Softball Practices....

One of the hardest things is for a league coach to have worthwhile practices when parents don't bring their players.

I've always had a policy where practices are manditory, but if you were going to miss, call me.

Sometimes it could be a case where I might be able to arrange transportation to help.

The team can NOT get better without practices and when you play a team sport, you have to think about the team as a whole. It should be the one thing that players learn after playing Team Sports, the TEAM comes first, not the individual.

Coaches should be the same way. The team is more important than even his own daughter. AND his daughter should be placed in the position SHE earns. Anything else is Daddy Ball and can bring down the overall performance of the team itself. That doesn't mean that on his own time he doesn't work her more... and try to bring her up to the level he is looking for out of his own daughter.

Practices if held right can do the most to bring up the level of a team, but to do them right all players must participate. They bring the players closer together so that they play as a unit, and the repetition of the drills make plays seem natural.

Bottom line, if your coach calls a practice, make every effort to be there or give him advanced notice that your player won't be there so he can make plans for her absence.