Ball Skills

Ball Skills:

Important

All ball skills need to be completed with parent present and participating.

All ball skills should be performed in an open space.

Ball toss with a playground ball:

Stand approximately __5-10__ feet away from child and lightly toss the ball to him/her

so he/she can catch with hands only/hands and body.

If child has difficulty catching the ball, please give hand over hand assistance in

order for him/her to catch the ball appropriately while another family member

throws the ball.

Child will throw the ball overhead with two hands on the ball in a forward direction

to parent/target for a distance of__5-10__ feet.

Child will throw the ball underhand with two hands on the ball in a forward

direction to parent/target for a distance of ___5-10_ feet.

If child has difficulty in throwing the ball, please give hand over hand assistance

in order for him/her to throw the ball appropriately

Encourage child to step forward when throwing the ball so as to increase the

distance they can throw.

- Complete this activity for __10 minutes________

- Throw the ball overhead __5-10__ times; Throw ball underhand __5-10__ times

Bounce large ball on the ground to partner:

Stand approximately _5-10__ feet away from child and bounce the ball on the

ground to him/her so he/she can catch with hands only/hands and body. Have

the child bounce the ball on the ground back to parent using two hands.

If child has difficulty bouncing the ball, please give hand over hand assistance in

order for him/her to bounce the ball appropriately to another family member. If

the child has difficulty catching the ball, please give hand over hand assistance in

order for him/her to catch the ball appropriately while another family member

throws the ball. You may also place a target/sticker/tape on the floor between

the child and parent as a target for the child to bounce the ball on. Encourage

child to step forward when throwing the ball so as to increase the distance they

can throw.

- Complete this activity for _5-10__ minutes

- Complete ball toss _5-10__ times

Ball toss with a tennis ball:

Stand approximately _5-8_ feet away from child and lightly toss the ball to him/her

so he/she can catch with hands only/hands and body.

If child has difficulty catching the ball, please give hand over hand assistance in

order for him/her to catch the ball appropriately while another family member

throws the ball.

Child will throw the ball overhand with dominant hand in a forward direction to

parent/target for a distance of__5-10__ feet.

Child will throw the ball underhand with dominant hand in a forward direction to

parent/target for a distance of __5-8__ feet.

If child has difficulty in throwing the ball, please give hand over hand assistance

in order for him/her to throw the ball appropriately.

Encourage child to step forward with opposite foot when throwing the ball so as

to increase the distance they can throw and encouraging weight shifting.

- Complete this activity for _5-10__ minutes

- Throw the ball overhand __5-10__ times; Throw the ball underhand __5-10__times

Bounce small ball on the ground to partner:

Stand approximately _5-8__ feet away from child and bounce the ball on the

ground to him/her so he/she can catch with hands only/hands and body. Have

the child bounce the ball on the ground back to the parent using one hand

(dominant hand).

If child has difficulty bouncing the ball, please give hand over hand assistance in

order for him/her to bounce the ball appropriately to another family member. If

the child has difficulty catching the ball, please give hand over hand assistance in

order for him/her to catch the ball appropriately while another family member

throws the ball. You may also place a target/sticker/tape on the floor between

the child and parent as a target for the child to bounce the ball on. Encourage

child to step forward when throwing the ball so as to increase the distance they

can throw.

- Complete this activity for _5-10_ minutes

-Complete ball toss for ___5-10___ times

Bounce a tennis ball on the ground and catch:

Have the child hold the ball at chest level. Bounce the ball on the ground in front

of his/her feet and catch it with two hands/hands and body when it returns to

back to chest level. Complete this __5-10__ times.

Please give hand over hand assistance if child has a difficult time bouncing and

catching the ball.

- Complete this activity for __5-10__ minutes

- Bounce the ball on the ground and catch with hands _5-10_ times

Throw large ball in the air and catch it:

Have the child hold the ball at chest level. Throw a large ball slightly above head

level and catch it with two hands/hands and body when it returns back to chest

level. Complete this __5-10__ times.

Please give hand over hand assistance if child has a difficult time throwing the

ball up in the air and catching it.

- Complete this activity for __5__ minutes

- Throw the ball in the air and catch with hands _5-10_ times

Hitting beach ball or balloon in the air:

Initially have the child stand __5-7__ feet away from parent. Parent starts by hitting

the beach ball/balloon in the air. The child has to move to where the beach

ball/balloon is and hit it upwards to keep it from touching the ground. Alternate

between parent and child hitting the beach ball/balloon to keep it off the ground.

- Complete this activity for 5-10 minutes

- Hit the beach ball/balloon back and forth __5-20__ times

Throw small ball against the wall and catch it as it returns (with or without ball bouncing on the ground before catching it):

Have child stand __8__ feet away from the wall. Throw the ball to the wall in

either an overhead or underhand manner. The ball may or may not bounce off

the floor upon return. The child will catch the ball when it returns to him/her with

hands/hands and body. Give hand over hand assistance if necessary.

- Complete this activity for 5 minutes

- Throw the ball to the wall and catch it _5-10_ times

Kicking a Stationary ball:

Place a ball on the floor in front of the child and have the child kick the ball forward with his/her dominant foot; followed by his/her non-dominant foot. Encourage a preparatory leg swing and follow through. Give hand held assistance for balance purposes if necessary or manual assistance for appropriate leg swing

• Complete this activity for __10__ minutes

• Kick the ball __5-10__ times with each foot

Kicking a rolling ball:

Stand approximately 5-10 feet away from the child and roll the ball to him/her. Have the child kick the ball while it is still moving. Give verbal cueing as to when the child should kick the ball, if he/she appears to have difficulty with kicking the ball at the appropriate moment. Give hand held assistance for balance purposes if necessary or manual assistance for appropriate leg swing.

• Complete this activity for __10__ minutes

• Kick the ball __5-10__ times

Dribble a basketball in place:

Have the child stand in one place. Bounce the ball firmly off of the ground by pushing it with fingertips (not palms). Control the ball by keeping hand on top of the ball. Give hand over hand assistance or demonstration to dribble the ball appropriately.

• Complete this activity for __5-10__ minutes

• Dribble the basketball __5-10__ times

Dribble a basketball in a forward direction:

Make sure the child is touching the ball with his/her fingertips, not palms. Bounce the ball firmly off of the ground by pushing it with fingertips. Walk forward while controlling the ball by keeping hand on top of the ball.

• Complete this activity for _10_ minutes

• Dribble the ball over _10-20___ feet

• Dribble the ball forward ___10-20_ times