Abstract
In comparison to athletes performing with a right side orientation, left-oriented performers appear advantaged in interactive sports (Loffing, Hagemann, & Strauß, 2010; Puterman, Schorer, & Baker, 2011). The emergence of a lefties' advantage is assumed to be predominantly explained by negative frequency-dependent effects (Raymond, Pontier, Dufour, & Møller, 1996). Because lefties are less common, competitors fail to build up strategies to circumvent the specific perceptual, technical or tactical tasks used by lefties. The aim of this study was twofold. First, we considered whether this advantage was reflected in an over-representation of left-footed penalty takers in the World and European soccer Championships compared to the incidence of left-footers in the normal population. Second, we examined whether kicking left-footed was associated with greater success in low- (preliminary games) versus high-stress (playoff games) situations. Data from an analysis of 30 years of Championships in soccer indicate that left-footers were over-represented, although this may be explained by positional tactic demands (cf. Schorer, Cobley, Büsch, Bräutigam, & Baker, 2009). Interestingly, while left- and right-footed players performed equally well in low-stress situations, left-footed kickers failed more often in high stress situations (10% fewer goals). These results suggest there may be disadvantages connected to left lateralization in sports. Preliminary hypotheses will be discussed.
