Laterality in Sports: Theories and Applications summarizes recent research on the neurophysiological foundations of handedness, and how left or right lateralization (affecting primary hand use, foot use, and eye use) affects motor control, performance outcome, skill acquisition, and achievement of sports expertise-both for one-on-one sports and team sports. As laterality research has matured, greater focus has been given to applications in human endeavors and, in particular, sport. The book examines performance within individual sports, and discusses the coaching ramifications of coaching to a specific lateralization preference.

Includes index.

Online resource; title from PDF title page (ScienceDirect, viewed September 1, 2016).

Title page; Table of Contents; Copyright; List of Contributors; Editor Biographies; Preface; Chapter 1. Laterality in Sports: More Than Two Sides of the Same Coin; The Structure of the Book; Section A. Laterality -- An Important and Often Disregarded Topic; Chapter 2. Origins, Development, and Persistence of Laterality in Humans; The Complex Measurement of Handedness; Handedness in the Past; Geographical Variations; Heritability of Hand Preference; Environmental Factors; Evolutionary Forces Acting on the Polymorphism of Handedness; Conclusion.

Chapter 3. In Fencing, Are Left-Handers Trouble for Right-Handers? What Fencing Masters Said in the Past and What Scientists Say TodayIntroduction; Handedness in Fencing; Left-HandedNESS and Fencing: the View Today; Conclusion; Chapter 4. Measurement of Laterality and Its Relevance for Sports; An Assessment-Oriented Perspective; Laterality as Latent Structure From a Test Theoretical Perspective; Conclusion; Chapter 5. Laterality and Its Role in Talent Identification and Athlete Development; Talent Identification and Selection; Approaches to Researching Talent.

Influence of Laterality on Talent DevelopmentExpertise Research and Laterality: Real Experts Are Rare in Their Occurrence; Some Advantages Come and Go: An Evolutionary Perspective on Laterality; Two Cases as Examples for Practical Implications; Chapter 6. Perspectives From Sports Medicine; Introduction; Interpretation of Musculoskeletal Testing: The Need for Understanding Population-Specific Laterality in Sports Medicine; Upper Extremity; Lower Extremity; Trunk; Summary; Section B. Motor Control and Learning.

Chapter 7. What Can We Learn About Cognition From Studying Handedness? Insights From Cognitive NeuroscienceIntroduction; The Left-Handed Brain; Left-Handed Language; Left-Handed Learners; Application of Results From Handedness Studies; Conclusions and Summary; Chapter 8. Laterality of Basic Motor Control Mechanisms: Different Roles of the Right and Left Brain Hemispheres; Introduction; Vertebrate Brain Lateralization; Human Handedness; Two Fundamental Components of Motor Control; Dominant Arm Advantages in Predictive Control; Nondominant Arm Advantages in Impedance Control.

The Effects of Hybrid Control on Motor Performance and AdaptationHemispheric Specializations for Control of Limb Dynamics and Limb Impedance; Motor Asymmetries in Left-Handers; Application to Sports and Athletics; Summary and Conclusions; Chapter 9. Effector Transfer; The Structure, Control, and Effector Transfer of Movement Sequences; Effector Transfer Can Disrupt Sequence Concatenation; Multiple Representations; Implicit Versus Explicit Coding; Handedness, Hemispheric Asymmetries, and Effector Transfer; Summary.

Includes bibliographical references and index.