Tobar Catch Ball Set

Many years ago when I were a young lad I used to play outdoors a lot and the catch ball set from Tobar was one of my favourite garden toys. I remember this toy because my set was exactly the same as the one in the picture! There is a hard plastic round pad - the similar size to a small dinner plate. On the back of this are a couple of slots through which the black Velcro straps attach so you can wrap them over the backs of your hands and attach them securely to the pads. On the front of the hand held pad is a bright pink and fluorescent green Velcro surface. This is the surface on which you catch the ball. The ball has a slightly furry surface to it and is the same two tone colour as the pad.

The design of the game is very simple, and there is very little that can go wrong in terms of breaking the product, so it is a very good game to play with. The idea of the game is simply a game of catch. Instead of catching the ball in the palm of your hand the idea is to catch the ball on the surface of the pads. Due to the Velcro and the tiny hooks on the ball it will stick to the pad and you then pull it from the surface and throw it again.

The Velcro on the back of the pads allow for easy attachment to your hands and also means that any size of hands can be accommodated. The game is useful to improve hand-eye co-ordination and included in the set are two hand pads and a ball. If you lose the ball then you can always use a tennis ball, but unfortunately when we resorted to this idea the tennis ball was too furry and bits of fluff stuck to the pad indefinitely.

The game was always enjoyable in my memory as a child, and we still have the set in the garage although it hasn't been used for many years. As I say, there is very little that can go wrong, and the only limitation to the life of such a product is the life of the Velcro and the ball. The hand straps will probably be the first thing to show signs of wear, but for around £4 the catch ball set is an ideal gift for someone young starting to enjoy ball games.