A game ball is instrumented with a transducer to measure the impact forces on the ball and/or the decelerations by the ball experienced during an attempted catch by a person. The impact forces on the ball are equal and opposite to the forces on the hands of a person catching the ball so that the ball may be used as a training apparatus to teach a person the proper technique to catch a ball. A preferred catching technique includes decelerating the approaching ball to rest by the hands such that the action time of the catch is increased and the resulting force on the hands and the ball is decreased. Wireless transmission of data from the ball is sent to a remote receiver in one embodiment.