Ball Skills (Kicking, Catching, Rolling, and Throwing) Objective To learn and enhance the gross-motor ball skills of kicking, catching, and rolling and throwing. domain : Gross-Motor Skills RATIONALE The gross-motor ball skills of kicking, catching, and rolling and throwing are valuable in several areas of child development. Children learn about their physical capabilities by engaging in these activities. The movements of the large muscles that are required for kicking, catching, and rolling and throwing enhance a child s balance, agility, hand-eye and foot-eye coordination. Most children enjoy the feelings of strength and speed that they gain from ball skills. Balls are generally ideal objects for children to use to experience what the force of their bodies can do when the balls are kicked, thrown, or caught. RELATED SKILLS Page Gross-Motor Skills: Standing...331 Gross-Motor Skills: Walking...335 Gross-Motor Skills: Jumping and Hopping...341 Sequence Although each child s developmental rate and pattern is unique, the following is a sequence of skills that children typically develop through the age of seven years. Use the skill sequences as a general guide when planning your instruction. The developmental age notations to the left of each skill provide guidance in selecting the appropriate skill level and activity for instruction. DEVELOPMENTAL SEQUENCE OF PREREQUISITE BALL SKILLS 1-0 Rolls a playground ball back and forth in a game while in a sitting position. Hurls a tennis ball. 1-6 Rolls playground ball by pushing foot against it without losing balance (no backward swing). 2-0 Kicks, flexing lower leg on backward swing and with very little or no arm opposition (movement). Walks up and kicks a stationary playground ball. Throws a ball with both hands from an overhead position. Throws a playground ball by holding the ball above the shoulders, using almost exclusive arm movements, with no change in feet position and with little or no body rotation. 353 BRIGANCE Readiness Activities
DEVELOPMENTAL SEQUENCE OF BALL SKILLS 3-0 Kicks playground ball with a definite backward and forward leg swing, and with definite arm opposition (movement). Catches a bounced playground ball by hugging it to the body. Catches a bounced playground ball with hands and chest. Catches a thrown playground ball by scooping under the ball and trapping it to the chest. Catches a bounced playground ball with both hands. Throws a ball with both hands from an overhead position. Throws a playground ball by holding the ball above the shoulders, using almost exclusive arm movement, with no change in feet position and with little or no body rotation. 4-0 Does a coordinated kick with good backward and forward leg swing, arm opposition (movement), and follow-through. Catches a thrown playground ball with hands and chest. Catches a thrown playground ball with both hands and with arms extended. Throws a tennis ball a distance of 10' (3 m). Throws a ball from a position in back of the head, with horizontal rotation of the body, and with feet stationary. Bounces playground ball two or more times with both hands. 5-0 Takes two or more coordinated steps and kicks a playground ball. Catches a bounced tennis ball with both hands. Throws a ball from a position in back of the head, with body rotation and with a forward step. Throws a tennis ball a distance of 20' (6 m). Bounces playground ball with one hand a distance of 6' or 7' (2 m) and catches it with both hands. Bounces tennis ball once and catches it with both hands. 6-0 Runs forward and kicks a rolled playground ball. Catches a thrown tennis ball with both hands. Catches a thrown tennis ball with one hand. Throws with a mature or skilled form: shifts weight as body is rotated in preparation for throwing, with horizontal adduction of the arm, and follow-through as the elbow extends. With dominant hand, bounces a tennis ball, taps it at least twice, and catches it. 7-0 354 BRIGANCE Readiness Activities
Tips for Teaching Kicking Use a step-by-step approach: Have the child push a ball with her foot so it rolls. Watch to see if she can maintain balance. Provide help if needed. Have the child swing the lower part of her leg backward, from the knee down. Have the child move her foot forward and hit the ball with her foot. If necessary, you can gently hold the child s leg to move her leg and foot through this kicking motion. Have the child take two or more steps toward the ball and make contact by kicking it. The child should retain her balance and not use arm movements. Advanced Kicking: Have the child use a definite backward and forward leg swing and definite arm movement as she kicks the ball, while retaining her balance. NOTE: What follows is a coordinated kick with backward and forward leg swing, arm opposition, and follow-through. The leg should remain straight and stiff. Motion and Kicking: Place the ball a few steps in front of the child s dominant foot. Have her walk forward and kick the ball with enough force to move the ball at least one yard (1 m), while retaining her balance. Running and Kicking: Stand approximately 20 (6 m) in front of the child and roll the ball gently toward her. Tell her to run toward the ball and kick it so it goes at least 10 (3 m) in the opposite direction. Tips for Teaching Rolling, Catching, and Throwing ROLLING Do the following: Have the child sit across from you with legs outstretched. Roll the ball to the child by using a gentle, pushing motion. Have the child roll the ball back to you. CATCHING Do the following: Freestyle Ball Play Invite children to roll, toss, bounce, and experiment with the ball in a freestyle matter. How to Begin Use a medium-sized, lightweight ball. Stand about a foot away from the child and gently toss the ball toward the center of the child s trunk, avoiding her face. Trapping the Ball Demonstrate how to trap the ball using your chest and arms. Then show her how to grasp the ball and hug it to her body. When the child is comfortable, show her how to stretch out her arms and grasp the ball as it comes toward her. Catching Distances: As the child gains proficiency, gradually stand farther and farther away and use a firmer, smaller ball. Bounce and Catch When the child has mastered the skill of catching, stand and gently bounce the ball toward her. After she catches it, have her bounce it back to you. HINTS: Limit playing time if children lose patience with fetching the ball. Vary the objects by using beach balls, foam balls, yarn balls, beanbags, rolled up socks, and tennis balls. THROWING When the child is ready, have him hurl a tennis ball. A hurl is an uncoordinated throw. It is likely that the child will not follow it visually or be able to aim it. Make certain that other children are out of the ball s potential range. Demonstrate how to hold a ball in both hands, and show the child how to raise his hands over his head to throw the ball. Show the child how to hold a ball above his shoulders and then, using only arm movements, throw the ball. When the child is ready, model how to shift his body weight and rotate his body in preparation for throwing. 355 BRIGANCE Readiness Activities
