Motoric dominance and sporting excellence: training versus heredity

Area of Science:

• Sports Science
• Human Motor Performance
• Neuroscience

Background:

• Laterality in sports has gained significant attention over the past two decades.
• Motoric dominance is a key focus within laterality research in athletic contexts.
• Existing literature indicates that specific motoric dominance patterns confer advantages in certain sports, leading to overrepresentation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide an overview of the two main hypotheses explaining motoric dominance distribution in sports: innate superiority and strategic advantage.
• To review existing research pertinent to these hypotheses.
• To identify future research directions and discuss implications.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of studies on laterality and motoric dominance in sports.
• Analysis of theoretical frameworks, specifically the 'innate superiority' and 'strategic advantage' hypotheses.
• Synthesis of reported empirical work and identification of research gaps.

Main Results:

• The distribution of motoric dominance in athletes is not random and offers performance advantages.
• Two primary theoretical explanations, innate superiority and strategic advantage, are presented.
• Empirical evidence and theoretical considerations for each hypothesis are discussed.

Conclusions:

• Understanding laterality and motoric dominance is crucial for sports science and coaching.
• Further empirical research is needed to validate and refine the proposed hypotheses.
• The findings have implications for talent identification, training strategies, and understanding athletic performance.