Hitting Harder

I'm a big believer in doing those plyos. Also by using good technique when tackling, rolling the hips, getting your chest into the tackle and smothering the ball carrier.

I heard a great quote at a clinic this past year....

"Don't just run to him, run through him".

Guys,

The power clean is very important in developing explosiveness for hitting. Your power clean works all of your axioms of power. Explosion with the legs and hips, rolling your hips, showing your numbers, and catching the weight in your base. The more you power clean with proper technique, the harder you will hit.

Coach Vint,
I totally agree with you. Our strength and conditioning coach is Coach John Glapa and stresses power clean as the ultimate lift for a football player. Power clean is a explosion lift that combines strength with quickness. It's a great lift for hip explosion and that is what you teach athletes when they drive through a defender.

Great reponses to your question---I would agree with all--the need for power and plyo work epecially---but one part of tackling technique we also emphasize is the two handed uppercut. Assuming you are maintianing a power base, exploding through, number to number---you also need to add that explosive upper body arm rip under the runner's center of gravity. You'd never power clean without using your arms--would you? I love to see my defensive players get lower and then literally lift the runner off his feet. We practice this in our form tackling drills ("grab some cheek"---the idea is to do it so forcefully that you give him instant hemmoroids!!)

But after all that---the biggest factor in making a big hit is WANTING TO HIT SOMEBODY---so you are already on your way!