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The Day My Tackling World Changed

By Rob Everett, USA Football, 04/24/19, 12:00PM PDT

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After a short grieving process, I set to work identifying how the 5 Fights would make us superior defenders.

I remember the day like it was yesterday. I was scheduled to speak at a clinic in San Antonio and a week before I was to leave, I received a call from a coach I trust who told me I needed to be in Philadelphia for an invite only tackling presentation. Only issue was that the presentation was the same day I was scheduled to leave for Texas. I had heard rumblings that something big was coming down the line on this subject and could hear the passion in my friend’s voice, so I knew I had to be there.

I rented a car to drive to Philadelphia and modified my departure city for my flight to San Antonio. I was in Philadelphia for six hours on July 21st, 2018: my tackling world would never be the same. What I witnessed at Temple University’s indoor facility was the Advanced Tackle System demonstration by Coach Richie Gray, Coach Andy Ryland, and Coach Vin DiGeatano of USA Football.