Bounce-Pass Buddies

A partner game of sending a ball to each other with one bounce in the middle, building the two-hand catch of a bounced ball.

  1. Stand facing your child about 2 meters apart. Put a marker (a chalk X, a paper plate, a piece of tape) on the ground halfway between you — that is the “bounce spot.”
  2. Hold a playground ball at chest height and push it down so it bounces once on the spot and rises to your child’s tummy or chest.
  3. Before each pass, cue “Ready hands!” — hands out in front, elbows bent, fingers spread, eyes on the ball.
  4. Your child catches with hands only, then pulls the ball in (“catch it, then hug it”) and bounce-passes it back to you.
  5. Count how many passes you can make in a row without the ball escaping. Try to beat your “team record.”
  6. After every five catches, both of you take one small step back.

Variation: bounce the ball slightly to the left or right so your child has to move their feet to get behind it, or swap to a smaller ball once the big one feels easy.

Requirements

  • Space: About 3–4 meters of clear space; a driveway, pavement, or hallway works
  • Surface: Hard and flat so the bounce is predictable — concrete, asphalt, wood, or tile (not grass or carpet)
  • Materials: A playground ball or soft rubber ball about 20–25 cm across; something to mark the bounce spot
  • Participants: 1 adult or older child + 1 child
  • Supervision: Light — the adult is the passing partner

Rationale & Objective

A bounced ball arrives more slowly and on a more predictable path than a thrown one, which makes it the natural bridge between “trapping” a ball against the chest and catching with the hands alone. Catching a bounced ball is an item in the PDMS-2 Object Manipulation subtest, and the ASQ-3 60-month questionnaire asks whether a child can catch a large ball with both hands. The mature pattern described in the TGMD-3 — hands prepared in front of the body with elbows bent, arms reaching toward the ball, ball caught by the hands only — depends on visual tracking, timing, and both hands closing together. The bounce pass itself is also useful practice: the child has to judge how hard and where to push the ball so it reaches a partner, an early lesson in grading force.

Progress Indicators

  • Early: turns head away or closes eyes as the ball arrives; traps the ball against the chest with the arms; catches only when the bounce lands perfectly
  • Developing: watches the ball all the way in; hands are ready before the bounce; catches about half of well-placed bounces, often with some help from the body
  • Proficient: catches most bounced balls with hands only from 2–3 meters; own bounce pass reaches the partner at a catchable height
  • Advanced: moves feet to catch off-target bounces; manages a smaller ball; keeps a rally of 10 or more passes going and adjusts force as the distance grows

Safety Notes

  • Use a soft, slightly under-inflated ball — a hard or over-inflated ball that hits the face can make a child wary of catching for weeks
  • Aim your bounce to rise to chest height, not face height; if your child flinches, move closer and bounce more gently
  • Play away from roads, stairs, and breakables, and agree that an adult fetches any ball that rolls toward a road
  • Fingers can get jammed by a fast ball — keep the pace gentle and teach “soft hands” rather than stiff, straight fingers
  • If your child consistently cannot track or catch a large, slow ball despite regular play, mention it to your pediatrician, who may suggest a vision check or an occupational therapy assessment

Hints

  • Playfulness: pretend the ball is a hot potato, a bouncing frog, or a pizza being delivered — “one bounce, then deliver it to the customer!”
  • Sustain interest: keep a “team record” of passes in a row on the fridge and try to beat it; swap in different balls (beach ball, tennis ball, squishy ball) to see how each one bounces
  • Common mistake: bouncing the ball too close to the child so it comes up under their chin. The bounce spot should be about halfway, or slightly nearer to the thrower
  • Limited space: sit on the floor facing each other with legs apart and bounce a small ball between you — the short distance still trains tracking and hand timing
  • Cross-domain: count passes aloud or count by twos (numeracy); say a word in a category on every catch — animals, foods, things that are red (language); take turns choosing the next rule (social skills)
  • Progression: large ball at 2 m → step back to 3 m → medium ball → bounce slightly off-target so the child must move → tennis ball → child bounces and catches off a wall alone

Sources

  • PDMS-2 Object Manipulation subtest — catching a bounced ball items
  • ASQ-3 60-month questionnaire, Gross Motor — “catch a large ball with both hands”
  • CDC/AAP Developmental Milestones (2022) — “catches a large ball most of the time” (4 years)
  • Ulrich, D.A. (2019), Test of Gross Motor Development, 3rd ed. (TGMD-3) — two-hand catch performance criteria
  • Haywood, K.M. & Getchell, N. — Life Span Motor Development (developmental sequence of catching; effect of ball size and trajectory)
  • UK EYFS Development Matters — Reception: refine ball skills including throwing, catching, kicking, passing, batting, and aiming