Explosive in tackling

[CHS55]

How exactly do you get this? I really have no idea. I know you can't be scared, but that's about it. I lift more than the majority of our defensive lineman but for some reason in tackling I get driven back by them? Why is this?

[CHSstud2]

How exactly do you get this? I really have no idea. I know you can't be scared, but that's about it. I lift more than the majority of our defensive lineman but for some reason in tackling I get driven back by them? Why is this?

maybe because you dont weigh as much as them. or your hesitating, or not getting low enough. try getting lower than them and running into them as hard as you can

[SCOTSballa]

......... Get angry ?

[MTUNUPE56]

use ur hips drive your feet. shooting ur hips is one of the most important parts. imagine u got a string tied from you wrists to your D##k if you dont bring ur hips when u wrap u loose more than a few yards!!!

[Penetrators21]

Force = Mass X Acceleration... why u get driven back... The person driving u back weighs more than u say 200lks...u weigh 180...thats both ur respective masses...his Acceleration is 20 mph...urs is also 20 mph...the force he is creating is 200 x 20=4000...ur creating 180 x 20= 3600...3600 is less than 4000 causing u to be driven back...how do u compensate for this...increase ur acceleration and or mass...apply this to how u workout...its just an example understand the idea learn to apply it to how u train with weights and on the field...and ull be having ur opponents dread having to go up against u...

[rockavenger]

My coach always told us to "get low and go." Not only working on proper tackling technique will help, but off the field plyometrics are supposed to give you that explosive power you are looking for. There are many plyometric articles here on bodybuilding.com, and there are a lot more if you just check out google.

[federaldb59]

get low with a nice base. what i used to do was put my arms back, kinda like i bird would do ya know then shoot the forward and wrap. drive your feet. do it on a sled to practice sine youll have to get way lower on the sled than in a game. low arms back uppercut drive. my coach you to say face in the ball. head always goes towards the ball since it makes it harder for the back,wideout whatever to break it.

[dirtman32]

use your whole body when you hit, even your helmet, explode off the ball and lowest man always wins. if your more explosive then them off the ball there going to lose.

[teriyakisaki]

i hate having to peddle my own threads/articles, but in the football FAQ (stickey) there's a pretty detailed breakdown of tackles. you owe it to yourself to read it over, as your lack of explosiveness and in ability to make the tackle can come from a few areas, but also could help clean up your tackling in general.


One thing a lot of people don't understand is that most of tackling is momentum. Not so much to have more momentum (weight moving at a given speed) than the other guy, but to take his away. Part of the reason you want to wrap up is not only as a safegaurd incase the hit itself doesnt knock the guy over, but you also want to take his hips away from him. You basically want to wrap between mid thigh and the lower back, and jerk their hips towards you. by taking their hips out from underthem, it takes away all controll from them.


the other big thing is staying low. its all about center of gravity, but you dont want to get too low to where you cannot move or keep your head up, and obviously if youre a tall guy, you'll never be able to get lower than everybody.

also, never leave your feet. you always want to keep in contact with the ground, and keep the feet moving. even the best pop can be recovered from. i think part of the reason this is such a big problem for people is that they watch too many movies and think that jumping will some how make them faster/better. dont worry about making the big cool looking hit. anybody can get lucky and have a big hit. not everybody can consistently make solid tackles.

[JSeligman]

my coach always yelled in his redneck accent, "reverse c", but in all reality, the best is to come at an angle, ever seen a head on collision in real life? There is always one car that is way more ****ed up then the other DEPENDING on the mass of the car...

If you come at an angle on someone physics no longer has any say in the situation...

[carl.c]

chs55: one quick question; what lifts do you do?
As far as tackling goes Js is right angle is the most inportant part of tackling if you are the smaller person.
As far as the rest of it remimber the game is 90% mental and 10% physical.
You must have the desire to pop the runners head off everytime you tackle him. After a couple of good hard tackles and you will notice the running back or reciver flinches before you hit him, this flinch causes his momentum to stop and you can lay him out.
Same goes for practice at full speed.
If you need to see the theory in action look Dick Bubcas (sp?) line backer for the bears and you will see the proper mental attitude to have on the feild.

