Objective
Build a safe, repeatable tackle with the head up and out of contact, leading with the shoulder, wrapping at the hips and finishing on the ground under control.
Setup
Area
A 10 x 10 yard grid per group, flat and soft ground or turf
Players
Groups of 4–6 working in pairs
Equipment
Tackling rings or tube dummies, Stand-up dummies or hand shields, Soft mats if available, Cones for the grid
Duration
12–15 minutes, about 3 minutes per stage
How it works
- 1
Stage 1: breakdown
Players sprint 5 yards toward a cone and chop their feet into a breakdown: feet shoulder-width apart, knees bent, hips low, chest over the knees, eyes up and hands ready. Hold it for two seconds on the coach's call. This is the athletic position every tackle starts from.
- 2
Stage 2: near foot, near shoulder
From a breakdown 2 yards from a partner holding a hand shield at his hip, the tackler steps with his near foot to the side the ball carrier is on and fits his near shoulder into the pad. The head goes across the front and to the side, never into the pad. Walk it, then jog it.
- 3
Stage 3: shoulder tackle on the dummy
Against a stand-up dummy 3 yards away, the tackler closes, breaks down, drives the near shoulder into the thigh-to-hip area, wraps both arms around the back of the dummy and squeezes. The feet keep running through contact for three steps. No one leaves his feet.
- 4
Stage 4: hip-level wrap and roll
On a tackling ring or tube dummy, the tackler fits at hip level, wraps, and rolls to the ball carrier's side, turning the fall so the tackler lands on the far hip and the dummy goes down with him. On mats this teaches a controlled finish without a player ever landing on his head or neck.
- 5
Controlled live finish
Older groups only: the ball carrier jogs straight at half speed between two cones 5 yards apart and the tackler finishes with a thud (full fit and wrap, no one taken to the ground). Add speed and angle only after the group shows the technique consistently.
Coaching points
Eyes up through contact: a player who can see the ball carrier's numbers cannot have his head down.
Aim the shoulder at the thigh or hip area, not the chest; lower contact means less upper-body collision and a better grip.
Keep the feet moving until the whistle; most failed wraps happen when the tackler stops and reaches.
Shorten the distance before adding speed: closing 2–3 yards with control beats sprinting 10 yards into a collision.
Variations
Angle tackle
Put the ball carrier on a 45-degree path toward a cone. The tackler takes a pursuit angle, keeps his head behind the runner's hip (on the back side), and makes a near-shoulder tackle with the far arm wrapping.
Tackle circuit
Set the four stages as four stations and rotate groups every 3 minutes. It keeps every player moving, gives each coach one technique to teach, and fits well into a youth practice plan.
Build it in Coach Board
Lay out the four stations on a Coach Board field with cones, dummies and player positions, then animate the rotation arrows so each group knows where to go next. Duplicate the station board for the angle tackle, slow the animation to show the head going behind the runner's hip, and share the link with parents and assistant coaches before the first padded practice.