Tackling

    Tackling is one of the most important parts of the game.  The object is to hit the player with the ball so that his knees touch the ground and drag him down without allowing him to go forward (or in the case of a defender backwards).  The key to tackling is to get a tight wrap on the person that you can at least hold on and drag the man down. The person that is lowest to the ground and has the most force in a certain direction will most often either make a great tackle or will get run over. 

	Tackling a runner low requires less force because the tackler is farther away from the runner's center of mass.

Tackling and Angles

   When chasing a ball carrier it is crucial to take the right angle (angle of pursuit) based on the acceleration of the person that you are chasing and your own acceleration.

For example:

    Now in football you don't exactly have time to stop and calculation which of the three angles the defender or the person that is pursuing the ball carrier should take.  You just have to use common sense.  If the defender is much faster then the ball carrier he should probably take path #1 or path #2 depending on how much faster he is.  To be safe he should take a 30 degree angle just to make sure that he gets their just in time.  However, a slower defender should take a 45 degree angle of pursuit or maybe even a greater angle.