The Overview - The New Science of Tackling

Tackling is the most important skill in football and, according to Chuck Clemens, the one most often coached wrong. In this coaching video, the first of a three-part set called The New Science of Tackling, the University of Central Missouri co-defensive coordinator goes back to the rudiments and shows the teaching progression that produces reliable tacklers instead of collisions that happen to work. It is an overview of the entire system: the concept, the mistakes to stop repeating, and the order in which the skill should be taught.

What you'll learn

• The concept and strategy behind proper tackling, and why it has to be taught as a skill.
• The incorrect ways tackling has been coached for decades, and the lazy habits that come from assuming players already know how.
• A complete tackling progression you can install at your own practices.
• "Start with the finish" - why the end of the tackle is the first thing you teach.
• Hit-up on your opponent: the contact position that makes the tackle stick.
• Ground to the run and how footwork governs the approach.
• Focal point presence - where the tackler's eyes live before contact.

Who it's for

High school and college defensive coordinators and position coaches at every level, plus youth coaches who want a safe, teachable tackling progression from day one.

About the coach

Chuck Clemens served as co-defensive coordinator at the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg, Missouri.

Part 1 of Coach Clemens' three-part tackling series, with extensive game film. Runtime: about 81 minutes.