Effects of instruction and practice on ball catching skill: single-subject study of an 8-year-old.

An eight-year-old boy learned to make one-handed catches by involvement in three 30-min. periods of instruction and practice consisting of modelling, videotape-based performance feedback, and variable practice interspersed with videotaped assessments on seven consecutive days. An adult-like catching action (both hands) emerged in the second session and was used exclusively thereafter. Catching success at the second and third assessments improved from 40% (preferred hand) and 30% (non-preferred) to over 90% (both hands) on the final assessment. Following the intervention, success and the catching action were similar to those of skillful ten-year-old subjects observed in a previous study.