It's the start of a new season on Saturday and hopefully the start of a new successful era for York City FC, and for my first column, I thought it would be interesting to discuss something that goes back to the basics of football, when players are just starting out on the football path.

I've often heard people asking why many professional footballers can kick with only one foot, or at least predominantly with only one foot.

This is something that often comes up when you're talking about youngsters coming through.

It's difficult to give a straight-forward answer but I think it is something we could all look at.

Obviously when children are born they are going to be stronger on one side, whether it be left or right, bar a few children who are born ambidextrous.

However, with practice, a child can become competent on both sides and where football is concerned my feeling is that if a child is taught from a very early age to use both feet, they can become ambidextrous.

The most important people in this respect are the parents, who are a child's first teacher.

The parent can quickly spot which is a child's stronger side, but if the child is taught to kick a ball with both feet from, say, the age of two, then by the time they get to seven or eight years old, when they may get involved with professional clubs, it could be second nature to them.

It is easier for clubs to continue that teaching than to start possibly from scratch with a one-sided player.

Furthermore, if a boy is obviously good with both feet, he has a better chance of being spotted quicker by a professional club.

We are always looking to improve in any way we can and one thing that struck home to me when I watched some of the European Under-16s Championship matches at Bootham Crescent earlier this year was that the better teams had players who could use both feet well.

The Dutch and French in particular stood out because they were comfortable using both feet, and I don't think it's a coincidence that Holland and France have been two of the most successful nations in the world game in recent years.

I haven't done any research into it but it would be interesting to know from what age those players have been using both feet in practice.

My advice to parents would be to encourage their children from as early an age as possible to kick with both feet.

I know it is easier said than done as children so young don't necessarily have long attention spans, and if they don't feel comfortable they might get fed up. But perseverance and patience can bring great rewards.

I can't really talk from experience because I have three daughters who haven't taken the football path, but I am sure that if I had a son I would try to teach him to use both feet from the moment he could kick a ball.

At professional football clubs, if a player who has signed for you from school can only kick with one foot, you are not going to be able to change him greatly in 18 months before he signs professional terms. The early years when he's growing up are the most important.

People could say that some of the best players of all time, such as Maradona, Puskas or even Pele were one-footed, which is true.

But if Maradona, for example, was as good with his right foot as he was with his left, then he would have been an even greater player.

Generally, the first six or seven years of a child's life are the years that go a long way to deciding how they go on in later life.

And in this sense you can relate that specifically to football.