About this article
In football, the ability to use both feet is often described as a natural gift. When a young player can pass, receive, dribble or finish comfortably with either foot, coaches may say that the player is “naturally two-footed.”
That description can be misleading.
Although some players develop bilateral confidence more easily than others, effective use of the non-preferred foot is usually the result of experience, repetition, encouragement and purposeful practice. It develops because the player has repeatedly been placed in situations where using the other foot is helpful, necessary and eventually normal.
What coaches will explore
- Connecting foot selection to perception, decision and execution.
- Designing directional and opposed practices that encourage either foot.
- Developing receiving, passing, dribbling and finishing across age groups.
- Using a four-week development block and observable measures of progress.
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