Coaching the Tackle - Through and Gather

I had an opportunity to work with USA Women's 7's Head Coach Julie McCoy some this summer. She spends some time on Sunday working on the details of the tackle.

Jules has been using "fat mats" to help players develop explosive power. It keeps the body from taking a beating, elevates the fun level, and really lets the players push hard. The entire tackling session was about two hours, and leads into an extensive session on footwork - how to be in the position to MAKE the tackle, how to finish the tackle in a position to poach, and how to poach as you are coming off the ground.

This particular clip is about 4 minutes, and addresses the act of "gathering" a player, rather than simply wrapping. To do this correctly requires significant explosive upper and lower body power.



In this particular session, the key take aways I had were :

• Tackle through, not to the player. Never reach with the arms, rather, drive through with the shoulder.
• Gather the player to you with the arms.
• Finish the tackle in a wide-based, split-leg position to enable the follow up poach.
• Power is generated by extending the hips
  
• Use explosive lifts - jump squats, snatches, etc, rather than traditional squats to develop physical skills.

And I really want some fat mats.