A St. Paul-based sports company is working with USA Football, the national governing body for amateur football in the U.S., to teach players proper tackling fundamentals with the hope of reducing injuries commonly associated with the sport.
TackleBar offers a harness that encourages safer playing techniques. Players wear the TackleBar harness, equipped with two removable foam bars on the back, around their midsection. Using proper tackling fundamentals, players must reach around the ball carrier and rip off one of the foam bars.
The design teaches players the recommended shoulder tackling technique, which TackleBar says reduces concussions and other serious injuries. TackleBar’s system is popular in youth sports leagues but is also used for practices on some high school teams.
TackleBar is now the preferred limited-contact training tool for USA Football's new Football Development Model, meaning the organization will incorporate the TackleBar harness into its national training program.
The FDM is a roadmap for how the game is coached, played and learned at every level. As the organization's preferred training tool, TackleBar will serve as a stepping stone between youth flag football and tackle football.
"Being embraced by USA Football as one of the preferred player development tools under the Football Development Model is critical for us," TackleBar CEO Tim Healy said in a statement. "From the beginning, our priority has been to preserve the great game of football by offering a safer, yet fundamentally sound way for kids to play."
TackleBar launched in 2016 and is currently used by teams and leagues in 27 states and three countries. Its partnership with USA Football will further expand its national reach and incorporate its device into additional youth and high school leagues.
USA Football and TackleBar will educate coaches on how to integreate the TackleBar tool into their organizations at the 2020 USA Football National Conference in Louisville, Ky. and at USA Football events throughout the year.
