Profile means getting your body between the ball and the defender, squaring up with the ball carrier. This is the first step of the Hawk Tackle. Cue: Profile, Sink, Near, Wrap.
What you need: Open grass or field. No equipment needed.
Setup: Line the kids up facing you. Space them 5 feet apart.
How to run it:
- Teach Profile: The defender gets square to the ball carrier. Feet are planted shoulder-width apart. Knees are bent a little. Eyes are up on the chest, not the feet.
- Have a kid walk toward you slowly. The other kids practice getting square to them. No contact yet, just positioning.
- The defender should be able to see the whole person in front of them.
- Do 8 reps. Then add movement: the ball carrier jogs slowly left and right while the defenders practice staying square.
What to watch: Are the eyes up or looking down? Eyes down means they can’t see what’s coming. Eyes up is right.
If they’re struggling: Have the ball carrier stand still while the defenders just get into the Profile stance. No movement yet.
If they’ve got it: Have the ball carrier pick up speed. Now the defenders have to stay square while the ball carrier is moving faster.
Note: This is the first step toward the Hawk Tackle developed by Pete Carroll and the Seattle Seahawks, adopted into USA Football’s Heads Up Football program.