[Frodo14]

keep your feet on the ground when you hit. Sure, a diving tackle looks cool, but has no base to it.

[teriyakisaki]

my coach always yelled in his redneck accent, "reverse c", but in all reality, the best is to come at an angle, ever seen a head on collision in real life? There is always one car that is way more ****ed up then the other DEPENDING on the mass of the car...

If you come at an angle on someone physics no longer has any say in the situation...

well, physics still plays a huge role in the tackle, the forces are just going in different directions instead of directly against eachother, thus making it easier to tackle. you can never completely take physics out of it. angle tackles can still be broken, and working to take an angle over a head on tackle can be counter productive. if its 3rd and 2 with a dive coming right at you, you cannot try to work for an angle tackle. you have to man up and be able to take somebody head on. the big key is to make sure to wrap up at all costs. even if you get run over, if youre still holding on they will either just land right on top of you, or will have to literally drag you to make any extra yardage.

chs55: one quick question; what lifts do you do?
As far as tackling goes Js is right angle is the most inportant part of tackling if you are the smaller person.
As far as the rest of it remimber the game is 90% mental and 10% physical.
You must have the desire to pop the runners head off everytime you tackle him. After a couple of good hard tackles and you will notice the running back or reciver flinches before you hit him, this flinch causes his momentum to stop and you can lay him out.
Same goes for practice at full speed.
If you need to see the theory in action look Dick Bubcas (sp?) line backer for the bears and you will see the proper mental attitude to have on the feild.

its Dick Butkus. and i should neg you for sinning against the football gods.

[carl.c]

notice I put (sp) after meaning spelling.
still if you want to know how to hit he's the man.

[teriyakisaki]

notice I put (sp) after meaning spelling.
still if you want to know how to hit he's the man.

everybody should already know how to spell his name. just like Jesus, Ghandi, The Pope, Butkus.

[TJonesd2]

keep your feet moving is #1. Dont plant and try to hit

[Veeshmack]

If you come at an angle on someone physics no longer has any say in the situation...

that couldnt be less true...
have you taken physics? are you aware that when studying forces and momentum there are situations where you deal with angles and applied forces through different directions and the way they react to carry out a result? its not completely responsible, but to say physics has no say is absolute bs

[CHSstud2]

chs55: one quick question; what lifts do you do?
As far as tackling goes Js is right angle is the most inportant part of tackling if you are the smaller person.
As far as the rest of it remimber the game is 90% mental and 10% physical.
You must have the desire to pop the runners head off everytime you tackle him. After a couple of good hard tackles and you will notice the running back or reciver flinches before you hit him, this flinch causes his momentum to stop and you can lay him out.
Same goes for practice at full speed.
If you need to see the theory in action look Dick Bubcas (sp?) line backer for the bears and you will see the proper mental attitude to have on the feild.

90% mental? i have to disagree. depending on the position but i would say its more like 50 50

[teriyakisaki]

not 90%, but the mental aspect is definately a big one.

[Tony545]

Hmmm I duno how to explain this but what we got taught for rugby was

1. Get low
2. bring your elbows in so you have a compact core
3. from the low postition drop your shoulder and rise into the tackle

you should have a compact core which will have a bigger impact than just hitting them with your shoulder. Something on those lines.

[teriyakisaki]

Hmmm I duno how to explain this but what we got taught for rugby was

1. Get low
2. bring your elbows in so you have a compact core
3. from the low postition drop your shoulder and rise into the tackle

you should have a compact core which will have a bigger impact than just hitting them with your shoulder. Something on those lines.

you want to keep the elbows in for a few reasons. mainly it keeps a person from getting birdwings. keeping the elbows, and thus the arms in forces you to tackle with your whole body, not just the arms. its a lot easier to run through somebody's arm than their whole body. also, when you have the arms out, a lot of people tend to "wind up" or cock their arms back.