Throwing and catching a ball
Physical Education · Key Stage 1 · The School
An underarm throw
Hold the ball in one hand. Step forward with the opposite foot. Swing your arm back, then forward and release, aiming at your target. An underarm throw is more accurate than an overarm one, which is why it is the one to learn first.
Making a catching shape
Hold your hands together like an open bowl, fingers spread and pointing towards the ball, thumbs close together. Watch the ball leave the thrower's hand and follow it all the way into your own hands. Looking away just before it arrives is the single most common reason for a drop.
Giving with the catch
As the ball touches your hands, pull them in slightly towards your body. That small movement is called GIVING. It slows the ball down gently instead of stopping it dead, which is what stings and makes people flinch. A soft catch does not hurt.
Try catching a soft ball two ways. First, hold your hands stiff and still, and let the ball hit them without giving. It stings, and you will flinch the next time without meaning to. Second, make the bowl shape and give as it lands. It barely stings at all, and there is nothing to flinch from. The flinch was never about bravery. It was your body correctly avoiding a catch that was going to hurt, because the technique was wrong.
Throw and catch together
Practise with a partner, close together at first. Throw underarm, aiming at their catching shape. Catch with two hands, and give as the ball arrives. Step back a little each time you both catch three in a row. Distance should grow only once the technique is working, not before.