Special teams is one of the most commonly ignored, yet vitally important development areas for a youth or high school football team. Coach Jimmy Johnson once stated that teams need to win 2 of 3 phases of the game in order to come out with a “W” – offense, defense, or special teams. In other words, special teams is just as important as offense and defense, and should be treated that way in your game preparation.

A good special teams unit requires several team members who are good at blocking after a kickoff or punt in order to allow their returner to gain a large number of yards. Good special teams also must be able to run down and tackle the opposing returner to limit the starting position of the opposing offense.

In this special teams drill, called “Hard Hat Fit”, our focus is to get in a good attacking angle on the ball carrier to make the tackle.

Special Teams Drill: Hard Hat Fit

You are going to have 2 players – the defender and the blocker – in a fit position, locked up with their hands, and on the “GO” command, the defender is going to lock out on the offensive blocker, drive his feet and then utilize an escape technique in order to tackle the ball carrier with an angle tackle.

 

 

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