Importance of taking time to practice ball skills

From an early age young children take an interest in playing with balls: they like to toss and kick them and crawl or walk after them. As they get older children enjoy playing ball games with their peers and their parents. And the more they practice catching, throwing, kicking and hitting the more skilled they become. 

How ball skills train attention  

Ball games provide children repeated opportunities to practice the two important aspects of catching, throwing and kicking: these are visual information gathering and then using this information to plan the movements needed for a particular task. 

How to help children learn basic ball catching, hitting, kicking and throwing skills

Young children with poor ball skills are usually very aware that they cannot do what their peers can do, and may avoid or be excluded from playground games.  The experience of repeated failure affects their confidence and often makes them reluctant to practice ball skills with teachers and parents. 

How to teach a young child to catch a soccer ball

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. 

Training kicking skills in young children

From a very early age young children show an interest in kicking a ball. This early kicking practice is important as it teaches the child to predict the path and move towards a moving ball to be in the right place for a successful kick.

Learning to catch a rolled ball

The ability to predict the flight trajectory of the ball so as to move the hands to exactly the right place at the right time to catch the ball is essential for successful catching. Children with poor ball catching skills often need additional training to ensue that they gather the information they need to predict the path of the ball.