Throwing and Catching

Throwing and catching are complementary skills, yet are quite different in terms of their
movement focus. In catching or receiving, the body controls a ball or object, relying on the
ability of the eyes to track the ball into the receiving part of the body. Throwing involves
propelling a ball away from the body and is a target skill. These skills are difficult to practise
in isolation from each other, and both require specific attention in practice activities.

Throwing and catching actions for small balls differ from those for large balls. Throwing and
catching skills include: overarm throw, underarm throw and roll, as seen in cricket and
softball games; and a variety of two-handed passes, like the chest, bounce, spiral pass that are
prevalent in netball, basketball and rugby. (Developing FMS Manual, SportNZ)

Throwing and Catching - Activities (Under 5's)

For younger children when practising throwing use targets that are hard to miss hoops,
draw chalk makings on the ground, use buckets and bean bags. As children get more
capable, adjust the distance for throwing or add in some movement either the target or the
thrower.

Targets - Put out targets so children can practise their

throwing. Hang a hoop with some string or rope from a
tree or door frame, so children can throw objects through
it. Leave hoops on the ground for target practice.

Sock Toss - A fun laundry day game is to let your child

practice tossing rolled socks into a laundry basket. Each
time they gets a sock into the basket, have them step back
a step for their next shot.

Bean bag toss - Start by setting up a course - either with or without the help of the children.
Use cushions or pillows as markers, and find some containers - waste paper baskets, buckets,
empty shoe boxes etc - to be targets or "golf holes". Now the children take turns in tossing
their beanbag around the course and into the targets as appropriate.

Snow ball clean up - Prior to the game ask children to scrunch up paper snowballs. Make
sure they are well taped into balls. Mark a dividing line between two groups of children using
masking tape or a rope. Have a basket of snowballs set up at the side of each area. When
the signal is given to start the game, children throw snowballs over the line. After
approximately 30 seconds stop and see who has the least number of snowballs on their
side. Swap teams and play again. To clean up the area encourage the children to throw the
snowballs into baskets as a target.

Carnival Games - Set up a few skill games in your backyard. Invite some of your child's
friends or neighbours over for a mini-carnival:

Ring the Bottles- Cut the middles out of some old margarine tub lids for rings. Then
set up some plastic bottles (full or empty) and let your child and her friends take turns
trying to toss the ring over the top of the bottles.
Coin Toss - Set out some plastic or paper plates, on the grass or floor. Have the
children stand back a few feet and attempt to toss the coins onto the plates.
Teddy Bear Knock Out - Set a stuffed animal on a stool and let the children throw a
ball and try to knock him over.
FMS

FMS - Manipulative
FMS - Locomotion
FMS - Stability and Balance
FMS - Environment
FMS - Games and Activities
FMS - Refresher Activities
PE for Year 7 and 8

Need more info?

Georgina Duindam
Community Sport Advisor
04 560 0341
georginad@sportwellington.org.nz
 Throwing and Catching Activities
Rugby World Cup Special

With the Rugby World Cup now in full swing and taking up a lot of everyones attention,
now is a great time to talk about the manipulative skills of throwing and catching!

It is important for us to remember that while throwing and catching are complimentary skills,
they are quite different in movement focus. Throwing is a target skill, while catching relies
on the ability of the body to track and receive an object.

For children to be successful in throwing and catching, they need to have developed their
hand eye co-ordination skills.

Activities for throwing and catching for under 5s:

Using a scarf - Screwing scarf up and making it into a small
ball in hands (great for hand movement). On the count of 3
get children to throw the scarf up into the air and catch it.
Repeat this, getting children to screw their scarf up each
time. Use different body parts children have to catch it on
instead of just using hands; head, elbow, knee, foot, back.
Using feathers - Lift a feather up, drop it and it will slowly
waft to the ground. Your child can then attempt to catch it
with their hands. They may want to toss the feather into the
air themselves, and then catch it as it descends.
Using a newspaper ball - Screw up sheets of newspaper to
the sized ball you require. Cover this completely with tape.
 Find some objects you can use to knock over (empty milk cartons are a good idea). Line the
cartons or containers up and get the children to throw the newspaper ball at them, trying to
knock them over.
Sponge Fun - Draw a circle or a face on a wall or on a board propped up against a wall (using
chalk). Take it in turns to throw wet sponges at the target. Have some fun rubbing it out
and drawing different targets.

Activities for older children:

If you want to create links to the Rugby World Cup, try
many of these activites with a rugby ball.

In pairs or groups use a variety of equipment such as koosh

balls and Bean bags and rubber ducks to throw onto round
cardboard discs or paint tin lids. This helps develop
teamwork as well as our manipulative skills.
Put cones on classroom desks and use a variety of large balls
to knock them off.
Moving Target (Developing FMS Manual pg 187) or Bombardment as we like to call it is a
great way to develop team work within your class. Have a large ball (or multiple balls) in the
centre of the court, withteams spaced around the edges. Have everyone throwing tennis
balls at the large ones.
Circle Catch (Developing FMS Manual g 174), is a great way to practise throwing & catching
skills in a small group. There are a variety of activities on this page.

