Tackling drill
Side-On Grid Tackle
Build the side-on tackle against a moving target with a safe reset every rep.
- Time
- 20 minutes
- Players
- 3 to 8 players
- Intensity
- High
- Equipment
- Cones, ball
- Space
- 10m x 10m grid
- Positions
- All positions
Setup
A 10m x 10m grid with four cones, a ball for the progression, and a tackler in the centre with attackers at two cones.
How to run it
- Attackers run diagonally across the grid and the central tackler stops alternating runners.
- The safety rule that makes this drill work: the next attacker does not leave until the tackler has stood up from the previous tackle - that is how you avoid a knee to the head.
- Keep your head to the side of the runner's legs, make first contact with your shoulder, focus on the attacker's shorts rather than their feet or their eyes, and tighten your arms around their legs to finish.
- Start attackers walking and build only to jogging without a coach present.
- The tackler works 6 tackles then rotates, 4 rotations each.
Coaching cues
- Head to the side of the legs
- Focus on the shorts, not the feet or eyes
- Next attacker waits until the tackler is up
Common mistakes
- Watching the runner's feet or eyes instead of their hips, which is how you end up with your head in front
- The next attacker leaving early while the tackler is still on the ground
Session plans that use this drill
Related drills
- Rear Tackle Chase-DownBring down a carrier from behind when you have run them down in cover.
- Tap TackleBring down a breakaway runner you cannot quite catch.
- One on Three Tackle DecisionRead late which attacker is coming and get your head on the right side, at zero speed.
- Tackle Preparation Shadow LadderGroove the footwork and loaded body position you arrive in before every tackle, with no contact at all.
- Bag Shoulder ConnectionBuild shoulder-first contact and correct head placement at three tackle heights, safely and alone.
- Tackler ReloadGet off the floor, out of the contest and back into the line faster than anyone else.