The uncos have problems kicking the ball between the giant sticks .
This is hilarious .
We can't kick straight .
Maybe it's the balls fault .
It's the age-old problem that some of the game's greatest minds haven't been able to solve: how to teach footballers to kick straight?
Fairfax Media can reveal that long-time football manufacturer Sherrin is tackling the problem, designing a new football aimed specifically at improving accuracy.
The new footy, which will be a slightly different shape to the traditional ball, is being created as a training aid for all levels of football, including at the AFL.
The ball is not being created with the aim to replace the original design, but purely to be used in a training environment to develop kicking patterns.
While Sherrin is remaining tight-lipped on the specifics of the ball's design, it's believed the new football will have a "sweet spot" painted on it, where impact will produce the most accurate kick.
Chris Lambert, managing director of parent company Russell Corporation, says Sherrin has been wanting to "zero in" on skill development, and believes the new football will do just that.
"We've been working specifically on the accuracy of kicking becoming an issue in the game," he said.
"We are working on a couple of concepts."
While the history of the game has seen several drastic changes on how football has been played, kicking accuracy has forever been an issue.
Alastair Clarkson's demand for elite kicking was one of the foundations on which Hawthorn built their dynasty, both with their field kicking and in front of goal, where Jack Gunston is one of the finest exponents of accuracy.
On the other side of the equation, Levi Casboult's career-long struggle for consistency in front of goal has caused heart palpitations for many Carlton fans.
But with Sherrin's new creation, which the company is hopeful will be ready in 2017, players of any age and skill level will have the opportunity to learn how to kick the ball straighter more often.
The design of the ball is believed to be based around players understanding why some kicks go straight, and others miss the target left or right.
"It could be a six-year-old in juniors just learning to kick for the first time, or it could be an AFL goalkicker whose accuracy is down," Lambert said.
"It won't exactly look the same ... the ball will look a little bit different."
Since Thomas Sherrin built a small factory in Collingwood way back in 1880, the football as we know it hasn't changed.
But the company is becoming increasingly innovative, and will work with the league and with clubs to identify trends in the game that could be explored through the design of the ball.
This specific idea — to develop a ball that goes straighter — isn't the only one being developed by Sherrin, with several more ideas being brainstormed.
"That's where we are headed with a range of things over the next two to three years, trying to enhance various different types of skills," Lambert said. "It's all about making better players ."
http://www.theage.com.au/AFL/AFL-news/n ... oq044.html
Skilllllllllzzzzz.
liar extraordinaire 
