104. At-risk tackling techniques in American football

Abstract

BACKGROUND CONTEXT In American football, fewer fatalities and severe injuries have been seen annually since 1976, when rules were enacted to prohibit certain types of aggressive tackling. The National Football Head and Neck Injury Registry was established in 1975 and data from 1971-1975 were retrospectively reviewed to better understand the mechanisms involved in catastrophic cervical spine injury. PURPOSE This study was an assessment of (1) tackling techniques coaches were teaching at 3 levels: youth (4th–5th grades), middle (6th–8th grades), and high school (9th–12th grades); (2) tackling techniques used during games; and (3) successful tackle rates of these techniques. STUDY DESIGN/SETTING Descriptive epidemiology study. PATIENT SAMPLE Not applicable. OUTCOME MEASURES Not applicable. METHODS This study received IRB approval. Surveys were distributed via email to 500 coaches of football teams in Texas. Coaches provided video recordings of football games with players from youth league (YL), middle school (MS), and high school (HS). All tackle attempts were graded by one reviewer who watched game videos; 1000 consecutive tackles were observed for each group. Survey data included how coaches instructed their players to tackle, the types of tackles, the number of tackles vs missed tackles, the head position, and the initial contact. Data were analyzed using the chi-square test. A subset of 100 consecutive tackles at each level of play were reviewed by two blinded reviewers to assess intra- and interrater reliabilities using Cohen's Kappa calculations. RESULTS (1) In all groups, coaches instructed players to use the “head across the bow” tackling technique: 83%, YL; 81%, MS; 75%, HS. Coaches instructed players to “keep your head up” 89%, in the YL; 100%, MS; and 81%, in HS. (2, 3) During games, players used head-up, inside shoulder tackles more successfully across all groups: 97.5%, YL; 99.5%, MS; 98.8%, HS. While intra- and interrater reliabilities were in the good reliability range, these scores were lower in the youth group. CONCLUSIONS Our study supports the effectiveness of tackling with the head up and with making the initial contact with the inside shoulder. Lower reliability ratings for the youth group were likely due to lower video quality and lack of players’ tackling experience. FDA DEVICE/DRUG STATUS This abstract does not discuss or include any applicable devices or drugs.