As part of USA Football’s Advanced Tackling System, developed with multi-sport tackling expert Richie Gray, we introduced coaches to the 5 Fights and provided further depth through Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for each of the “fights.” These KPIs are what I describe as “what good looks like.” They are a checklist for coaches to think about when watching drills, games or other film.

In addition to improving tackling skills and success, let’s talk about KPIs’ role in penalty prevention.

While visiting a college campus this year and talking tackling with the coaching staff, the idea of penalty prevention came up. The staff was interested in picking my brain on how to talk about and train preventing penalties. My answer always comes back to three KPIs of the ATS.

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The first KPI, Initial Shoulder Accuracy, is actually pretty obvious. Even considering bang-bang plays and the inherent challenges they present, I have found that very few coaches – and fewer teams as whole – train shoulder accuracy. Most coaches never think about individual players and, “Can my players hit their spots?”

Often when watching film, I think, “What is that player targeting and what is their strike point?” We have all seen this type of tackle where the player goes into contact aggressively but lacks accuracy. This tackle ends up looking like a smother tackle where the player overruns or overpowers the opponent.

Through the Advanced Tackling System, we have coined, “Be a surgeon, not a butcher.” Players must be able to put their shoulders where they want in space at a variety of heights and body positions. This accuracy coupled with good coaching on appropriate strike zones can make a world of difference when it comes to inadvertent penalties.

The second KPI I mention is Arm Clamp (Strength to Stick). We choose the world “clamp” to evoke visions of a vice or workbench tool. We reference that through the strength of our arms we must “glue” to the runner, allowing no room to escape.

While coaches have always taught wrap up, we like the strength of this word better and the image it evokes. Where clamp has traditionally let us down most is that players are either too slow to clamp after shoulder contact or give up their clamp when going to the ground.

Clamp plays a massive role in penalty prevention. Coupled with good accuracy, think about the picture you paint for an official when you don’t clamp on a big, over-the-middle hit? When players chicken wing, shoulder charge or something similar, the offensive player “bounces off” the defender and the visual image of contact is much different.

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If players clamp strong and solid and they stay connected all the way through the ground, these big collisions are quality tackles. High quality tackles are much less penalized than awkward looking big hits.

Simply completing the clamp or trying to use your arms in a tackle is massive in penalty prevention.

The final KPI I brought to the coaching staff’s attention was Cleats in the Grass (always generating controlled power, strong feet). A tackler’s power comes from being able to push against the ground. As soon as defenders lose this ability, the tackle becomes all upper body.

Again, this is not a new concept. Every coach emphasizes the need to “run your feet,” but this – in my opinion – is the single worst executed part of most tackles. Most tacklers give up their feet way too early. As soon as initial contact is made, many tacklers are happy to give up their cleats, slide across the ground and half grapple/half calf rope a runner to the ground.

This is most easily seen in drills vs. bags where, because of the light, soft contact, players dive right through the bag. The reason this is poor coaching is that if you dive through an opponent and don’t win initial connection, you are done for. You must have cleats in the ground to generate power.

In relation to penalty prevention, this addresses the launching issue. If an athlete keeps their feet and accelerates through contact, the athlete will not be launching. By keeping acceleration, players also do not sacrifice power as they continue leg drive. This means defenders can still make a physical tackle without the risk of launching. This is incredibly important for Level 3 tackles (hips to numbers), where a launch, again, can result in a flag.

Simply stated, there is no room for dirty play, and we value the sportsmanship of our game. We never coach or want a player to make contact with the head or neck area. But as game speeds increase, we also want to avoid penalties when one is not warranted. I believe you can still make quality tackles that don’t sacrifice power or physicality and not be flagged. If as a coach, we focus on Shoulder Accuracy, Arm Clamp and Cleats in the Grass, we hold true to solid fundamentals and succeed in both these areas.