Teaching Activities Ball Skills 1. Busy Hands and Feet Materials: A soft rubber ball for each child. Tapes or CDs. A tape/cd player. Music is optional, but is more fun for the children. Procedure: Demonstrate each activity before you have the children try it. Have the children hold the ball in front of them and try to kick one foot up to touch the ball. Have them repeat several times with the dominant foot, and then try with the other foot. Have the children stand with their feet in a wide stride position and have them put the ball on the floor in front of one foot. Next, have the children roll the ball back and forth from one foot to the other as quickly as they can. Have the children stand, holding their feet together. Using their hands, have them roll the ball around their feet as quickly as possible. Have the children hold the ball high, low, left, and right. Making these movements to the beat of the music will make them more engaging for the children. Have the children pretend the ball is a giant marker they can use to draw circles, squares, straight lines, squiggly lines, or curves. 2. Boot It and Blast Off! Materials: One ball for each child. Give each child a ball and have the children line up side by side. Have each child place his ball on the floor in front of him. When you say Boot it! each child kicks his ball as far as he can. When you say Blast off! the children run after the balls. Tell children they can retrieve any ball. Have each child pick up a ball and return to play again. VARIATIONS: Have each child drop kick his ball or use alternate feet for kicking. Personalize the game by giving each child a colored, numbered, or lettered ball that she can call her own and retrieve after she has kicked it. 3. Color Catch Materials: A playground ball. Choose one child to be the caller. Assign a color to each of the other children and have them stand, scattered around the caller. Have the caller throw the ball high in the air and call out a color name. The child assigned that color runs forward and tries to catch the ball. Have the other children run as far away as they can from the child catching the ball. All of the children must stop running when the ball is caught, and the catcher calls, Stop. The catcher takes three giant steps toward the child nearest him and bowls the ball toward that child. The child to whom the ball is bowled becomes the caller and play resumes. VARIATION: Substitute animal names, numbers, or letters for color names. 356 BRIGANCE Readiness Activities
4. Knock Em Down Materials: Several tennis balls. Several stackable items, such as clean empty cans, traffic cones, plastic buckets, or lightweight blocks. Group Size: Class. Procedure: Create three stacks of cans at one end of the playing area. Then do the following: Divide the children into three equal groups. Have each group line up about 20' (10 m) from one of the stacks of cans. Give the first child in each line three tennis balls and have her throw them at the stack of cans to knock them over. After throwing, the child runs and restacks the cans, if necessary. She then gathers the tennis balls and gives them to the next child in line to continue the game. VARIATION: Use this activity to practice kicking skills. Instead of throwing tennis balls, have the children kick playground balls toward the stacked items. 5. Push It, Partner! Materials: A ball for each pair of children. Divide the group into pairs. Have the pairs face each other and maintain a distance of two to three feet apart. Give one child in each pair a ball. Have the child put the ball on the ground and use his hand to hit it to his partner. Ask the partner to catch the ball and then hit it back to the first child. VARIATION: Have the child use his opposite hand to push the ball to his partner. Have the child turn his back and push the ball through his legs. Have the child use his opposite hand to push the ball through his legs. 6. Wonder Ball Materials: A small playground ball or tennis ball. Procedure: Have children sit or stand in a circle. As the children pass the ball around the circle, they chant: The wonder ball goes round and round. Don t drop it and don t make a sound. If you re the one to hold it last, The game for you is surely past! On the word past, the child who is holding the ball gets up, runs around the circle, and returns to her original place in the circle. She then begins passing the ball while the chant starts over. 7. Ball and Hoop Relay Materials: Playground balls: One per team. Hula hoops: Three to seven hoops per team. Procedure: Lay the hula hoops in three straight lines on the floor. Then do the following: Divide the group into three teams. Have each team line up in front of a line of hoops. Give the first child in each line a ball. At a signal, the first child on each team runs to the first hoop, then bounces and catches the ball inside the hoop. The child then moves to the next hoop, then bounces and catches the ball. When the child has bounced the ball in each hoop, the child runs back to her line. Then she passes the ball to the next child in line. The team that finishes first wins. VARIATION: Place the hoops in increasingly difficult arrangements. 357 BRIGANCE Readiness Activities
8. Stop That Ball! Materials: Several rubber playground balls. Stand in the middle of an open area. Have the children hold hands and form a circle around you. Have each child widen his stance so that the side of each foot touches the side of the foot of the child next to him. Have the children put their hands on their knees. Try to roll the ball between each child s parted feet. Tell the children to use their hands to stop the ball from rolling between their feet. If a child misses and the ball passes between his feet, he retrieves the ball and tosses it back to you. VARIATION: As children become adept at this game, roll several balls in succession so that many children are trying to stop balls at the same time. HINT: Children tend to step forward and therefore shrink the circle as the game progresses, so from time to time, have them take a few steps backward to enlarge the circle. 358 BRIGANCE Readiness Activities