The purpose of this study was to extract current issues associated with the understanding of tackling techniques taught by college football coaches in Japan. The goal was to acquire fundamental information for a coaching method that would promote safe and effective tackling techniques. A total of 99 college football coaches from Japan (mean age 36.7±0.5 years) took part in the study. A questionnaire was conducted in order to understand key points that were considered important in their coaching methods. The results and observations can be summarized as follows. 1. Tackling techniques taught by football coaches in Japan often lead to concussions. This is due to coaching methods that focus heavily on tackling techniques with high concussion risks, and placing no importance on HUT-based tackling. In addition, their understanding of the "Hit" phase and "HUT" varies, leading to a greater possibility of teaching tackling with a high risk of concussion. 2. Regardless of factors such as age, the position taken as an active player, the instructor's income, and coaching qualifications, coaches who do not have much player or coach experience have an increased tendency to teach tackling techniques associated with high risks of concussion and injury. 3. In order to prevent concussions and promote safer tackling coaching in Japan, it is crucial for coaches who have little experience in playing or coaching to have access to appropriate information and education opportunities, and for coach certification programs to be improved.

No abstract

Currently, the number of International-Student Athletes (ISAs) in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is increasing over time and Japan is the biggest market for recruiting in Asia. Whereas international students are playing an increasingly important role in the NCAA, several studies have reported that ISAs face challenges in adjusting to their dual identities as students and athletes at universities in the US. Furthermore, it has been cleared Asian students studying at US universities have some challenges because of cultural and linguistic differences. However, it remains unclear whether the difficulties experienced by Japanese ISAs are the same as or different to the adjustment-related challenges experienced by other ISAs or Asian students. The purpose of this study is to clarify challenges for ISAs from Japan in adjusting to the United States’ universities. Situating in the ISA adjustment model and using a unique case study design, 13 Japanese ISAs at the NCAA Division I universities were interviewed, and data were coded by a continuous comparative analysis method. The results revealed that Japanese ISAs who participated in this study faced academic, social, athletic, personal-emotional, and institutional adjustment challenges. Particularly, Japanese ISAs differed from ISAs from other countries in several points; cultural differences, differences in communication styles, and systemic differences in academia and athletics between Japan and the US. For promoting adjustment of Japanese ISAs, this study suggests; gaining experience and getting information to understand and familiarize with the differences, building relationships with linguistic and culturally diverse people to understand various cultures, encouraging universities and coaches to understand specific difficulties for Japanese ISAs.