Developing two-footed footballers: 'What we're currently doing is not working'

<p><strong>Join 7k+ athletes - Gaelic Games S&amp;C, Performance and Coaching newsletter: </strong><a href="https://portal.humansofgaelic.com/newsletter" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">⁠⁠https://portal.humansofgaelic.com/newsletter</a></p><p>Why are GAA players being dictated to by their dominant foot without even knowing it? Why does dominant-side kicking shape a team's entire tactical shape? And why is what we're currently doing to develop the non-dominant side simply not working?</p><p>Dr. Karol Dillon has just completed his PhD on bilaterality in Gaelic football - five years of research - and he's back on the podcast to break it all down.</p><p>After our first conversation, Karol has spent the last year visiting clubs and counties across Ireland sharing his findings. What he found surprised even him.</p><p>In this episode, we cover:</p><ul><li><p>Why skill development in GAA needs to be treated like a lifestyle, not a drill at training</p></li><li><p>What the research actually showed when Karol ran a three-month intervention - and why the result wasn't what he expected</p></li><li><p>How dominant-foot kicking shapes team tactics across every division, male and female</p></li><li><p>Why left-footed players are worth their weight in gold and are undervalued </p></li><li><p>What David Clifford, Shane Walsh, Tomas Ó Sé and James O'Donoghue have in common that most coaches miss</p></li><li><p>Why the games-based approach is what teenage players themselves say works best</p></li><li><p>The role of parents in developing the non-dominant side - and why they matter more than the coach</p></li><li><p>How S&amp;C coaches can bring this into training</p></li><li><p>How GAA's own 13-week coaching webinar only dedicates one week to skill - and what that tells us</p></li><li><p>Why we're playing with half a pitch and what would change if this improved by 25% over 30 years</p><p>You can follow Karol on X: <a href="https://x.com/KarolDillon8" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">https://x.com/KarolDillon8</a></p></li></ul>