Teaching tackling without live contact

By Chris Booth | Posted 1/27/2016

For years, coaches such as myself taught tackling solely though live contact.

The results might be successful, we’ve learned that doing so have increased the chances of getting players injured.

Following the 2014 season, I changed our methods of teaching for two reasons:

  • Our ability to tackle was not good
  • More importantly, I wanted to reduce the chances of a player to get injured

That spring we purchased five pop-up dummies and four single man sleds. Then last summer we bought a bundle of three of the youth Shadowman tackling system. I can’t say enough about them. Shadowman Sports designs detachable, moving tackling systems that allow athletes to perform full-speed drills and game-like reps without player-to-player contact.

During the preseason, we developed and utilized the following four methods of teaching tackling:

  • Step up and drive through
  • Roll the dummies
  • Pop the sleds
  • Shadowman

SEE ALSO: Shadowman sports partners with USA Football to bring tackling system to U.S. National Teams

Here’s a look at each drill.

  • Step Up and Drive Through. Players are paired up by size with those representing the ball-carriers placed along the 20-yard line. The defenders are two steps in front of them. At the whistle, the defenders attack approach at moderate speed and at contact they thrust their arms upward and grab backside jersey cloth while driving the ball-carrier upward and back. Every player is given reps as a defender and every two reps, the ball-carriers alternate the arm in which they carry the ball.
  • Roll the Dummies. Players are placed in five even rows, 10 yards in front of the pop-up dummies and are to tackle them when it’s their turn. Before the first rep, the players are told which side the ball is on so they know which shoulder to lead with and which side to place their head. They are to lead with the correct shoulder and have their heads up, taking the dummy to the ground during every rep. As soon as the dummy pops up, the next player executes his rep.
  • Pop the Sleds. This drill is just like roll the dummies except an old jersey is placed on each single man sled, which allows each defender to grab cloth while making a tackle.
  • Shadowman. Here, we rotate the players who pull the Shadowman dummies and allow every player to get multiple reps of tackling practice.

During all four methods, every coach evaluates the tackling techniques of our players. Following preseason, we only utilized the Pop the Sleds and Shadowman drills during every practice. At no time during the season did we use any player-on-player tackling drills.

The results are in.

This past season, we tackled better than we have for years. The players’ technique seemed to improve daily.

We became, as coaches of our opponents noted, the most physical team in our conference and finished the season 8-1 and champions of our conference.

All of that is nice, but the most important thing is that during no time during the season did we have a player concussed or suffer from any significant injury while making a tackle during a practice or a game.

We all need to be proactive in taking as much player-no-player contact out of practices. Most programs limit live contact, and we must develop ways to teach this important skill without full-speed live action.

Chris Booth is the head football coach at Peterstown Middle School in West Virginia. He has had four books and nine videos published by Coaches Choice – available here– and will have a youth drill book published later in 2015.

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