Skill Acquisition in Left- and Right-Dominant Athletes: Insights From Elite Coaching

This chapter provides an overview of skill acquisition as it relates to laterality in elite sport. The general concepts of explicit and implicit processes of learning are initially introduced and discussed with respect to the instructional approaches that coaches employ in practice. With an overarching focus on laterality, the practical implications of these concepts are then considered in the context of the current scientific evidence, most specifically with respect to learning via observation, the provision of feedback in the learning process, and structuring practice to facilitate learning. It is the authors' intention that this chapter allows practitioners to derive direct practical insights to enhance skill acquisition for athletes, irrespective of their lower or upper limb dominance.