Using Behavioral Skills Training With Video Feedback to Prevent Risk of Injury in Youth Female Soccer Athletes
A quick BST loop with cellphone video replay teaches young athletes safer moves that stick.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Three youth female soccer players learned safer movement steps.
The coach used Behavioral Skills Training plus cellphone video replay.
Each girl watched her own clips right after practice and got quick feedback.
What they found
All players jumped from shaky form to near-perfect agility steps.
The safer moves stayed strong weeks later with no extra coaching.
How this fits with other research
DeFriedman et al. (2025) stretched the idea further. They showed telehealth BST teaches caregivers car-seat safety just as well as in-person training.
Chovet Santa Cruz et al. (2024) swapped the field for a screen. Remote BST plus brief caregiver help taught kids to exit online games when strangers lure them.
Ivancic et al. (1981) did it first. Their classic BST taught children to escape simulated bedroom fires, proving the model works for life-saving skills decades ago.
Why it matters
You already have the tools: instruction, model, practice, feedback. Add a phone video and you can cut injury risk in any youth sport. Try it next warm-up—film one sprint, show the clip, praise the safe steps, fix the risky ones. The players leave safer and you leave confident the change will last.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Female athletes are at a greater risk for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries than males. Current training programs for ACL injury reduction focus on muscle strengthening, appropriate movement patterns, and balance training. However, there is limited research on effective strategies to teach youth female soccer athletes how to properly perform desired movements associated with a decreased risk of ACL injuries. Behavioral skills training (BST) programs have been shown to be effective in teaching a wide variety of skills, but research on applications to sports is limited. This study evaluated a BST package for teaching a stepwise agility program to 3 youth female soccer athletes that consisted of verbal instructions, modeling, rehearsal, and feedback, which included video replay. Results showed a significant improvement in the number of steps the participants performed correctly relative to baseline, as well as maintenance of skills at follow-up. Implications for coaches and athletes, as well as limitations and directions for future research, are discussed.
Behavior Analysis in Practice, 2020 · doi:10.1007/s40617-020-00473-4