Effects of Varying Ball Diameters on Catching Ability of Young Children

Abstract

10 boys and 10 girls (60 subjects) were randomly selected from kindergarten, first, and second grades. Each subject attempted to catch balls of 6-, 8.5-, 10-, and 13-in. diameters through 28 trials (seven attempts per ball per subject). A special apparatus was designed to roll the ball consistently into the subject's arms from a horizontal distance of approximately 4 ft. The quality of each attempted catch was evaluated using a five-point scale. The main effects of ball size, grade, and sex were significant. A linear trend described the relation of ball size and grade. The over-all quality of the catching performance improved from kindergarten to second grade and from the small ball to the larger sizes.

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