Successful ball catching has two important aspects

Successful ball catching always starts with a prediction: careful observation of the person throwing the ball allows one to predict the flight of the ball. The movement brain uses this information to make a judgment about the best position in space to intercept the ball and then plans the arm movements to be ready to catch the ball at the right place and at the right time. 

The ability to predict the flight path  requires focused visual attention on the movements the thrower makes in readiness for throwing as well as noting the direction that the thrower looks. 

Many children who have difficulties with ball catching  have not learned to watch the actions of the thrower.  they have little experience predicting the flight of the ball and limited experience turning the information about the flight path of the ball into a motor plan. 

The second important aspect of ball catching is turning information about the flight of the ball into a motor plan. The movement brain uses the information about the predicted direction and speed of the ball to plan a movement that brings the hands to the right place at the right time.

The ability to plan and execute the precise movements needed to catch the ball takes lots of experience. Repeated practice of ball which involves successful and failed attempts trains the brain to use information to plan and execute the movements that lead to successful catches. 

Video clip: Roan 4 years catching a ball

In this video clip you see Roan (4 years) anticipating the ball by positioning her hands ready to catch. . 

You will also notice that towards the end of the clip Roan's arms start to tire and her ability to stay on task falters. Counting the catches helps her to focus. 

Graded training allows the child to succeed

Children with poor ball skills most times very aware that they are not able to do what their peers can do easily. As a result they are often resistant to engage in any ball activities because they expect to fail and the failure leaves them feeling bad.

To break the cycle of failure and avoidance, the training tasks described below as carefully graded so that your child experiences success most of the time. Take time to practice each task until the child has developed the skill needed to succeed on most attempts before before movement onto the next level.

An easy catch: Hands ready, watch me

In this catching activity the child lifts the hands forwards in readiness for catching the ball. The parent-trainer throws the ball to the child so that all he/she needs to do is bring the hands together at the right time. 

The parent-trainer also primes the child to pay attention to his/her throwing actions. This is very important as the child needs to learn to predict the flight of the ball by watching the thrower's movements as she prepares to throw. 

Activity instructions

Stand facing your child at a distance of about two meters. Hold the ball ready to throw. 

Instruct the child to reach forwards with the arms, hands shoulder width apart and facing each other in readiness for catching the ball. 

Prime the child to pay attention to your actions as you get ready to toss the ball:  Watch my hands: get ready to catch! 

Throw the ball to the child so that it passes between the hands and only a small movement of the hands towards the ball at the right time leads to a successful catch. 

Notice that successful catches are usually preceded by a rapid extension of the fingers. Sometimes the hands move apart a little before closing in on the ball. 

Notes

It important that the child catches with the hands firmly on the side of the ball. Discourage your child from scooping the ball by placing the hand under the ball and then clutching it to the chest. 

Start throwing the ball quite slowly and once your child manages to catch the ball successfully 3 out of 5 time. speed up you delivery to get a faster and more automatic response. .  

Build confidence by counting the number of successful catches

Start off by counting the number of successful catches out of 5 deliveries. provide positive feedback: "Wow! You caught the ball 3 times out of five."

Next, work towards doing 2-3 good catches in a row. If the ball is dropped, start counting at one again. Work to get 5 catches in a row.

Provide just right verbal reward for a successful attempt.

If the child succeeds, make a positive comment such as "Well done!" or "Good job!" 

Do not overpraise and it is very important not to praise when the child fails. Children know when there is a mismatch between the difficulty of the task and the amount of praise they receive.  Praise that is not linked to the child's own perception of success simply becomes background noise - it ceases to have any meaning. 

It is also very important to respond in a very low key and neutral way when the child does not catch the ball. "Oops, that one got away."  Or perhaps "Mistake. Lets try again"   This is very important because children with motor problems often have a related tendency to be anxious and this makes them pay undue attention to failures. Failures loom large and have a very negative impact on their sense of I-can-do. 

Catching a soccer ball - no hand positioning

The next step is to practice catching a soccer ball without holding the hands ready to catch,. Now the child needs to move the hands forwards and up to catch the ball - this requires a more complex pattern than just bringing the hands together.

Surprisingly, once the child has mastered catching the ball with the hands held in readiness, they quickly learn to move the hands further to get the hands into the right place at the right time. This is probably because the child has learned to pay attention to the thrower and is getting better at predicting the flight path of the ball. 

Activity instructions 

Let your child stand ready to catch the ball with the arms either down next tp the sides or held slightly forward in readiness for catching.

Stand facing your child a few meters away and throw the ball so that he/she can catch it easily in front of the body at about waist height. 

Follow the same procedure for counting catches and providing feedback as before. 

                    ..

Catching a soccer ball to the side 

In this activity the the ball is thrown so that it passes little way to the right or left of the child.  To catch the ball the child needs to twist the trunk and reach to the side. This adds to the complexity of the movement plan as now the movements of the arms needs to be coordinated with the  twisting movement of the trunk. 

Start by practicing catching a bounced ball. A bounced ball moves more slowly and the ball flight path can be visually tracked. This allows more time for planning the movementl.  Once your child can catch a bounced ball, make the task more difficult by throwing rather than bouncing the ball. 

Activity instructions

Stand facing your child a few meters away.  Start by bouncing the ball so that moves a little way to the right or left side  of the child as it rebounds from the bounce. 

Alternate in a fairly random way between right and left - one or more to the left, then a few to the right. Sometimes throw the ball straight towards the child. 

In order to catch the ball the child must twist the head and shoulders to the side. 

Notes

Once the child can successfully catch a bounced ball, progress to throwing the ball to the child. 

As the child's catching improves speed up the delivery. 

Step and catch 

The final stage in this sequence of graded activities is learning to step sideways to catch the ball. 

The ball is first bounced and then thrown so far to the side that he/she has to take a step sideways to catch the ball. 

Activity instructions

Stand a few meters away and facing your child who is standing ready to catch the ball. 

Bounce or throw the ball so that it moves about a meter to the left or right of the child. The distance should be such that your child needs to take a step sideways to catch the ball.  

Notes

Start by bouncing the ball slowly, then speed up the delivery. Once your child can catch the bounced ball, you can try throwing the ball to the side.

But remember that stepping to catch a ball that has been thrown is quite tricky particularly for younger children.