Models of Video Feedback for Youth Athletes Performing an American Football Tackle.

Abstract

Video feedback is an expeditious method for improving athlete safety when performing activities with an inherent risk of injury. Providing appropriate and validated feedback during tackling training in American football may be a mechanism for athletes to learn safe tackling performance. To determine the effect of video feedback in the instruction of tackling form. Controlled laboratory study. Laboratory. A total of 32 youth football athletes (28 boys, 4 girls; age = 11.8 ± 0.8 years) participated in 1 day of training. Of those, 14 participants completed 2 additional days of training and a 48-hour retention and transfer test. Video feedback using self as model, expert as model, combined self and expert model, and oral feedback to promote safe tackling performance in a laboratory environment. Shoulder extension, cervical extension, trunk angle, pelvis height, and step length by training block and over time. For the 1-day training group, main effects for time were observed for shoulder extension (P < .01), cervical extension (P = .01), pelvis height (P < .01), and step length (P < .01), with better performance for pelvis height and step length after combined feedback. For the 3-day training group, main effects of time were identified in pelvis height (P < .01) and step length (P < .01), with combined feedback showing better performance than other methods in shoulder extension and pelvis height. Combined feedback resulted in better performance compared with its component parts and oral feedback alone. In the combined model, participants viewed both their performance and the expert model, enabling them to see the difference between current and required performance. Combined feedback may be superior to other forms of feedback in improving movement performance. This effect can be generalized across disciplines that provide instruction and feedback in movement.