COACHES' CORNER  IMPROVING YOUR WEAK SIDE:Coaching experts Jim Kiltyand Liam Hennessylook at ways of improving your "weak" side which may make all the difference

MOST OF us are what you might call one-sided when it comes to playing field and court sports. That is we tend to have a better skill competence with kicking the ball off the right leg compared to the left.

We might have a better throwing arm on one side or passing side compared to the other. This is normal – but is it natural? Well seemingly most of us have just been lazy – we used our so called “good” side during those critical formative years when we were growing and honing our skills mainly off one side. And we just kept expressing our skills from our dominant side through our teenage years and thus we still do in adulthood.

However, the real top players are actually ambidextrous. That is they have about equal proficiency striking from both sides or passing from both sides or kicking from both sides. While they have a dominant or preferred side they invariably, even under pressure, can produce an efficient delivery with their non-dominant side.

Also players who can use both sides efficiently can be extremely difficult to mark in a game as they have such a range of options for moving and using their skills.

Learn to use both sides early in life. The ideal time to ensure that a player becomes ambidextrous is during the early skill development window – up to about 12 years of age. So coaches and teachers should devise practices that challenge their young players with drills and mini-games where they have to kick from the non-dominant leg, pass off the less proficient side and throw with the less competent side.

A coach should provide the time during each and every training or practice session for non-dominant practice. Otherwise it’s unlikely that side will ever become proficient in skill.

Also while a young player may be reluctant to practice or use his or her less efficient side the coach should make the drills and games FUN. This will partly disguise the awkwardness with which the young player executes the drill.

Sometimes the element of competition can be used in these games. For example, allowing scores that were achieved using the non-dominant side is just one way of subtly developing their skills on both sides.

Players’ level of skill will be at a lower level on the non-dominant side. Therefore while the player may demonstrate a “mature” level of, say, place-kicking in rugby or sideline “cutting” in hurling from the right side, the skill competency level may only be at a beginner level when using the opposite side. More concentration and practice has to take place if the non-dominant side is to move to the “intermediate” level. So coach the player to be patient when using the non-dominant side. Patience, timely encouragement and a willingness to allow mistakes are key qualities for the coach at this stage.

What about the adult player who is decidedly one-sided? Can he or she benefit from practising their non-dominant side? The answer is yes. Consider the efficiency of ambidextrous players. Often they can outwit an opponent on the field or court because they have a greater range of options when pressurised.

But adults will have to commit to spending a lot more time than their younger counterparts if they are to move their skill level from a beginner level through an intermediate level to a mature level that holds up under pressure in competition. The off-season and pre-season are the ideal periods to block practice on the non-dominant side of the skill.

Throughout the year the coach of the adult team can use the guidelines given for the young player – set aside a portion of practice and condition the game to include only non-dominant side skill use. This investment in non-dominant practice time may well result in one of those ‘I always believed he could do it’ moments that may make the difference between scoring and not and winning and losing.

These notes are contributed by Dr Liam Hennessy and Jim Kilty of Setanta College, the Institute of Strength and Conditioning Studies (www.setantacollege.com)