The effects of verbal instruction and shaping to improve tackling by high school football players.

Three high-school football players needed safer tackling form.

The coach gave a quick verbal cue like “head up, wrap, drive.”

Then he used TAG: a click sounded every time a player hit the safe form in practice.

The clicks shaped better tackles step by step.

All three players reached good form after a handful of practices.

When drills sped up, the safe tackles stuck—no slips back to old habits.

Tai et al. (2017) got the same result with youth players, but they swapped TAG for a full BST package.

The two studies line up: both show safer tackling after short ABA coaching.

Arnall et al. (2022) pushed TAGteach into adult dance class and still saw big skill jumps.

TAG keeps working even when the sport, age, or move changes.

You don’t need long lectures or expensive gear. A clicker and two-sentence cue can lock in safe form fast. Try it next week: pick one safety step, click every correct rep, and watch the skill hold when the game speeds up.