Teaching Your Child How to Catch This Winter
By Tracey Passuello, LiL Kids Lax Managing Director
Do you agree that teaching your kids how to catch is a challenge? Would you say it is one of the most difficult skills to teach? How about adding a lacrosse stick to the mix? YIKES!!
As everything in sports, learning new skills takes a lot of patience & practice. It's frustrating, we know. Besides being a hard concept to learn, children actually need to reach certain developmental stages in order to understand the basic mechanics. No wonder going outside and having a catch isn't that simple!
Indoor winter sessions are the perfect time for LiL Kids Lax Coaches to teach catching-- they understand the different stages of development, we designed the age-appropriate drills & we know how to make it fun!
Tips To Teaching Your Child To Catch at Home:
1) Start by sitting on the floor and roll the ball back and forth. Encourage your child to reach for the ball and then push it back to you.
2) Use a large ball or balloon-- underhand toss to child, they should use both hands to try and catch. Tell them to catch it with both hands and cradle it into their chest.
3) Grab a tennis ball or a nerf ball and have them try to catch with one hand.
4) Have them drop and catch a tennis ball with both hands.
5) Now have them drop and catch with one hand.
6) Time to BOUNCE the ball to a partner and try to catch it after the bounce.
7) Take out the BOUNCE! Tell your child to stand on a designated spot. Underhand toss to your child, start pretty close (the closer you stand to them, the easier it is) then move on back. Increase or decrease the distance between you and your child and keep practicing!
