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I have a player who always turns or steps aside from catching the ball so never catches it, any advice on how to stop this so the catching Improves ?
Kerri NzParent, New Zealand
TOP ANSWER
Lee-annes NetballCoach, Australia
sounds like she might be scared of it. maybe she injured her fingers one time, or got a ball in the face. maybe the balls are being thrown too hard for her, and she could be taking her eye of the ball before it reaches her hands. she needs to become confident in her ability to catch the ball so these things wont happen.
the best way to start this off is just doing bounce passes. she can actually do a lot of bounce and catches to herself, or throw in the air and release. another good way is to use something other than a netball. a tennis ball, a soft balll that young children use that have all those bumps and soft spikes, bean bags, or even eggs. these are much smaller and dont seem as threatening. i have down the egg one with my U11s and they had an absolute ball with it, and it improved their catching emmensly.
also make sure she has the basics down pat. thats her hands out in front up high ready to take the ball from out front and protect the face, hands spread wide and out like a butterfly or the letter W and helps stop the fingers being damaged from the ball coming in, and that her eyes never leave the ball. confidence is gain through the progression and correction, and making sure she feels she is incontrol, and that she has the confidence and ability to catch the ball.
hope that helps.
ANSWERS
Lee-annes NetballCoach, Australia
sounds like she might be scared of it. maybe she injured her fingers one time, or got a ball in the face. maybe the balls are being thrown too hard for her, and she could be taking her eye of the ball before it reaches her hands. she needs to become confident in her ability to catch the ball so these things wont happen.
the best way to start this off is just doing bounce passes. she can actually do a lot of bounce and catches to herself, or throw in the air and release. another good way is to use something other than a netball. a tennis ball, a soft balll that young children use that have all those bumps and soft spikes, bean bags, or even eggs. these are much smaller and dont seem as threatening. i have down the egg one with my U11s and they had an absolute ball with it, and it improved their catching emmensly.
also make sure she has the basics down pat. thats her hands out in front up high ready to take the ball from out front and protect the face, hands spread wide and out like a butterfly or the letter W and helps stop the fingers being damaged from the ball coming in, and that her eyes never leave the ball. confidence is gain through the progression and correction, and making sure she feels she is incontrol, and that she has the confidence and ability to catch the ball.
hope that helps.
Netball CoachCoach
Hi Kerl, it does sound like the young girl has a fear of catching the ball/confidence problem. I would suggest using a soft netball sized type ball you can get from a toy store and get her technique right. I would also suggest discussing up front with her in a supportive way what is going through her mind when the ball is coming towards her and just build her confidence up, saying she can easily catch a ball etc etc. If you can, spending a bit of one on one coaching time with her would be highly beneficial and should get rid of the fear very quickly. I have used this technique before and it worked. Used same technique in cricket with 11 year old son catching cricket balls, now has no problem.
Hope this helps
regards
Mark
