The purpose of this exercise is to strengthen the trunk, neck and shoulder muscles. 

This is a great exercise for training arms strength and endurance. The neck,back and tummy muscles also have to work really hard to hold the head and trunk steady. The ankle muscles have to work to maintain balance.

In this exercise the child holds a stick with two hands at chest height and uses it to intercept and push away a 45 cm gym ball. Children really love this exercise and get very enthusiastic about increasing the number of times they can push the ball away.

In these exercises the child stands on the hands and knees and lifts one or more limbs level with the back while keeping the back flat. keeping the back flat requires activation of the abdominal muscles to stabilize the position of the pelvis.  

It is also important to keep the elbows slightly bent to prevent locking of the elbows into hyperextension. Keeping the elbows slightly bent also activates the shoulder muscles to stabilize the shoulder blade. 

Successful ball catching always starts with a prediction: careful observation of the person throwing the ball allows one to predict the flight of the ball. The movement brain uses this information to make a judgment about the best position in space to intercept the ball and then plans the arm movements to be ready to catch the ball at the right place and at the right time.