The Impact of Laterality on Soccer Performance

Petro, Bela; Szabó, Attila

doi:10.1519/ssc.0000000000000246

Cited by 6 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 53 publications

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“…Studies on laterality in football have focused mainly on field players rather than on goalkeepers (Petro & Szabo, 2016). Anyway, insight can be obtained for the case of the movement; the differential speed of the extremities in football players differ significantly (27.68 m.s -1 for the execution of the kick with the preferred leg vs. 23.49 for the non-preferred leg; Vaverka et al (2003), so rendering this disparity as a proxy of goalkeeper's performance when using his legs to dive to the side of their preferred leg or the other.…”

Section: Lateralitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Posture-reading by men’s football goalkeepers and other factors in saving penalty kicks

Sequeira

Vallejo²,

Fariña

2021

Rev. Bras. Ciênc. Esporte

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Penalty kicks are often decisive in football matches. Therefore, any technique that yields an advantage either in scoring or saving them is of great importance. Here we show the influence of a training programme for goalkeepers on the probability of defending penalties in men's football. Virtual training was used through an app that shows the shooter at the moment of setting the support foot on the ground and requiring the answer of which side (right or left) the ball will be directed at. Complemented with physical training, four sub 21 professional goalkeepers from Santarém, Brazil, developed the ability to correctly choose the side (left or right) at which the ball will be aimed. Sets of 800 penalties were kicked before (acting as control group) and after the training programme and it was found that, after training, the chances of saving penalty kicks or, at least, choosing the correct side, increase dramatically. It is concluded that the training programme improved the goalkeeper’s ability to choose the correct side. Other factors (laterality and height) were not found to be statistically significant.

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Section: Lateralitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Posture-reading by men’s football goalkeepers and other factors in saving penalty kicks

Sequeira

Vallejo²,

Fariña

2021

Rev. Bras. Ciênc. Esporte

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“…Laterality in football is another relevant aspect to consider, as it can influence players' performances during the practice of this sport (Petro & Szabo, 2016). Laterality indicates the tendency to use one side of the body predominantly over the other, such as in the case of the dominant hand, foot, and eye.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of visual occlusion during small-sided games on youth football players

Esposito

2024

J. Hum. Sport Exerc.

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This study aimed to investigate the effects of playing with visual occlusion (OCC) during small-sided games (SSG) performed under different pitch sizes on youth players' physical and technical performance. The purpose was to understand how visual occlusion may influence players' behaviour and performance in game-based scenarios. Thirty youth football players from a U14 football academy participated in the study. The design involved a repeated-measures approach, with players exposed to different experimental conditions: normal situation (NOR) without OCC; OCC with an eye patch on the dominant foot's corresponding eye. The SSGs were performed on both small and large pitch sizes. Time-motion variables were computed using positional data, and technical analysis was based on video footage. A repeated measures analysis of variance was conducted to identify differences in the considered variables between the conditions. Although no significant effects were found in technical performance between NOR and OCC conditions, suggesting adaptability to OCC constraints, some trends were observed. Increasing pitch size in the NOR scenario led to higher physical demands and more touches with the dominant foot, while smaller pitches led to an increase in the number of passes. Larger pitches with OCC increased physical demands. Players tended to use their non-dominant foot more in smaller pitches with OCC. Furthermore, OCC in larger pitches significantly reduced the game pace, movements, and dribbling frequency, allowing more time for decision-making based on environmental information. Playing with visual occlusion may impact players' behaviour and performance, leading to adjustments in the use of dominant and non-dominant feet.

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“…Laterality is a multidimensional construct (Badzakova et al, 2010) referring to the preferential use of one side of the body compared to the other (Petro & Szabo, 2016; Sadeghi et al, 2000). Past motor research has shown that laterality related to cerebral hemispheric dominance for motor control, is also affected by both environmental and genetic factors (Musalek, 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Compared to the ability of the non-dominant hemisphere to control the contralateral side of the body, the dominant cerebral hemisphere has a predominant influence on motor control, creating greater motor precision, speed and coordinated actions on that side (Teixeira et al, 2003). Moreover, while being right-handed and right-footed is most common, with only 10% of the general population left-handed (Papadatou-Pastou et al, 2008; Raymond & Pontier, 2004), the prevalence of being left-handed or left-footed is higher among athletes in various sports (e.g., handball, basketball, fencing, and boxing) (Harris, 2010; Petro & Szabo, 2016; Ziyagil et al, 2010). Cerebral hemispheric dominance is more closely related to lower extremity preference than other lateral dominance preferences, (Bryden, 1998).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bilateral Training Improves Agility and Accuracy for Both Preferred and Non-Preferred Legs in Young Soccer Players

et al. 2022

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As laterality of the lower limbs is regarded as a relevant influence on soccer performance, we assessed whether a bilateral training program for both the preferred leg (PL) and non-preferred leg (NPL) would improve soccer players’ lateral asymmetry, agility, and accuracy. Sixty right-foot-dominant young soccer players were randomly assigned to either an experimental group (EXP) that underwent bilateral training or a control group (CONT) that performed their usual training schedule without bilateral exercise. We assessed the players’ lateral asymmetries before and after training on four soccer skill tasks: a zigzag test with and without a ball, a receiving and direct volley-shooting accuracy test, and a passing accuracy test. Results showed post-test versus pre-test performance improvements for the EXP group on the index of technical skills and agility ( p < .001). A post-hoc analysis further revealed a pre-test to post-test performance improvement on shooting and passing accuracy with both legs only for the EXP group ( p < .001). These results support the role of bilateral practice in improving lateral asymmetries, agility, and accuracy.

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The Impact of Laterality on Soccer Performance

Cited by 6 publications

References 53 publications

Posture-reading by men’s football goalkeepers and other factors in saving penalty kicks

Posture-reading by men’s football goalkeepers and other factors in saving penalty kicks

The impact of visual occlusion during small-sided games on youth football players

Bilateral Training Improves Agility and Accuracy for Both Preferred and Non-Preferred Legs in Young Soccer Players

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