Simply catching the ball....

[Adopted4Girls]

Of my four daughters, the oldest one, 7 YO, has been given (BY FAR!) the least coordination. Being honest, she has trouble catching. She will have times where she catches 20 in a row, but then miss 9 out of 10. I cannot get her to repeat the same action.

I coach her to bend her elbow and make sure her fingers are pointing toward the sky.

As soon as she sees the ball coming to her, she constantly reaches out with her glove hand, where her arm is pretty much stiff and the glove is pointed at me. She doesn't have the patience to let the ball come into the glove (with a little bend in the elbow) and squeeze. She tries to catch the ball before it gets to her. My younger three have no problem, but the oldest one really struggles with it.

What can I do to help her get along quicker?

Thanks guys. Great site to say the least!

 

[Greenmonsters]

Show/teach her how to catch an uncooked egg (or water balloon) in her bare hands. Then have her try to use the same approach using her glove to catch an egg (good time to swap in one that is hard boiled) and then a softball.

 

[RichK]

You have the makings of a great scientific experiment! Sounds like your oldest has a bit less natural athleticism/coordination (at least when it comes to this task)....almost all softball skills can be improved via repetition, but being a superior athlete makes it easier. But sometimes hard work wins in the long run.....

Have her keep working at it and keep it fun...the problem will be frustration and burnout if she has trouble catching on quickly.

Catching things without a glove, or with one of those training "gloves" with no pocket will help her learn how to catch rather than just land the ball in a big glove pocket.

Four DDs! Good luck : >

 

[bobbyb]

Love the water balloon for soft hands! We have done it with older girls to have some fun and teach.
Have her play other things that involve eye-hand coordination. Like ping pong.
Someone one once posted...throwing marshmallows up and the kid having to catch it in front of her face with two hands...if successful..she gets to eat it.

As RichK said....keep it fun!

 

[Amy in AZ.]

Remember that she is very young. I don't even start girls in lessons until they are 8 yos. Many, many girls have difficulty catching a ball. I have a new 12 yo student that can't catch. She can't throw a ball up in the air and catch it herself. But, she loves softball and is still trying. She just started late.

What glove is your DD using? How big is it? Some gloves are better for beginners than others.

You say that she does catch the ball sometimes. I think that that is good and she will get there, eventually. Praise the good catches and don't say much about her misses. Good luck.

 

[quincy]

As others have suggested play catch without a mitt, I still use a tennis ball but the other ideas posted sound like fun. Alternate 10 without a mitt, 10 with a mitt.

It can be frustrating. They will catch the tennis ball with their figures pointed to the sky but as soon as the mitt goes on their fingers will point at you or some total random location. This can go along with ground and fly balls too.

IMO, repetition and fun is the key.

Side note is that at this age they do a better job mimicking you then listening. Make sure you are doing right all the time too.

Good luck.

 

[GOINGDEEP]

Lots of little things you can do to help develop better quardination. Get a red kick ball, let her bounce that around like a basketball. You can play catch with that, teaches to use both hands. She can do it alone by throwing it against the house outside wall, you can then advance to tossing it on a slanted roof ( house ) and catch it coming down ( we did that a lot as kids, cheap fun before game consoles of today )

Others have said tennis balls. Keep 2-3 in the house and 1 in each vehicle. Simple things such as sitting on opposite ends of the couch tossing back and forth during a movie. Car just tossing up and catch, tossing from one hand to the other like a one ball juggling act. She can also bounce the tennis ball on the floor like a basketball teaching the squeezing motion of the hand and fingers to catch it.

When I did 4-6yo rec ball, we rolled everything in the infield. ( won the league that year I might add ) The rolling to me, gave good instruction on tracking the ball on a simple single plain ( not multiple like in the air ) and taught them the "timing" to squeeze and two hand cover. Not to mention they were learning to "play grounders" correctly from the batters hitting to the defense rolling the ball for plays. At the next age level 7-8, we moved to overhand catching and while the other teams were still struggling to teach catching we made a fairly easy adjustment. I think confidently handling the rolling ball made a big difference in their ability to confidently handle normal catching.

Long story short, try rolling the ball for a while to make it more simple. Some learn at different paces and thats normal.

 

[guero_gordo]

One small thing you can do to limit reaching is simply throw the ball harder. If she's impatient, maybe she has too much time to wait. Wouldn't expect this to be a magic fix, but it might allow rep's at the action you want, rather than repeating one you do not.

 

[Cuda]

Remember that she is very young. I don't even start girls in lessons until they are 8 yos. Many, many girls have difficulty catching a ball. I have a new 12 yo student that can't catch. She can't throw a ball up in the air and catch it herself. But, she loves softball and is still trying. She just started late.

What glove is your DD using? How big is it? Some gloves are better for beginners than others.

You say that she does catch the ball sometimes. I think that that is good and she will get there, eventually. Praise the good catches and don't say much about her misses. Good luck.

What glove(s) is best for a 6 year old just coming up from tee ball?

 

[Amy in AZ.]

I like the Wilson A440, 11 inches.