"I don't know how to help my Kid"
Almost everyone doesn't. At least you have self awareness.
Ok, fair enough.
Honestly most parents really don't, but there are a ton that think they do when in reality they have no idea.
Thankfully, we can keep it simple.
There are a few things to do to improve someone's fielding and throwing, and we are going to focus on that side of the sport and try to keep it really simple.
There are a couple things you need that will help produce a better throw, especially in youth athletes that are moldable.
A target
A free environment
Time
Let me explain
Most youth athletes that struggle to throw or throw hard do so because they have had bad mechanics or too many mechanics drilled into their heads.
If you remove the constraints of overthinking, and give them a simple task to complete that entails throwing the ball hard towards a target
Shockingly
They will get better at completing the task of throwing the ball hard towards a target.
Which if you think about it, is really most of the defensive side of baseball.
There are a couple of different ways to get this up, and it really doesn’t matter exactly what they do.
In fact, variability is likely to help you keep it fun and enjoyable which is half the battle.
A few ideas:
1- Long toss
2- “Target Practice”- have them stand at home plate and set up screens around the field, have them play “Horse” trying to hit different targets.
3- Fielding Backhand grounders at shortstop and rip the ball to first.
All of these ideas are pretty simple.
They all include different ways to spice up the throwing routine and all of the above allow athletes to build their athleticism throughout the throw and can free them up from the overthinking that generally happens in youth baseball and coaching.
Another general rule of thumb: more coaching is not always better. Generally if you have a youth athlete thinking a ton it will make them worse.
Get your athletes out of the dome and onto the playing field, it's more fun out there anyway.
Hitting can be done the same way, there are some basic ideas about the swing and guidelines you should follow. But repetition is king and kids will self organize to a degree.
Especially if you provide them with good examples and show them high quality swings and try to emulate them.
If you want more help, sign up for 1 on 1 training with a professional athlete and coach HERE.
Best of Luck
John