Balls from above and from the front

Observe and react to four balls at the same time. This exercise tests your reaction speed, sensibility and perception. It needed a few attempts until it worked pretty well on my side (Lars). Try it out and share your experience with us.

How to do it?

• Starting point
• You are standing towards your assistant
• You and your assistant both have two balls, one in each hand
• Movement
1. Action
• You decide when the exercise starts
• Throw the balls in your hands straight upwards
• Once you did it, your assistant throws his two balls to you
2. Action
• Catch the balls and throw them directly back to your assistant while your two balls are still in the air
• Your assistant catches the balls you’ve thrown back and you catch your balls which are coming down from the upwards thrown
3. Action
• Train it again and again and again :-)

Summary
I really like this exercise as you can try so many goalie skills at the same time. It is a combination of hand-eye coordination and sensitivity. As I did this exercise the first time, I was so focus on catching the balls of my assistant, that I did not focus on the first movement of this exercise – throw my own balls up. The balls flew everywhere but not straight up – but after some train it works pretty well now

You can start practicing this exercise with one ball each, than by two balls thrown in the air and one by the assistant thrown to you (or one up in the air and two thrown to you) and then with all four balls in play.