as well as how they train players to take on blockers and disengage to make tackles. He also covers body posture and stance for all positions and a myriad of drills that reinforce proper technique within his defensive scheme.
Next Level Training: Mastering Open Field and Leverage Tackling by Donovan Darius
With an emphasis on keeping players safe, while utilizing rock-solid tackling techniques that train defenders to become become sure productive tacklers, Donovan Darius provides keen insight that helps improve players immediately while developing a high I.Q. for defensive football.
Coach Darius knows a thing or two about being a great tackler himself. The former defensive back for the Jacksonville Jaguars, who was a first-round NFL draft pick (25th overall) and a member of the 1998 NFL All Rookie Team. The 1997 Big East Defensive Player of the Year and 2-time All Big East selection at Syracuse University covers critical tackling information such as: point of contact, leverage tackling, open-field tackling and also offers up some terrific tackling drills.
Tackling and Pursuit Drills for Championship Defense by Rick Stewart
Rick Stewart, a best-selling football-coaching video author put together an extremely valuable instructional video that loaded with positional and team tackling drills, as well as situational tackling technique and tackling circuit drills to keep your practices fast-moving, efficient and productive.
Not only does Coach Stewart utilize a combination of white-board presentations and on-the-field demonstrations, but he’ll showcase his best tackling techniques by position group and also show you how to build a day-by-day schedule that incorporates plenty of tackling work into early season and regular season practices.
Tackling and Takaway Drills by Chad Stoner
If you have a defense that possesses sure-tackling defenders and also forces turnovers – then you’re most-likely going to be a highly competitive team with a shot to win every game.
Chad Stoner showcases a variety of tackling and turnover-forcing drills in this best-selling tackling video. In the following video clip, Coach Stoner shows off his ‘2nd-Man-In Drill, which is reliant upon a defender wrapping up a ball carrier while using proper technique and a second, pursuing defender who tries to visually spot the ball and attempts to strip the football while using a number of forceful, ball-stripping actions – such as a club, rip or punch.
Drills and Progressions for Building Safe and Physical Tacklers – by Steve Fex
It’s important to remember that when teaching proper and safe tackling technique, just because it features the word ‘safe’ – that doesn’t mean you’re advocating a passive style of defense. To the contrary, the key when it comes to tackling, is that your defenders stay aggressive and play ferociously, all while demonstrating sound, fundamentally solid tackling technique.
In this video clip, Steve Fex showcases his ‘Shimmy-On-The-Man Drill.’
Tackling Fundamentals & Drills for Defensive Backs by Chris Ash
One of the biggest misconceptions is that highly skilled, fast coverage guys in the secondary usually aren’t good tacklers. Even worse, how many secondary defenders have you seen who have a reputation for being a ‘big hitter’ – play undisciplined and whiff on a tackle while trying to add a big hit to their highlight reel?
Chris Ash showcases a complete training regimen that’s designed to get defensive backs proper training and lots of practice reps to work on becoming better tacklers. In the film clip below, you’ll see several of the tried-and-true drills Coach Ash utilizes to train his own defensive backs.
This is just a small sample of the terrific tackling information that football coaches can find in Championship Productions’ massive library of instructional coaching videos (Instant Video or DVDs) that feature tackling drills and training programs to help your players become better tacklers.
