Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Date

2018

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education

Department

Instruction & Curriculum Leadership

Committee Chair

Laura Casey

Committee Member

James Menial

Committee Member

William Hunter

Committee Member

Douglas Powell

Abstract

In certain sports, the ability of an athlete to change direction while sprinting is considered a vital skill required to be successful. Soccer is one of those sports and because of that learning to properly execute change of direction movements become very important. Statistics show a growing increase in youth female participation in soccer and as a result, injuries within this population has also increased. Because female athletes are at a greater risk for ACL injuries than males, coaches have acknowledged the need for proper training that will assist female athletes in executing skills safely. Current training programs for ACL injury reduction focus on strengthening of muscle, appropriate movement patterns and balance training. However, there is limited research on effective strategies or training procedures being used to teach youth female soccer athletes how to properly perform the desired movements associated with decreased risk of ACL injuries. Behavioral skills training (BST) have been shown to be an effective method for teaching acquisition of a wide variety of skills, however there is limited research on BST package as a teaching procedure in the sports setting. This study evaluated the effectiveness of BST package in teaching steps of a soccer drill to three youth female soccer athletes. The BST package consisted of verbal instructions, modeling, rehearsal and feedback which include video replay. The study used a multiple-baseline design across participants to evaluate the effects of BST. Results showed significant improvements in the number of steps the participants performed correctly relative to baseline and skills were maintained during a three-week follow-up. The study suggested BST was effective in increasing the number of steps performed correctly within the agility drill. Limitations and directions for future research are discussed.

Comments

Data is provided by the student.

Library Comment

Dissertation or thesis originally submitted to ProQuest

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