by Pete Sprenkle, creator of the Coaches Tool Kit

Practice is a key ingredient for any successful team. A successful team will have productive practices, with everyone working hard all the time. While working hard, it is imperative to concentrate on doing whatever you are doing correctly. It has been shown that for every time you do something wrong you have to do it right seventeen (17) times to get your brain oriented to doing it right. Let's do it right the first time!

FOR OUR TEAM, PLEASE WORK WITHIN THESE GUIDELINES...

1Be ready on time. 

• Be at the field, mentally and physically ready to practice, at the scheduled start time.
  
• There will be a small time slot to stretch, jog and warm-up, so you should do whatever extra personal stretching or warming up you need prior to the beginning of the team practice.
  
• Keep in mind...

  • If you're early, you're on time.
  • If you're on time, you're late.
  • If you're late, you're probably running.
  • Great athletes come early and leave late.

2 Wear your sliding gear at every practice.  

• Get used to the idea that whenever you run the bases, you slide, even in practice. This makes you a better slider and makes our defensive players better.

3 Dress warmly, or bring plenty of warm clothes.

• It can, and frequently does, get cold during practice.
  
• Make sure you have the proper clothes and do not get cold.

4 Always hustle.

• One thing we will work towards is this: if a ball rolls to a stop on the field because no one hustled after it, then everyone should expect to participate in some sort of physical activity.

5 Let the coach know. 

• Please let coach know in advance if you will miss a practice.

The Coaches Tool Kit is a collection of CD-ROM documents that can be customized for use by your team during the season. For details and to order, click here.