I had a girl on a baseball team I was helping coach. She had been hit by the ball when she was 8. It was 4 years later, and she was still afraid of the ball. She insisted on catching everything off to her side. I happened to see a progression drill just the week before for showing young kids how to catch. I was excited to try it on her.
Start with a rolled up sock. Just play underhand catch about 5 feet apart, no gloves. Toss it off to the side and then move it more towards the center of their body. Keep moving further apart and make a switch to a soft overhand throw, off to the side again. Progress over until you are throwing it towards center of mass again.
From the sock, I went to one of those soft baseballs they use to teach outfielders to catch fly balls. They are $8 at sports shops, and I saw a softball one too. Repeat the same drills. Then put on gloves, and do it again.
Then I moved to a baseball, underhand no glove. Then put on a glove, progress through the drills again.
In 20 minutes, I had this young lady catching baseballs, thrown overhand, in front of her face. Sure, she wasn't perfect at it, and still shied away on some, but so do adults if you throw it hard enough.... the other coaches asked me if I used a Jedi mind trick on her, as they weren't really watching the drills I was doing.
I asked the parents to reinforce the drills at home with the sock, just to help her establish confidence... She pitched 2 innings the last game of our season, and was catching the ball like a young player with growing confidence.
Start with a rolled up sock. Just play underhand catch about 5 feet apart, no gloves. Toss it off to the side and then move it more towards the center of their body. Keep moving further apart and make a switch to a soft overhand throw, off to the side again. Progress over until you are throwing it towards center of mass again.
From the sock, I went to one of those soft baseballs they use to teach outfielders to catch fly balls. They are $8 at sports shops, and I saw a softball one too. Repeat the same drills. Then put on gloves, and do it again.
Then I moved to a baseball, underhand no glove. Then put on a glove, progress through the drills again.
In 20 minutes, I had this young lady catching baseballs, thrown overhand, in front of her face. Sure, she wasn't perfect at it, and still shied away on some, but so do adults if you throw it hard enough.... the other coaches asked me if I used a Jedi mind trick on her, as they weren't really watching the drills I was doing.
I asked the parents to reinforce the drills at home with the sock, just to help her establish confidence... She pitched 2 innings the last game of our season, and was catching the ball like a young player with growing confidence.
