Gilsenan, Lauren ORCID: 0000-0002-4158-4714 (2022) To investigate bilateral kicking accuracy in ladies Gaelic football. Master of Science thesis, Dublin City University.
Abstract
Background
Kicking accurately is essential in Gaelic games, and players who kick proficiently with both
feet are viewed as highly skilled athletes. Bilateral ability in asymmetrical sport is a potentially
advantageous and has been shown to be a key indicator to successful outcomes in games.
While research has been done in other sports, very little is known about kicking accuracy
among Ladies Gaelic Football Association (LGFA) footballers. The aim of this study is to
investigate bilateral kicking accuracy in Ladies Gaelic Football. A secondary aim of this study
is to analyse kicking accuracy within games in Ladies Gaelic Football.
Methods
Notational analysis was used to analyse the various forms of kicking in Ladies Gaelic Football.
A total of 15 LGF pre-recorded games were analysed with a view to exploring the use of
bilateral kicking in Ladies Gaelic games, and to investigate the role of kicking accuracy in
successful game outcomes. A testing protocol to assess bilateral kicking performance in LGF
players was developed. Kicking accuracy was measured in both dominant and non-dominant
leg at a variety of angles from a distance of 20 meters. The assessment entailed two trials,
one in which participants took all their kicks in sequential order, and another where they
kicked in a randomised order.
Results
The results show that there are an average of 196 kicks in LGF games. The results show that
significant differences exist between overall kick passing accuracy (p = .024 with a large effect
size (η
2 = .17).), as well as significant differences in shooting accuracy (p = .012 with a large
effect size (η2 = . 21)) between winning and losing teams. Further findings show that the
dominant foot shooting performance was significantly greater than the non-dominant foot
kicking performance. For both the controlled and the Randomised test all angles were more
accurate on the dominant foot. For example, Angle A between the controlled dominant (Mean
= 3.25 ±1.070) and the controlled non-dominant (Mean 1.65 ±1.348) there was a significant
difference ( p < 0.000 (two-tailed) η
2= 0.53, which is a large effect size).)
Conclusion
This study suggest that kicking accuracy is an important factor in achieving success in LGF.
This was shown by the results showing what types of kicking are most significant in each half.
The results show that teams who perform better in their shooting in the first half are more
likely to win the game. Whereas, shooting accuracy is not a significant differentiator in the
second half, with kick passing accuracy shown to be significant in order to secure a win .
Unsurprisingly, the dominant foot has been shown to perform better, but this reinforces the
importance of bilateral skill development as a key component of coaching and session design.
This thesis also presents a possible tool for coaches to assess bilateral kicking accuracy. These
tools are important potential tools for the LGFA, for the development of the LGF game as well
as a tool for individual teams and their coaches.
Metadata
Item Type: | Thesis (Master of Science) |
---|---|
Date of Award: | November 2022 |
Refereed: | No |
Supervisor(s): | Behan, Stephen, MacNamara, Áine, Passmore, David and Susta, Davide |
Subjects: | Medical Sciences > Performance Medical Sciences > Sports sciences |
DCU Faculties and Centres: | DCU Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Science and Health > School of Health and Human Performance |
Use License: | This item is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License. View License |
ID Code: | 27706 |
Deposited On: | 18 Nov 2022 09:09 by Stephen Behan . Last Modified 03 Nov 2023 12:01 |
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