with Jason Denton,
St. James Academy (KS) Defensive Coordinator;
2020 & 2021 Kansas 4A State High School Football Champions
Nothing rips the heart out of a defensive coordinator more than dialing up the perfect in-game situational call to stop an opponent only to have a missed tackle lead to a big, backbreaking play for the opposing offense.
Regardless of your talent level, or the sophisticated nature of the defensive scheme you’ve installed, if your defense is riddled with poor tackling, your defenses will always underperform. Yet, with limited practice time and a never-ending checklist of things that coaching staffs need to address, it takes across-the-board dedication, and an organized plan, to ensure that your team has the necessary reps and time to work on becoming a top-tier tackling team.
Jason Denton, the defensive coordinator at St. James Academy, knew that tackling was priority No. 1 in the big picture scheme of building a championship-level defense.
In this instructional coaching video, Coach Denton provides a step-by-step guideline for continual improvement on tackling fundamentals in-season without neglecting other key facets of your team.
Coach Denton pulls back the curtain to outline a real-world plan for transforming your defensive personnel into hard-nosed, physical tacklers who utilize safe, sound tackling techniques.
Hawk Tackling: Concepts & Creating a Plan
Coach Denton lays the foundation for effective tackling by focusing on essential elements like eye placement, footwork, and hip alignment. Denton showcases his proven process for teaching players the correct technique to avoid missed tackles, while minimizing defensive injuries.
Providing game film examples of poor tackling technique, Denton dedicates time to explain how and why good tacking begins and ends with a system based on continual teaching and a season-long emphasis geared toward improving technique.
Coach Denton lays out the details of his process for coaching and teaching Hawk Tackling techniques, as well as why this system stresses safety while simultaneously building ferocious, aggressive defenders who swarm to the ball.
Drill Work, Game Film Analysis
Coach Denton showcases 10 impactful tackling drills designed to reinforce proper technique, while building up your team’s strength and agility. The drills highlighted in this segment help coaches develop well-rounded tacklers who can make plays in a wide variety of in-game situations.
You’ll also receive detailed information and watch examples of practice-tested tackling drills, including ‘Wrap-and-Drive-For-Five Drill’ and the ‘Track-The-Hip Drill,’ as well as a slew of competition-based tackling drills that keep your in-season defensive practice segments lively, intense and fun for players.
Daily drills alone, though, aren’t enough to improve and sustain excellent tackling across the board. Coach Denton provides key information on an excellent system based on a season-long evaluation of tackling through game film analysis.
By analyzing game footage of both good and bad tackling, Denton explains how coaches can identify common mistakes and teach defenders how to correct them eliminating bad habits and leading to continued improvement in tackling performance as the season progresses.
Don't let missed tackles and poor tackling habits hinder your team's defensive success! In this riveting defensive video, Coach Denton arms defensive coaches at all levels with a master class of highly valuable tackling information.
The comprehensive approach to teaching tackling shown in this must-see video, equips you with the tools you need to teach your players proper tackling technique, while improving your team’s overall defensive performance!
46 minutes. 2025.