Hi Christopher, this is not as uncommon as you may think. Is the player new to playing? I have had this with several of the young group we have at our club. Personally I think avoiding getting hit by a flying object should be considered a sign of intelligence than fear. Never underestimate the social intelligence of the young is something I have learned. Have you any Sponge balls in your equipment? The high density ones that you can kick and get almost realistic result. 

When I go indoors with our youngest groups over the winter, I will always have games using sponge balls as part of sessions, they don't hurt if you get caught unawares by one that's been kicked. the are great for establishing eye/ball co-ordination, catching, control etc. I'm sure you will have played super shot with your players at some stage. If you have a number of sponge balls, and have access to some goals or maybe some of the small pop up goals (3 side by side to crete a bigger target.

Set up a small pitch goals at either end, Maybe 8m (deep, 4m per side to half-way line) by 8 meters wide (make wider than the goal(s) being used will encourages shots from different angles) add a half-way line (red cones are good). Each team has multiple players from 2-6 per team depending on size of goals and area available. Rules: only one team at a time can shoot,  no one is allowed to cross the red half-way line, Every player is a striker, every player is a goalkeeper. If you score with a shot your team gets a point, if you save the shot your team gets a point. spare sponge balls at either end to keep the game running. There are lots of balls coming in high, coming in low, high. Loads of action, a bit of mayhem and the players love it. And it goes some way to desensitising players fear of a ball in flight. The only problem I have is keeping score as it changes so often, but if I get it wrong there are number of players willing to put me right. A few games of this (over a number of weeks, it is not a quick fix) and then some receiving games (getting into line, selecting surface etc) will hopefully go some way to allaying their fear and raise the opportunities the ball gives them when in the air. Keep at it, they will get there.

Hi Christopher, this is not as uncommon as you may think. Is the player new to playing? I have had this with several of the young group we have at our club. Personally I think avoiding getting hit by a flying object should be considered a sign of intelligence than fear. Never underestimate the social intelligence of the young is something I have learned. Have you any Sponge balls in your equipment? The high density ones that you can kick and get almost realistic result. 

When I go indoors with our youngest groups over the winter, I will always have games using sponge balls as part of sessions, they don't hurt if you get caught unawares by one that's been kicked. the are great for establishing eye/ball co-ordination, catching, control etc. I'm sure you will have played super shot with your players at some stage. If you have a number of sponge balls, and have access to some goals or maybe some of the small pop up goals (3 side by side to crete a bigger target.

Set up a small pitch goals at either end, Maybe 8m (deep, 4m per side to half-way line) by 8 meters wide (make wider than the goal(s) being used will encourages shots from different angles) add a half-way line (red cones are good). Each team has multiple players from 2-6 per team depending on size of goals and area available. Rules: only one team at a time can shoot,  no one is allowed to cross the red half-way line, Every player is a striker, every player is a goalkeeper. If you score with a shot your team gets a point, if you save the shot your team gets a point. spare sponge balls at either end to keep the game running. There are lots of balls coming in high, coming in low, high. Loads of action, a bit of mayhem and the players love it. And it goes some way to desensitising players fear of a ball in flight. The only problem I have is keeping score as it changes so often, but if I get it wrong there are number of players willing to put me right. A few games of this (over a number of weeks, it is not a quick fix) and then some receiving games (getting into line, selecting surface etc) will hopefully go some way to allaying their fear and raise the opportunities the ball gives them when in the air. Keep at it, they will get there.

Thanks very much Philip, that sounds like a great idea. Couple of questions for the game - does every player have a ball and do they shoot individually or all at once?

They have to manage taking it in turns and sharing the shooting. One team shoots - once they have either scored/missed or a save has happened, then the other team takes its turn and so on. If some of the players feel less like sharing you may be put in a rule that if you take 2 shots in a row the other team automatically gets a goal. Put in a half time- maybe 7 and then swop ends. If you want to create overloads, if a player misses, they have to retrieve the ball leaving their team a player short. Encourage volleys, lay offs, get creative with your scoring - a save is always 1 pt, but if they catch it maybe give 2 pts,