Abstract
The present study aims to compare the strength of right and left legs and reaction times of soccer players depending on their hand and foot preferences. The study included 92 volunteers chosen from amateur soccer players. The measurements conducted on the subjects were anthropometric characteristics, foot reaction times (sound, light) and right and left foot squat parameters. The t-test was used for statistical procedures. Among the amateur soccer players who participated in this study, it was found that 19.57% used left hand and 67.39% used right hand as preferred. Soccer players using both hands equally were found with a rate of 13.4%. In terms of foot preference, it was found that 22.83% of the participants used left foot and 43.48% of the participants used right foot as preferred. The soccer players using both feet equally was found as 33.70%. No significant difference was found between right handers and left handers in reaction time measurements when the soccer players were grouped by hand preference. When compared with left footed players (0.29 sec), only the right foot sound reaction time of right footed players was significantly shorter (0.21 sec) at p<. 05 level. Statistically significant correlation was found between soccer players’ hand and foot preference at a level of p< 0.01. Left footed players had significantly higher left leg mean squat (37.19 kg) when compared with right footed players (32.27 kg). No significant difference was found between right footed (35.36 kg) and left footed (33.98) subjects in terms of mean of right leg squat. Conclusion: According to the hand preference, the proportion of those who use equally two feet increased. Reaction times and force's squat of the dominant hands and feet were better. Training programs for soccer players planned according to individual characteristics including footedness may result in performance increase and decrease in injury as a result of reduced strength and reaction time asymmetry between legs and arms.
Highlights
While about 75% of the human population is strongly right-handed, about 90% is predominantly right-handed
The present study aims to compare the strength of right and left legs and reaction times of soccer players depending on their hand and foot preferences
Another aim of this study is to investigate the change in right and left hand or foot preference depending on usage
Summary
While about 75% of the human population is strongly right-handed, about 90% is predominantly right-handed. A previous study on university students showed a positive association between left-handedness and divergent thinking in male students (Beratis et al 2013) It has been reported in many studies that the rate of dominant left-handed athletes is high among high-level athletes in baseball, tennis, fencing, cricket fight sports boxing and wrestling (Akça et al, 2015).Temporal distribution of handedness should be investigated to understand the impact of handedness on performance. Frequencies of left-handed pitchers and batters increased logarithmically with time (between 1876 and 1985) and attained a stable overrepresentation at 30% in Major League Baseball (Wood & Aggleton 1989) As another example, left-handed batsmen were more successful than the right-handed batsmen 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup and the rate of left-handed batsmen was about 50.5% in most successful teams (Brooks et al 2004). A higher proportion (20%) of professional cricketers were found to bowl with their left hand, which brought to mind that left-handed advantage is tactical (Wood & Aggleton 1989)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
