THIS IS A VERY effective drill that allows all of your players to practice form tackling under the watch of all the coaches at the same time.

It’s also a great drill for teaching the critical fundamentals of tackling.

Running The Drill

Divide your squad evenly into several lines. The first player in each line has a ball and moves out 5 yards from the next player in line. On the coaches’ command, the tackler will walk up to the ball carrier, break down and execute a sound form tackle.

The tackler must execute the following fundamentals on each tackle:
-  The hips should drop.
-  Keep the head and eyes up.
-  Use a good strike.
-  Club the arms up high on the ball carrier.
-  Lock the hands.
-  Follow through by walking the ball carrier back 3 or 4 steps.
-  Drive the ball carrier backward. Do not take him to the ground.

Follow the same procedure all the way through the tackling line. The ball carrier and tackler rotate after each tackle is made.

Once the coaches feel the players have grasped the technique, move the tackler and ball carrier 10 yards apart.
Moving at half speed, have the tackler execute a form tackle using the same procedure as before. Both players are moving toward each other and should meet 5-yards apart. Try and have the tackler beat the ball carrier to the 5-yard stripe.

Angle Work
After the initial tackling drill is complete, proceed to work on angle tackling. The coaches will pre-determine which direction the ball carrier should break.

On the coaches’ command, the ball carrier and tackler move toward each other. Set the players up so that the tackler beats the ball carrier to the 5-yard stripe.

As the ball carrier approaches, the tackler starts chopping his feet. Once the ball carrier gets to the line, he breaks right or left as pre-determined. The tackler must read the cut and execute an angle tackle. Make sure the tackler shoots the head across on the ball and wraps up the carrier.

After this work is complete, divide the squad into three lines and work on executing angle tackles, but this time, let the ball carrier choose which direction he will cut. Do not allow juking or faking, as the purpose of the drill is to  improve the team’s tackling ability.