get into full swing now that April has arrived. It can be a wonderful time of

the year for the kids and for the parents. However, many kids struggle at

baseball because they are terrified of being hit by the ball when they are

in the field or when they are batting.

I get a lot of calls at this time of the year from parents who want their kids

to become less scared, more comfortable and more confident when they step

on the baseball field. (This article will focus on catching a ball. A subsequent

piece will discuss hitting.)

Here are a few tips to help your son or daughter if they are demonstrating a

significant fear of being hit by the ball.

1. It is normal to have some fear of a moving object moving toward your body.

Explain this to your child, but also tell them that they can learn how to

protect themselves and how to manage the situation. Also, tell the kids

that once they develop their baseball skills, they will overcome much

of their discomfort.

2. Some children are afraid of being hit when they have a catch. If you can, begin

playing catch with your child at an early age. If your child is under two

or three, you can start by just rolling a ball back and forth to your son or

daughter.

3. As your child grows older, you can start to use a sponge

ball and begin tossing the ball softly toward your child from a close distance.

Use an underhand toss and arch the ball so it gently moves towards your kid.

Demonstrate how to catch the ball for your son or child and give them lots

of praise as they learn how to receive the ball. Introduce the idea

of greeting the ball with soft hands. I encouraged my kids to say

“hello ball,” as the would catch the ball to add some additional

humor and playfulness to the learning process.

4. Use what coaches call the ”sandwich technique.” Insert a little instruction

in between two phrases which praise and encourage them. (“Great job.

Now just watch the ball into your hands a little more carefully. Now

you are a star.”)

5. As your child improves and gains some confidence in his or her catching

ability, you can begin to introduce a tennis ball. Then you can move to

a soft ball. Introducing your kids to a harder and harder ball in stages

will help them to develop their confidence as they develop their skills.

Periodically, toss a ball which will gently hit your child on their arm or

leg. This will help your son or daughter to feel less scared of the flying object.

6. At age four to six you, you can introduce a glove to the process. Make

sure you get a glove which is the right size and shape for your child. Gloves

come in a variety of sizes and there are some that are very soft and easy

to squeeze and to manage.

7. Begin with a tennis ball and continue to use the underhand toss until

your child gets comfortable catching the ball in the glove. Don’t

introduce a baseball until your child appears confident and

ready. You can use a tee ball as intermediate step in the

learning process. These balls are not as hard as baseballs.

8. You need to demonstrate the various ways of turning the glove to

accommodate the various spots your child will need to catch the

ball in. Stand along side your child as show the four or five various positions.

9. If your child throws right handed, begin by tossing the ball to his or her left side.

This is generally the easiest way to begin. Once they can catch a dozen balls

in a row on this side, you can start tossing to the center of their bodies. Then,

you can start tossing a few soft pop ups where they can be taught to catch

the ball above their heads. The ball thrown to the right side of a right handed

child is a tough catch, since they need to turn the glove as it crosses their body.

This is not a natural act for most kids. (Obviously, you need to reverse these

guidelines if your child is left handed.)

Interestingly, my son is ambidextrous, so it took a little time to

sort out which hand we wanted to use to throw the ball. The first glove I

bought him was for a lefty. Then at age four, we shifted to a right handed

mitt.

10. When you teach your kid to field ground balls, tell them to open their glove,

keep their head down watching the ball and field the ball in the center

of their bodies. Begin with soft grounders and gradually increase the speed

and vary the kinds of bounces your child experiences.

11. In order to improve your kids throwing skills. Teach them the proper grip.

Many coaches teach a two finger grip where the second and third

fingers are on the laces and the thumb is at the bottom of the ball.

My daughter named it the bunny rabbit grip.

Have the child point his elbow toward their target and encourage him to

place the ball behind their ear and step and throw. Begin with a short

distance of perhaps four feet and gradually extend the distance.

The step and throw gives the idea of weight transfer which is

important in many sports.

Keep the encouragement and the compliments coming. Begin with

short teaching sessions of perhaps ten minutes and increase them, if your

child is enjoying the throwing and catching. He or she will tell you if they

are interested in baseball. When my son began playing baseball, he didn’t like

it very much. Now he can’t play enough baseball.

Jay P. Granat, Ph.D., is a Psychotherapist in Bergen County, New Jersey.