Jack Hiscox Draft Prospect

[wolftone57]

I coached Auskick for a number of years. Kids that started as young as 5 were very hard to get to try their wrong foot. It just didn't compute. As they got older it was no easier. I had a kid who was an absolute dunce on his right foot. His dad had him kicking right footed. When I said to him try your other foot...bingo... he was a leftie. His mum was gobsmacked. His dad didn't come to Auskick!!! Then you had the odd natural who could kick nearly as well on both feet.

Jimitron.....it is normal for most players to be one sided. It takes ages for a player, as a junior to get the skill. Boby Skilton was a left footer. To train himself to also kick as well with his right foot, he did lap after lap after lap bouncing the footy with his right hand. When he mastered that he was able to drop the ball to his right foot to teach himself how to kick on the right. I saw footage of Don Bradman hitting a golf ball against the wall with a cricket wicket.

Damian Cupido played junior footy with my son from Auskick to Under 15. He was a natural on both sides of his body by both foot and hand. Yes he played AFL at Brisbane and Essendon but alas didn't have it upstairs to succeed. We played against Sam Mitchell's team and Sam could kick both feet but not equally. What he is now with his kicking is about what he was at Under 16's.

I know that problem. I was a natural but kicking both feet was really hard as a leftie. I HB both hands from the age of seven as the coaches in Broken Hill insisted on us practising it from the first day we came to mosquito Fleet at aged five. I agree totally that kicking on your non preferred is extremely hard to learn. I had a get out of trouble kick but that was about all, I could hit a player on a lead on the right up to about 30 metres. When I taught nieces and nephews I always insisted they use the non preferred foot or hand in each session. So all these so called experts on here who denigrate players for not having a non preferred why don't you all go to the park and try it one day.

By the way I am not saying Jack will be a star immediately or at all but he will be useful. He is very quick and his disposal is very good generally. He also knows where to bbe to attract the ball. He gets free a lot, a bit like Lloydy, and uses his pace to burn off the opposition. His tackling is very good for the person who asked. Jack can also take a good grab. He has lots of work to do but one thing that will never be a problem is fitness or him being lazy as he runs all the time and never stops as he is an endurance athlete. So all in all Jack is a very good pick up and will be good for us. By the way I think he improved very quickly in the reserves and by seasons end he was killing it in the NEAFL.

[Auntie.Gerald]

it is interesting comparing experiences on how to help others have minimal preference on what foot to kick with or hand pass with for that matter

i never told my daughter to kick with one foot as a preference

all i would do is go for a kick a few times a week with her..........and i would always kick with both feet equally.......... and she copied that

ie i would kick left then i would literally kick right foot to her - always alternating

within a season she kicked both feet equally...........and still to this day some 9 years later when she runs into to kick a goal she uses either foot with no favour

[Conor_Dillon]

I consider myself to have a pretty handy opposite foot and I definitely put it down to dad making me bounce the ball with my left hand from a very young age...makes it so much easier!

I also think these days that the pressure and scrutiny is so intense on players that they aren't willing to use their opposite foot in case they make a mistake...i'm sure at training most of the guys that are reluctant to use their opposite on game day probably nail kicks all day long on both feet.

[Jimitron5000]

Jimitron.....it is normal for most players to be one sided. It takes ages for a player, as a junior to get the skill. Boby Skilton was a left footer. To train himself to also kick as well with his right foot, he did lap after lap after lap bouncing the footy with his right hand. When he mastered that he was able to drop the ball to his right foot to teach himself how to kick on the right. I saw footage of Don Bradman hitting a golf ball against the wall with a cricket wicket.

I agree that people have a dominant side. Very few are equally capable off either foot, the only three I can think of off the top of my head are Nathan Buckley, Jason Akermanis and Sam Mitchell.
What I can't understand is that AFL level players being incompetent on their non-dominant side. Yes, it's a difficult skill to learn for all but the naturals, but most of them have been playing footy from a young age and are highly paid professionals. Surely somewhere along the line they should be able to master a get out jail kick, or reliable short kick on their non-preferred foot.

[wolftone57]

it is interesting comparing experiences on how to help others have minimal preference on what foot to kick with or hand pass with for that matter

i never told my daughter to kick with one foot as a preference

all i would do is go for a kick a few times a week with her..........and i would always kick with both feet equally.......... and she copied that

ie i would kick left then i would literally kick right foot to her - always alternating

within a season she kicked both feet equally...........and still to this day some 9 years later when she runs into to kick a goal she uses either foot with no favour

Not all people are ambidextrous. some are highly weighted one side. I am like that and trying to kick on the right was hard for me as a kid. They tried very hard to get me to kick both feet but as I say only got to the stage of a short awkward get out of trouble kick. Yet I had no problems handballing both hands and could dribble kick both feet in soccer but not kick long. My brother wrote both hands, kicked on both feet & handballed both hands, he could also bat & bowl both hands in cricket. I on the other hand could only bowl left & bat right (no left hander to teach me & now I bat left).

[wolftone57]

Stop knocking Jack for being one sided there are very few two sided players in our squad. Parker, Macca can but doesn't enough, Goodes, Hewett, Mitchell, Lloyd. I'd say that is about it, can't think of any more. if you can think of more pray tell.

these players are the worst on the non preferred; Grundy, Teddy, Buddy, Kizza, Shaw, Hannas, & the rest really LOL