Neural Pattern Distortion
Leave a commentOctober 18, 2011 by Gary McCoy
Players roll up to the game with a glove- right or left handed, and you get a clue as to their arm dominance. But what about their leg and just as important- if not the most critical- eye dominance?
Three quick assessments first introduced at the IMG academy for tennis players include an interlocking hands behind the head test (arm), a 180 degree jump test, (leg) and the extended arm with hands forming a circle and visually focusing on a distant object, closing eyes independently to assess object movement and eye dominance.
There are many assessment s in the area of leg dominance as indicated by Spry, C. Zebas and Visser in their 1990 Study “WHAT IS LEG DOMINANCE?” (University of Kansas Lawrence, Kansas, USA), and likely as many arm and eye assessments. FOllowing accurate diagnostics for your athlete and your situation (ten assessments or a simple three) the Strength Conditioning and Performance Coach acquires knowledge that can be shared with skills coaches.
Astros Hitting Coordinator Ty Van Burkleo is a literal “repository” of hitting information. Following assessment of dominant limbs in instructional league prospects, it started to become evident that such dominance was having an effect on advancing a critical skill specific to hitting, Hip Rotation. The next step- to create training drills specifically to reduce the impeding dominance of leg, hand or eye, and watch the results.
Immediately – players “see the ball better”, “feel more balanced”, felt as if they had more “Power” when returning to hitting after the introduction of neural pattern distortion drills. While subjective in analysis- this provides valuable ground for discussion and further analysis for skill based sports such as baseball.
