Tackling Skills - Part One

As with all skills activities, tackling should be approached with a particular emphasis on safety. At ages 10 to 13 most players should already know the concepts of falling safely, using the knees, hips, elbows and shoulders to land on, and to avoid using the hands to break the fall. AHowever, it is recommended not to take this for granted, but rather go through the excercise and determine skill levels as appropriate.

The front-on tackle is the most common but sometimes the most difficult tackle to make. Players obviously face each other and a mind game can ensue, with some players being beaten in the tackle before they even approach the contact area. It is important to establish a level of confidence in players that proves technique and determination can prevail over size.

For front-on tackling the first drill we have used is to start the tackler on one knee and focus on the bottom of the shorts pockets of the ball carrier. A handy reference point we've found is the manufacturer's logos on the shorts. The ball carrier moves towards the tackler and the tackler makes contact with his or her shoulder at the target. At this point the arms should wrap around the ball carrier's legs and one hand should lock over the wrist of the other hand. Sliding down the ball carrier towards their knees whilst tightening the grip of the arms should effectively bring the ball carrier's legs together and unbalance them. Driving off the lges into the ball carrier should then finish off the tackle and ensure that the tackler ends in the "cheek-to-cheek", i.e. their cheek against the buttock cheek of the ball carrier, with the tackler on top of the ball carrier.

The main difficulty with the front-on tackling drill is that ball carriers tend to stop as they enter the tackle, as opposed to in a game situation where they would try to break through. This means that extra force needs to be applied by the tackler to unbalance the ball carrier.

This should be worked towards both sides of the tacklers body to ensure that tacklers can make the front on tackle regardless of the ball carrier's line of running.

The side-on tackle will find that many players demonstrate a good technique to their favoured side but a tendency to get their heads in the wrong place on their unfavoured side. This is an issue that needs to be reinforced not only for safety reasons.

The side-on tackle uses the same techniques as the front-on tackle, i.e. the target is the same and the lock, grip and slide down are the same. The tackler however has to time their run in order to get their heads behind the legs of the ball carrier and effect a good safe tackle.

The key points to emphasise when approaching the tackle are as follows:

• Low body position - force players to crouch as they approach the tackle.
• Target the thigh - a good reference is the logo on a players shorts, or at the bottom of the shorts pockets.
• Lock the arms, i.e. one hand grabs the wrist of the other hand.
• Slide down the player and tighten the grip. This will force the player's knees to come together and unbalance them.
• Drive the player with the shoulder to help the process.
• Ensure the tackler lands on top of the ball carrier.

As an added technique, the tackler can actually use the ball carrier as leverage to get to their feet quickly and rob the ball. This also slows (temporarily) the ball carrier's ability to get to their feet.

Sometimes it's the smallest techniques and tricks that give players the edge.

Happy tackling.