I taught my daughter when she was 5 by throwing soft squishy balls, then tennis balls, and soft softballs. She is now 6 and is not afraid of catching a regular softball. I wanted to continue to build her confidence in catching without her getting hit and never wanting to play again.

I also used tennis balls and I would stand them with their back against the wall facing me. Then I would show them the proper way to turn their glove depending on where the ball would be caught. Then I would toss the tennis ball at them making sure they would turn their glove correctly. We made a game out of it, now they are 14 & 12 and I can tell you it paid off.

i would take the person whos a fraid of the ball to the store and let that person pick out the ball nthey want

Definitely use balls that are not intimidating. Keep practicing to catch less like "practicing to catch" and more like "playing a game." (not necessarily a softball game, but just "playing")

Encourage them and make a big deal when they get it right!

Don't get frustrated when they get tired or bored of "practicing."

Give them an incentive - (give a reward of some sort for catching 5 balls in a row for example)

Keep it fun!

You can also use taped up newspaper balls or wiffles. Something that's not going to hurt if they don't happen to make the catch.

This ball was designed exactly for that! www.SafeToss.com check out the video on website. Totally worked for my 5 year old son son and our team!