Moms and dads are always looking for the newest ways to help their children get bigger, stronger and faster.

When it comes to hand-eye coordination, sometimes simpler is better.

Here are three easy ways to help your young athlete develop hand-eye coordination:

1. Tennis balls and a wall: Players don’t have to catch footballs to strengthen skills. Whether your child is 5 years old or 15, line them up against a wall and throw tennis balls to them at an appropriate speed (slow it down for the little ones). Then introduce balls in rapid succession.

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The wall, at first, is there to bounce the ball back to you when they miss. But as abilities progress, turn your child around so they face the wall, about five feet away. Then, bounce the tennis ball off the wall and have them catch it before it hits the ground.

Here’s NFL wide receiver Mario Manningham showing how it’s done.

2. Card catching: Set your athlete up in an athletic position – the breakdown position for football players – and flip them cards to various heights. Have them catch the cards in a two-handed slapping motion. As they get better, they can switch to one hand, then alternate hands.

As players master the one-handed grab, add more challenges to the drill by having them catch only the red cards or introduce a short run before beginning the drill.

3. Hacky Sack: OK, this one seems more like foot-eye coordination, but whatever body part you use, it’s the same incorporation of balance and rhythm into a routine. For young children, have them bounce the ball off their palms at first. Once that’s mastered, move on to a hand flip between the palm and back of the hand. Then introduce the foot, the thigh and so on.

Kids can play this alone or with friends, either way building the same coordination they need on the playing field.

This is an updated version of a blog that originally published April 10, 2015.