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Dad Field Manual · Field card 122 · Outdoors

Throw and catch: a hundred quick reps with Dad

Kids get better at catching by catching, a lot, and a game of catch where you chase the ball every other throw doesn't give them many tries. Sit down, feed them soft tosses, and in twenty minutes they'll have caught, thrown and kicked dozens of times.

Time
20 min
Cost
$0
Ages
3 to 10
Where
Yard or hallway

What you need

  • A soft ball, beanbag or rolled-up pair of socks
  • A bigger soft ball or playground ball for kicking
  • A laundry basket, bucket or box for a target
  • Paper and a pencil to tally touches

Before you start

  • Soft balls only. Beanbags, foam or rubber playground balls. Save hard baseballs for later, and toss underhand at chest height, never at the face.
  • Pick a safe spot. Well away from the street and the driveway, or indoors away from lamps, TVs and windows.
  • Short and easy. Young kids have short attention spans. A few minutes per round is plenty, with a water break between rounds.
  • Throwing arms need rest. Mix in kicking and catching rather than a long stretch of hard throws.

Steps

  1. Sit down and set a goal. Sit or kneel 4–5 feet from your kid and say each catch, throw or kick is one touch.
  2. Catching round. Toss soft and underhand to the chest. Count catches; after five in a row they step back.
  3. Throwing round. They throw at a basket while you feed beanbags back fast. Move it back when it gets easy.
  4. Kicking round. Roll the ball; they stop it with a foot, then kick it back. Ten each foot.
  5. Let them pick the last round. Finish with two minutes of whichever round they liked best.
  6. Add up the touches and stop. Write down the total and the date. Stop while they still want more.

If it stalls

  • If they keep missing, move closer and use a bigger, softer ball. A string of easy catches beats a pile of misses.
  • If they get bored, make the target silly: a cardboard box with a face drawn on it, fed beanbags for dinner.
Touches today · catches in a row
Signed off: can do this.Signed by Date