Throwing, catching and kicking
Physical Education · Early Years · The School
Watch the ball
The biggest fix for catching is a simple one. Keep watching the ball right into your hands. Most drops happen because the eyes look away too early. They look up to see where to run next. Practise with a big soft ball first. The bigger and slower it is, the more time you have to watch it.
Hands ready
Hands up and open. Fingers spread. Keep your elbows soft so they can soak up the ball. Stiff straight arms make the ball bounce out. Catching is cushioning. It is not blocking.
Aiming
Point at your target with your other hand. Then throw. Roll a ball at a skittle from three steps away. Then from five steps. Then from seven. Keep the score. That turns practice into a game. And a game gets practised for far longer.
Stand still with your hands ready. Have someone throw a ball just to one side of you. You stretch for it. You probably drop it. Now do it again, but MOVE. Take a step so the ball comes straight at your middle. Hands up. Give a little as it arrives. You will catch far more. Most drops happen before the ball even gets there, because the feet never moved.
Kicking: look down, then look up
Kicking has the same two halves as throwing. Plant your standing foot beside the ball, not behind it. Strike with the SIDE of your foot, not your toes. The side is flat. A flat surface sends the ball where you meant it to go. Look at the ball as you kick it. Then look up to see where it went. In that order. Toe-punting sends the ball high and more or less anywhere. A side-foot pass rolls where you aimed it. Practise against a wall. A wall always passes it back.