Student of the Game: Using Academic Resources to Enhance Your Program: Part I The Tactical Games Approach and Open Field Tackling

The purpose of this series of articles is to provide ideas for improving various aspects of your football program using academic resources and studies. If you are anything like me, you are the type of coach that wants a reason and a purpose behind everything you do for your program. Anecdotal evidence can be useful, but is often unreliable and even harmful (if you don’t believe me, think about what would happen if we took everything from an internet forum, Wikipedia, or a TV infomercial as absolute fact!). Using reliable sources and learning about key concepts in the academic world of sports will help guide and justify your decisions as a coach.

 

At Windham High School (NH) we have a three year old school with a football program that made it to the state finals in our second varsity year. It was also the first year with seniors on the team (in fact, we still only had 6 seniors).  Obviously, many factors play into our recent success, but I think our relentless pursuit of practicing efficiently and effectively was a major key to our program’s quick improvement. Our practice philosophy relies heavily on repetition, creating game situations for our kids, and giving responsibility to our players.  The evidence below will show why we do not necessarily believe that “PERFECT practice makes perfect”.  Instead, we concede that nothing will ever be truly perfect, especially in a dynamic sport like football, so we focus on repetitions, coaching on the fly, and letting kids “learn by doing”. We take care of the technique details quickly between reps, in pre-practice, after practice, or in the film room.

 

The Tactical Games Approach and Open Field Tackling

What is it?

The Tactical Games Approach is a modern method being employed by many sport coaches and physical educators. The style opposes over-coaching, boring drills, long lines, and unrealistic situations. Instead, the approach values “getting to the game” and makes teaching technique a secondary concern that can be taught quickly within a game environment. Small-sided games focusing on tactics, strategy and competition are played with limited feedback from coaches. As problems arise, coaches can modify the game to make it easier or harder for the athlete learning the concept. Technique errors are often corrected by the players themselves through repetition within the tactical environment (similar to adjustments made by little kids learning to ride a bike). Coaches can make observations during game play to see which technical skills need improvement.  It also provides a good environment to see who naturally “gets it” and who needs to improve in those areas. Using basketball as an example, a tactical games approach would immediately put athletes into a small game such as 2-on-2, and simply let the kids play. After a period of time, modifications can be made during a break. Rules can be changed to make the game harder (two second limit on holding the ball), easier (defense needs to give three feet of space to offensive player), or to teach a new concept (must set a pick before you are allowed to possess the ball). In short, the kids get repetitions in a game environment rather than standing in lines practicing the chest and bounce pass (Mitchell, Oslin, & Griffin, 2006).

What are the findings?

Mitchell et al. (2006) wrote Teaching Sport Concepts and Skills: A Tactical Games Approach. This is an excellent textbook style resource that outlines this approach. Studies indicate that this method has many advantages, including:

·     Learning a skill in the competitive context - Athletes learn the skills needed to succeed in a game by playing in games.  Standing in lines perfecting a technique has proven to improve technique within a closed/isolated environment, but adding a tactical approach to practice gives opportunities for decision making in a fast-paced, competitive environment (Mitchell et al., 2006 p. 9).

·     Athletes are invested in their own learning - By giving athletes a chance to figure out things on their own, they will naturally master the skills that their athleticism allows, and will also encounter problems that require coaching.That way, coaches can teach necessary techniques to specific athletes that need them rather than holding back an athlete that already “gets it”. Coaches can also adjust the games so all athletes are challenged. When athletes can see their own strengths and weaknesses, they are more invested in their improvement (Mitchell et al., 2006 p. 9).

·     Knowledge transfer to similar sports - The concepts and objectives used in football, a territorial/invasion sport, can be applied to other territorial games like basketball, hockey, and soccer (Mitchell et al., 2006 p. 9). This way, players new to the game of football can learn skills more quickly if they have a point of reference. For example, teaching a defensive back how to play man free coverage and funnel a receiver to the free safety can be compared to forcing an opponent to his right or left in basketball by shading correctly.

·     Coaches can evaluate athletes in game situations - The star pupil in the film room or weight room isn’t always the best when the game is on the line, so coaches get more chances to see who can produce in a competitive situation.

·     Conditioning is built into practice - Because of the high priority of game play and situational practice, athletes condition in a manner that is very similar to what will be required on game day.  By making games small-sided and providing more repetitions, the Tactical Games Approach can effectively train athletes to an even higher level of conditioning than they will need for competition (Katis & Kellis, 2009).

How do we apply it to our practices?

The Tactical Games philosophy can be applied to almost any football skill or situation, simply by finding ways to let kids play and “learn by doing” rather than standing in long lines. One area we use this approach is in open field tackling. After explaining safety precautions and techniques (which need to be explained properly for safety and liability reasons), we start off by setting up an open field situation and we let the kids get reps, reps, reps. Failure is okay, and feedback is minimal and mostly supportive. After a period of time, we stop the activity (usually to give them a break from the built-in conditioning of a fast-paced situation). We use this quick break to ask how we can help them succeed in making open field tackles, or to provide quick pointers to the group (not 5 minute speeches or coach demonstrations!). Some kids may need help with coming to balance, and others may require a rule change such as adding a second defender to experience success. The very best tacklers may require a bigger challenge like dealing with a lead blocker or widening the drill space. So, while our open field tackling drill may look conventional, we are constantly making changes that allow for maximum repetitions and some level of success for all players. It also gives our coaches an excellent idea of who we can rely on in an open field tackling situation and who needs to improve.  To make the drill even more competitive and game like, we can attach points to various accomplishments (one point for a tackle made with the help of a second defender, two points for a solo tackle, etc.).

In the open field tackling drill below, we have four different stations with varying levels of difficulty. Coaches or athletes can choose where each athlete goes.  We focus on repetitions, short lines, competition, having fun, and improving each player’s ability in a game situation. The Tactical Games Approach has definitely become a part of our practice environment, and hopefully it will help you to create practices where kids learn game day skills faster and better than before.



 

References

Mitchell, S.A., Oslin, J.L., & Griffin, L.L. (2006). Teaching Sport Concepts and Skills: A

Tactical Games Approach.  Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics