Striking
Striking is the most complex of the fundamental movement skills. A form of striking is used in many sports; tennis, teeball, cricket, hockey and golf. Although they all differ, the same mechanical principles apply across all of them. Striking can be introduced in the Foundation year and by Year 2 most children should be able to demonstrate a two-handed strike. Most children will not instinctively know how to demonstrate a two-handed strike.
Begin striking with light implements, such as pool noodles. Use the KIDDO vocabulary to guide your child's technique as they begin their development;
- Hands together
- Ready: stand side on to the ball (use markers to assist)
- Eyes on the ball
- Step & Swing – step with the front foot towards the target (use a marker to step on to)
With younger children, introduce them to the skill of striking with reduced instruction.
- Use hands as your striking implement to start with and hit balloons or soft balls hanging from trees
- Next try using pool noodles for a bat and hitting large soft balls
- Focus on standing side on to the ball or object and having eyes on the ball
- Hitting medium sized soft balls off the ground, or small cricket tees is an excellent way to introduce striking
As they develop an understanding of how to strike, introduce technique;
- Use markers or chalk as a guide for where children should place their feet
- Opt for easy-to-succeed games, such as Build and Destroy or Fetch Cricket
Once your child is able to comfortable strike off a tee, challenge them by;
- Moving on to teeball tees and smaller balls such as tennis balls
- Encouraging them to step towards the target with their front foot, use markers to help with this (step & squash the chalk star)
- Focus on children striking the ball as hard as possible and following through with bat around the body
Develop your child's understanding of power and accuracy by;
- Placing targets further away and play games such as Mini-Golf
- Introduce accuracy challenges with Catch the Magical Creatures
- Try hitting a moving or thrown ball in Protect the Castle
- Incorrect grip – hands apart or the wrong way around
- Standing front on to the target
- Not stepping
- No weight transfer
- No follow-through
- Not watching the ball
