We asked coaches and players to consider their teaching/ training/ conditioning methods. We weren't looking for best intentions here - everyone knows practice is important - we wanted the unvarnished truth! Whether we got that or not is hard to say.
Also some stats are skewed because not everyone who replied made a choice in every category and response was light for many items. Still, it might get you thinking about your own program. Unfortuantely nobody had a number for the cancel below % - which either means coaches will run a practice if even one player shows (?) or else they just don't know, or else it's never an issue (although it has been for us at WebBall).

TRAINING FREQUENCY		All Replies	Younger Ages	Older Ages
Team Practice Schedule	Pre-Season (days/week)	2.7	2.8	2.5
	In-Season	3.1	3.0	3.5
	Before Playoffs	4.1	4.4	3.5
Attendance at Team Practices	Average %	78%	88%	53%
	Cancelled below %	0%	0%	0%
Players Personal Conditioning	Pre Season (days/week)	1.7	1.4	2.5
	In-Season Maintenance	0.9	0.8	1.0
Key Scheduling Problems	Field availability	86%	100%	50%
	Coaches other commitments	29%	40%	0%
	Coaches motivation	0%	0%	0%
	Players availability	29%	40%	0%
	Players other interests	14%	20%	0%
	Weather conditions	86%	100%	50%

Our state athletic association forbids any practice in any form from Labor Day until the first monday in March. No head coach or assistant coach can even play catch with a player without being open to possible eligibility violations.
- Brad Dix

The age of the players is a key factor in the determining the amount of practice time. Another factor is that these kids (11-12) are still in school during ther Spring and their school work must come first.
- Russell Rich