Easy ups
Why it works
Nearly every youth catching rep is a ball thrown at a stationary kid, and nearly every catch in a game is a ball caught while running away from the thrower. This is the cheapest way to practise the second one, and it also teaches a thrower that leading a receiver is a skill rather than an accident.
Run it
6 MINFive each, then switch the throwing side so both shoulders get worked. Six minutes.
Say this
“Look over the shoulder, not over your back.”
Turning the head without turning the shoulders keeps the run going.
“Catch it in front of your eyes.”
If you can see your hands and the ball together, you can catch it.
“Throwers, lead him to where he is going.”
An accurate throw here is a throw to empty grass.
Good looks like
- The receiver never breaks stride to catch it.
- Hands come up in front of the face, not behind the head.
- The ball drops over the outside shoulder every time, not the inside one.
- Throwers start missing long rather than short, which is the right mistake.
The mistakes
Twisting the whole body round, which stops the feet and makes the ball land behind.
Say: “Look over the shoulder, not over your back.”
Reaching back over the head blind, which is a drop and sometimes a collision.
Say: “Catch it in front of your eyes.”
Throwing at the receiver, which makes him slow down and turns the drill into a standing catch.
Say: “Throwers, lead him to where he is going.”
Shorten it and throw it high and soft so the ball hangs. Let them stop to catch it if they have to.
Put a defender a stride behind. Now the catch has to happen without slowing down at all.