“Kids don’t just go outside and play like they used to!” We hear it all the time. You should let it happen.
One of the best ways to practice body control and improve athleticism is to watch your favorite athlete and then go mimic what they just did. Go take the fadeaway jump shot that Kevin Durant just took. Do the spin move that Saquon Barkley just did. Swing a bat like Aaron Judge. Do it over and over and over again until it’s just right.
If you give yourself or your athlete enough time to play and create movement on their own, outside of structured time, athleticism will improve tremendously.
Balancing the body to decrease chances of injury, fine-tuning movement patterns, improving strength, and building confidence are very important things that can be built at Parisi.
Unstructured play is an important component, however. Give them the freedom to do it.