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Soccer

What coud Ronaldo teach Gerrard about kicking a ball correctly?

Ex-England rugby hero Jonny Wilkinson once described him as "the best kicking coach in the world"...



What coud Ronaldo teach Gerrar...
Soccer

What coud Ronaldo teach Gerrard about kicking a ball correctly?

Ex-England rugby hero Jonny Wilkinson once described him as "the best kicking coach in the world", while he has also worked with Ireland fly halves Jonathan Sexton and Paddy Jackson. Other well-known clients including three-time major winner Padraig Harrington and former golf No 1 Luke Donald.

Renowned sports performance coach Dave Alred comes with quite a CV to put it mildly and our own Joe Molloy spoke to him about the work he does, the process and effect of dealing with high pressure situations and why "there is no such thing as a mistake".

"It was Aristotle that said that 'man who competes to be better than his fellow man is noble but true nobility is man who competes with his previous self.' I believe that most of us underachieve. We do not realise our potential and there are all sorts of reasons why," he said, explaining why it also applies to elite sportspeople.  

Alred also touched on the kicking styles of Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard and Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo.

Citing the image of a Gerrard final penalty kicking position, he described it as Gerrard's "core collapsing and is on the way to how people get injured".

He detailed why Enner Valencia's recent wonder strike for West Ham against Hull was so correct and cited Cristiano Ronaldo as a good example of correct posture and kicking technique. 

Alred, who mused about the nurture v nature debate in relation to sporting performance and the traits common to the world's top sportspeople, also giving anecdotes into the kicking practice he has been doing with Sexton and Jackson. 

Listen to the full inteview via the podcast:

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