Reports estimate 1.6 to 3.8 million cases of concussion occur in sports and recreation each year in the US, with sports related concussion(SRC) affecting more than 5% of high school and collegiate football players. The American Academy of Pediatrics issued a 2015 position statement on tackling in football that recommended “officials and coaches must enforce the rules of proper tackling, including zero tolerance for illegal, head-first hits.” USAFootball, a large youth football organization, has recommended a head up, vertical tackling style in an effort to improve tackling form and reduce subsequent injuries, yet no research has been performed to identify the effect of this method on head accelerations nor an effective method of teaching this method. Video feedback is a common motor learning technique used in many situations to alter movement patterns to prevent injuries and improve athletic performance. The purpose of this research was to understand the effect of video feedback on movement performance and determine if the head up, vertical tackling style is effective in reducing head accelerations in youth football athletes.

Aim 1 of this study established the inter-rater agreement of the Qualitative Youth Tackling Scale (QYTS) during video review of tackling in youth football players. Providing consistent feedback between raters is a critical aspect of motor learning. Aim 2 determined the effect of self-observation, expert and self plus expert feedback models in the performance of the six body position variables of interest in the instructed tackling skill. Establishing the effect of these models allows coaches and trainers to effectively provide feedback to their athletes. Aim 3 examined changes in head acceleration from baseline to after a training program in a head up, vertical tackling style. Understanding the effect of body position on head accelerations during tackling will help to design tackling forms that minimize injury risk in athletes.

The results of Aim 1 of this study indicates skilled raters are better able to identify the movement patterns included in the QYTS when compared to a validation measure as well have higher rates of inter-rater agreement than novice raters. Aim 2 results indicate that the model utilized did not impact the improvement for cervical angle or shoulder angle over verbal feedback alone. Step length and pelvic height responded positively to the self and expert model, improving performance more than the other feedback conditions though these results were not significant. There was no change in trunk angle during the training sessions. Aim 3 results indicated receiving training in a head up vertical tackling style reduced the number of impacts over 10gs experienced by the tacklers over a 1 day treatment session. Odds ratios of experiencing head acceleration over 10gs increased significantly for those with step lengths and pelvic height on impact over the recommended pattern. Taken together the results of this study indicate trained evaluators are capable of providing the feedback necessary to improve tackling performance, providing verbal feedback improved tackling performance, and training in proper tackling techniques can decrease the number of head accelerations experienced by participants.