Sports Pops: Ease Anxiety by Teaching Kids to Catch with Bare Hands Before Season Starts

Don’t be fooled by the smiling faces. Players who can’t catch the ball aren’t really having much fun at practice or during games.

As spring nears, we’ll see Petaluma children running around and giggling, sipping juice after practice. But if they’re among the many who wind up on a baseball, softball or tee ball team without having learned how to catch a ball thrown or hit in their direction, they are going to be unhappy during the season.

Remember, just because we tell children there’s no pressure, that it’s just a game, it doesn’t mean that they don’t feel the pressure. We put them in uniforms, trot them out in front of dozens of parents and other family members, then we expect them to just relax and play on diamonds across Petaluma.

Who’re we kidding? Imagine the kid who never learned how to catch the ball?

If you want to cut down on the bullying and mocking that goes on in sports, teach a child to catch. It's a lot easier than getting kids to stop mocking those who can't.

I’ve coached for nearly 30 years and I’m sure that kids know that a baseball or softball player should be able to catch the ball. I’m equally sure that an amazing number of youngsters wind up in uniform and on the field before they learn to catch one.

Petaluma tryouts and team assignments are near, but there’s still time to teach even a novice tee ball player to catch the ball.

First, take that big, expensive baseball glove you bought your player and toss it in their equipment bag. I taught all four of my kids to catch with their bare hands first, then I gave them a glove. If kids lack sufficient hand-eye coordination to follow the flight of the ball and grab it with bare hands, that baseball mitt does no good.

My two oldest sons played baseball through college, but they started learning the game at home years before they were old enough to be on a team. I was interested in child development, so I took the knowledge that hand-eye coordination is a benchmark in a toddler’s growth and wound up learning that even kids who can barely stand can learn to catch a ball.

My oldest son started learning to catch when he was barely able to sit upright on the floor. Conversely, I've coached 7-, 8- and 9-year-old players who can't catch a ball tossed gently in their direction.

I knew that the hand-eye coordination was important, so I tried to get my kids to follow the flight of a really soft, really safe ball. Once they could follow the flight of the ball with their eyes, grabbing at it with their hands came naturally.

Coordination leads to learning to catch and learning to catch leads to enjoying baseball or softball – or even tee ball.

Parents who would never dream of putting their children in a stressful situation register them for baseball or softball teams without giving any thought to whether they can catch (or hit) the ball. We wouldn’t sign our kids up for a spelling bee before they could read, so why send them to the ball park before they know how to really catch a ball?

So, go buy a can of tennis balls. They're soft and they're safe. Dads who think they’re going to teach their kids by throwing or batting hard balls at them are going at it all wrong. You want to make sure they aren’t afraid of being hit by the ball, so let them gain confidence by catching a ball that really can’t hurt them.

Kids will balk at not being able to use the big, expensive glove. No problem. Toss them the ball a dozen or so times. After they’ve missed or dropped a dozen or so tosses, they can’t much defend the need for the glove.

Just take that tennis ball and tell your player that the key to catching it is going to be being able to follow its flight with their eyes.

The most confusing phrase in baseball or softball is: "Keep your eye on the ball." So, you have to explain what that actually means. You show them the ball and tell them to watch it, to track it with their eyes as you move it over your head, to the left and to the right.

You’ll be able to tell when a kid is truly watching the ball move around.

Next, have the child put bare hands out in front of them -- away from the body. Catching is all about putting the hands where they see the ball going. They need to relax their hands. Feel their hands to make sure that nerves haven’t made them rock hard and stiff. The hands need to be relaxed.

Now, tell them to let the ball land in their hands and then to grip it tightly.

Ready to go, right?

Wrong.

Stand in front of the player and just let the ball drop gently into their hands. You can see if they keep their hands relaxed and if they’re able to grab the ball and hold onto it. A kid who is apprehensive about catching a ball will experience some joy even grabbing a ball dropped into his or her hands.

Once they can follow the flight of the ball and use their hands confidently – the player joins their parents on the road to some really good times. Well, first you need to toss them that ball hundreds of times. You’ll need patience. They’ll need patience. Then, you’ll be on the road to good times.

Once a player learns to catch with bare hands, they’ll be fine catching bouncers or simple pop fly balls with the big, expensive glove. Parents can begin to accept graciously comments like, “Boy, Nancy can really catch that ball! She’s a natural!”

Children who don't start learning to catch with bare hands, wind up being in the field hopping out of the way of a batted ball, failing the game's first test.

Who wants to be part of setting children up to fail?

Even if your child's a Little League baseball or softball player with some experience, go in the yard and see how they handle catching a ball barehanded. If they're good with the glove just playing catch -- toss them balls higher in the air. It's likely that parents will see that even experienced youth league players need practice catching balls tossed higher in the air and, again, it should start with them doing it bare-handed.

Sounds silly, you say? I’ve read online and newspaper recaps of kids’ games that include lines like: “Jimmy Smith caught a pop fly for the Giants.”

Time’s wasting. Grab those tennis balls, hide that big glove and start teaching.