This study examined the optimal direction of bilateral transfer and the effects of different practice schedules on bilateral skill acquisition. Special attention was devoted to theoretical frameworks explaining bilateral transfer and to skill acquisition within the variability of practice paradigm. The task employed was a ball-bouncing task and participants (n=56) acquired the skill under one of four practice conditions: practicing either with their preferred hand only (Control Group), with their preferred before switching to their non-preferred hand (P-NP Group), with their non-preferred before switching to their preferred hand (NP-P), or constantly switching from one hand to the other after every third trial (Alternating Group). Two dependent measures, bouncing accuracy (AE: absolute error) and bouncing consistency (VE: variable error), were tested separately on each hand on five different occasions: pretest, posttest, short-term retention test, long-term retention test, and transfer test. Absolute Error data analysis on the preferred hand revealed a significant main effect of time (p<.001) and significant interactive effects of time and group (p<.05) for bouncing accuracy. The differences were found to be at the posttest and short-term retention test level favoring the NP-P group over the P-NP, and at the long-term retention test level demonstrating superior performance for both the NP-P and Alternating group over the P-NP and Control group (all p’s<.05). In addition, the Alternating group demonstrated better performance accuracy than the Control group when tested for transfer (p<.05). Absolute Error data analysis on the non-preferred hand also indicated a significant main effect for time (p<.001), as well as significant interactive effects of time and group [F(9,52)=2.289, p<.05] for bouncing accuracy. Here, both the NP-P group and the Alternating group demonstrated lower AE scores than the Control group during the posttest (all p’s<.05), displaying greater performance accuracy. Further, the NP-P group was able to retain the skill (AE) better than the Control group (p<.05). Both the NP-P and the Alternating group demonstrated greater AE (performance accuracy) than the P-NP and the Control group, even when both hands were randomly involved in a retention test (all p’s<.05). This advantage in bilateral competence was further displayed in a subsequent transfer test where the NP-P and the Alternating group outperformed the Control group while engaging both hands randomly in the testing order (all p’s<.05). It is suggested that an initial involvement of the non-preferred side of the body into practice may be most beneficial during early skill acquisition.