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Last Updated: Aug 18th, 2006 - 10:40:24
 
Cross-dominance training


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As the Director of Sports Performance at Xcel Sports Medicine it is important that we train each athlete to perform at their highest level. Over the years I have performed several studies on the importance of cross-dominance training. Ambidexterity is the ability to use both left and right eyes, hands and feet equally. It is rare to be born with this skill; in most cases it is learned and through cross-dominance training it can be mastered. I feel this is one of the best ways to give athletes an edge over their competition.

Most training facilities focus on and promote their ability to improve an athletes speed, strength, agility and power. That is standard practice, and all athletes who engage in periodization training will have increased speed, strength, agility and power when it is needed for competition. Under the guidelines of periodization training athletes soon learn that you can not increase performance in any more than two attributes at a time. For example, you can not improve speed and power while trying to improve strength.

Cross-dominance training can be taught and practiced throughout the entire periodization phase. Cross-dominance training focuses on improving an athlete’s ability to use their non-dominate eye, hand, and foot, creating balance in the athlete’s skills so that they can use their dominant or non-dominant side of their body during competition. This has proven to be a great asset to the athlete whether they are switch-hitting in baseball, improving swimming speed, or kicking a soccer ball at all angles. Here are a few famous athletes who have practiced being ambidextrous: Baseball-Pete Rose and Tony Mullin, Tennis-Maria Sharapova, Pool-Ronnie O’Sullivan, Basketball-Larry Bird, Michael Jackson (Georgetown). In sports, no vulnerability announces itself louder than the inability to use your non-dominant side. Those who take the time to develop their weak side often find that balanced skills are in high demand. Everyone appreciates the advantage of a switch hitter who bats for high averages, a tennis player whose backhand is just as deadly as the forehand, or a hockey player who can score from both sides of the net. At Xcel, cross-dominance training is one of our focuses to make the average athlete a better athlete.

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