Overarm Throw

Throwing involves releasing an object forcefully

with the hands. The overhand or overarm throw is
an important object control skill for future sport
participation. It is used in sports such as baseball,
softball, cricket and basketball and the same pattern
is used to throw javelin, to serve in tennis and
volleyball, and to perform an overhead clear in
badminton (Adapted from the Fundamental
Movement Skills Teacher Resource).

Overarm Throw Activities (0-7 Year old activities)

Overarm Throw Activities (Primary School)

The overarm throw can be taught from a young age using this rhyme to teach progressions:
Stand side on Make a muscle man; Point with your finger and toe, where you want it to
go: Make a big arm circle; Step, and let it go! strong arms, point and throw past your ear
(Get, Set, Go Resource).

As the children get older the skill criteria becomes more in depth:

Follow
Preparation Propulsion
Through

Head and
Legs Arms Legs Arms Arms
Trunk

1.Stands side 2.Throwing 3.Opposite 4.Hips then 5.Elbow 6.Forearm 7.Throwing

on to arm moves in foot to shoulders bends as and hand lag arm follows
direction of a downward throwing arm rotate throwing arm behind upper through
throw and steps forward forward moves arm across body
backward arc behind head

It is important to develop a preferred throwing arm. It is not necessarily the hand the child
writes with.
Teach the overarm throw in a different lesson to catch. Children learn to catch large balls
and throw a small ball.
The non-throwing arm should be raised to balance the action. You may ask the child to point
at a target or target area.
The ball should be gripped with fingers like rabbit ears or Crocodile Teeth.

Catching activities

Catching is the third step in basic ball handling skills, and it is usually the last of these skills
to be mastered, sometime after 2 years of age. Teaching your child to catch is an activity
which should be approached cautiously - if he or she isn't ready and gets hit with the ball, it
will knock his or her confidence and you may have difficulty convincing them to try again.

Foster and Hartigan suggest the following tips for teaching your child to catch successfully:

 Let your child hug the ball close
to his/her body. This hug forms
the basis of the catch.
Once he or she enjoys hugging
the ball close to his or her body,
he or she will begin to actively
seek the ball and time his or her
hands to trap the ball against
his/her chest. You can help by
guiding the ball to his/her
tummy in slow motion,
encouraging him or her to trap it
in a tummy hug.
Again using slow motion, guide the ball into your toddlers hands for a two-handed catch.
Bounce the ball and encourage him or her to chase it and catch it "on the bounce".
Bounce the ball so that it arrives level with his/her navel. Don't expect him/her to catch it
first go, but when he/she does, give plenty of praise.
Throw the ball to, or below, his tummy level.

Under 5s catching activities

Beanbag Challenges

Throw a beanbag in the air, turn around, and catch it again.

Throw the beanbag up and backwards over your head and try to catch it behind your back.
Throw the beanbag in the air, clap your hands once, and catch it. Now try clapping your
hands twice, then three times, and so on. How high can you go?
Throw the beanbag in the air and clap your hands under your right leg before catching it.
Now try with your left leg. Now clap behind your back. Invent some more challenges.
Throw the beanbag up, jump, and try to catch it. Jump twice. Jump three times!
Throw it up, kneel down and try to catch it.
Throw and catch with just your right hand, then with just your left.
Try throwing it up and catching it with your eyes closed!
Balance the beanbag on your right foot, then throw it up and catch it from there. Can you
do it with your left foot too?
Can you throw the beanbag up and catch it on your left foot?

Scarves

Screwing scarf up and making it into a small ball in hands (great for hand movement). On
the count of 3 get children to throw the scarf up into the air and catch it. Repeat this, getting
children to screw their scarf up each time.
Throw a scarf with a bean bag in the middle of it up into the air try and catch both the scarf
and bean bag as the will fall at different rates.
Random scarf catching in locomotion In pairs, ask one child to move away from the other
and randomly throw the scarf in any direction. The second child has to catch it before it hits
 the ground and then takes off to do the same. Suggest to the children that they throw it
high, low, to the side or behind or in front.

Older children catching activities

Individual exploration using a variety of

equipment including different sized balls,
balloons and bean bags.
Working in pairs further develop catching skills by
practising bouncing and throwing to each other
Four or six square encouraging passing in a
variety of ways.
Pass and Follow (Kiwidex pg 200 in groups of 3
have 2 children standing on one side and one on
the other. First person throws the ball to 2nd
who throws it back to third. Once the first person has thrown the ball, they run behind 2nd
and 3rd then throws to 1st. Repeat several times.
Catch It (FMS Manual pg 185) in two teams of 3 facing each other. The aim of each team is
to land the ball in the oppositions space without them catching it on the full.