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JOIN NOWHow can I overcome my child's fear of tackling?
How can I overcome my child's fear of tackling?
Dan BaileyParent, England
ANSWERS
Max KirtonPlayer, England
Hi Dan,
For kids who are not used to the sport, it can be a bit of a shock that they are not prepared for mentally.
I think that you should take some of the focus of the skill of actually making a tackle and talk about it in terms of an aspect of the game and why we do it. I.e we need to stop the opponents scoring a try!
Tackling is a lot about mentality, you could start by watching more professional rugby with them because, 1. It will start to create role models for them, people who are not scared of tacking and 2. You can see that these players tackle hard and don`t get hurt.
Explain to your child that people who are aggressive, hard tacklers don`t get hurt, it is the weak `scared` tacklers who get hurt.
Say that we are all descendants Mohammed Ali, and he floated like a Jason Robertson and stung like a Courtney Lawes.
I hope this helps! Here is a drill to get any player used to the contact element.
1v1 Clap Tackle - Warm up
DESCRIPTION
Groups of 2. Everyone find some space. Stand opposite your partner. One of the players (attacker) use footwork and move arround. The other (defender), try to keep as close as they can to the moving player. The attackers claps at a point of his choice, this is when the defender makes a shoulders on contact. Low Impact. Shoulders on.
1v1 Clap Tackle - Warm up
DESCRIPTION
Groups of 2. Everyone find some space. Stand opposite your partner. One of the players (attacker) use footwork and move arround. The other (defender), try to keep as close as they can to the moving player. The attackers claps at a point of his choice, this is when the defender makes a shoulders on contact. Low Impact. Shoulders on.
