Contact progressions
An activity idea that you can use to help develop player's confidence in the tackle
A few weeks back, Huddersfield welcomed a few teams to the club for an Inner Warrior festival. It’s the first in a series of festivals organised for teams in the Inner Warrior leagues.
Teams take turns hosting and communicate what type of event is best suited for visiting teams. For the first one, teams suggest a mixture of contact and non-contact with a joint training element.
We played a mixture of contact and non-contact activities. I scheduled a tackle activity, which I found beneficial for the players and got great feedback. It included options for players to pick a level that suited them.
Here’s the activity:
Tackle 2v1s
Set up a small playing area with cones
One defender starts in the middle of the playing area
Two attackers start at the edge of the grid
The defender selects what level they’d like (walking, walk/jog, jog, run)
The two attackers aim to score on the far side of the grid
The defender aims to tackle the ball carrier
If the ball carrier is tackled, they pop the ball up to their teammate
The defender is encouraged to get up from the completed tackle and continue
I’m not the greatest fan of 2v1s. I think 3v2s are more effective (if you have to pick between 2v1 and 3v2), because it allows an easier transfer of skill and learnings.
However, this activity is about controlled contact, contact which can be scaled up or down, and giving players confidence in the tackle area.
Why
It’s a seemingly super simple activity, however the most important aspect is giving the tackler the choice of pace. The defender tells the attackers what pace they’d like, with some guidance from me.
This means players can tackle and build up speed at the right level for them. It also gives plenty of opportunities for peer-to-peer feedback, which is crucial for players’ learning.
The ball carrier popping the ball up to their teammate after the tackle encourages the defender to roll away and make another tackle. It gets players working on finishing the tackle and rejoining the defence.
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