Player development model adds TackleBar

USA Football is introducing another tool as part of its road map for how the sport is played, coached and taught on the youth level: TackleBar football.

As part of USA Football’s “Football Development Model” launched last year, TackleBar is included within the model’s “limited contact” category, serving as a teaching tool and stepping stone between flag football and the full tackle game. USA Football’s model offers multiple entry points and options to play the sport across three categories: non-contact, limited contact and contact.

Players using the TackleBar tool wear a harness with two bars in the back, one on each side. When a defender attempts a tackle, he or she will be able to employ the basics of tackling — head up and out of the way while wrapping up — with limited contact. Players learn to refine their technique without tackling a player to the ground. Instead, one of the bars is pulled from the opponent’s harness, ending the play.

TackleBar has been on the market since 2017 and the harness costs $55; there are shoulder pads also available. Pilot programs beginning in 2016 were a success, and now USA Football, the governing body for the sport, is adopting TackleBar for the FDM.

“This is one aspect, although an exciting one, of our Football Development Model,” says USA Football Executive Director

and CEO Scott Hallenbeck. “It starts with certified coaches teaching young players in a way that’s fun and matches their age and ability. TackleBar is an effective tool to learn form tackling and fundamentals with limited contact. It’s a smart way to build skills and experience the sport.”

One high school coach who has incorporated TackleBar into his programs is Russ Hinrichs of Alexandria, Minnesota. Hinrichs recognized several years ago the need for an alternative way to get youngsters into the program while addressing concerns parents had in terms of contact football. He found TackleBar a worthwhile option for fifth and sixth graders.

“It makes for an awesome transition; our kids tackle in seventh grade,” Hinrichs says. “This brought back some excitement and a level of organization in the fifth and sixth grades we had not seen. I said this is what we are using at the varsity level — we are using the TackleBar as well in practices. We want the kids to be able to see that, to think, ‘If it is good enough for varsity, it’s good enough for us.’

“I hate to turn kids off before they grow and feel they can play tackle.”

That’s exactly what the FDM is all about, Hallenbeck explains.

“The Football Development Model aligns with the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee’s vision for what sports need to be for our kids,” he says. “TackleBar spans an important range of that vision.”