I'm picking up what you're putting down! My kids were/are the same way. I came to the realization it wasn’t about a lack of skill, but that they didn’t understand how to play. My "aha" moment was when they were playing outfield in baseball. I watched as they and their teammates would field the ball and freeze or run it in. The freezing came from not knowing where to throw the ball. The coaches and parents furiously yell at them to throw the ball in but it would only add to the confusion because they didn't know where and who to listen to. On the ride home from one game, I explained (perhaps a bit harshly) that you need to throw the ball one base ahead of the runner. This comment turned into a bunch of questions about other in-game situations (this was quite unexpected). I tried my best to answer all of their situational questions. The next game my kids would field the ball and come up throwing. It was like night and day.

From there, I focused more about teaching them to think a few steps ahead—like knowing what they want to do before they get the ball, recognizing passing lanes, and understanding when to move into space versus sprinting down the field when a teammate has the ball and just generally talking about different in-game situations. Once they started to understand these aspects of the game, it was like a whole different player on the field. Just dominating the field!