• Represent your baseball program, community, family and yourself well. You never know who is watching. Besides getting to play against a high level of competition, travel baseball provides an opportunity for exposure. Exposure can be good or bad. It depends on the way you conduct yourself.

• Give your best effort at all times. Most things in baseball are accomplished through repetition. This means that you get better by repeating the activity over and over. If you fail to give your best effort during practice repetitions, then you are repeatedly practicing failure.

• Listen to instruction and try to accomplish the task as instructed. Particularly in the preseason, we will try to correct any fundamental flaws that we detect. Correcting a bad habit may be uncomfortable until it you master the new skill, and you may not immediately succeed. However, failing to correct a significant fundamental flaw and improve your overall game is detrimental to your development and the team’s.

• Communicate on and off the field. During games and practices we need everybody to communicate and keep each other in the game and thinking about the game situation. As young men you need to start communicating like adults. Take responsibility for yourself. If you have questions or concerns discuss them with the coaches before or after practice. Some of you have spent a lot of time and money working out with hitting/pitching instructors. If you feel our instruction goes against that of your instructor we will work through these issues if addressed in a respectful manner.

• Work on your individual skills in the off-season. You can hit waffle balls off a tee in the garage (work on that low /outside pitch that many players struggle to hit with authority). Throw when you get an opportunity. Long toss is great for strengthening your arm, regardless of position.

• Exercise! Each of you should be involved in an ongoing workout program, which should be enhanced by proper diet and rest.

• Practice your acceleration. Baseball requires you to be quick from a stand still position. Practice your crossover step and take-off. We are going to run!

• If you are a pitcher, you should make approximately 15 warm-up pitches and 30 -40 live pitches 3 - 4 days a week. Perfect your change-up and learn to hit your locations (low & away – up & in, etc.) Get command of your 2 and 4 seam fastball and change-up before trying to master the breaking ball. We like to limit the number of breaking balls thrown during an outing. If you have great location and the ability to change speeds, we will not have to rely on the breaking ball. We will not allow a pitcher to throw a breaking ball unless they demonstrate proper technique and a command of the pitch. To minimize potential injury you need to keep the elbow up at least 90 degrees while pitching.

• Find a practice partner. Unlike some community based teams, we don’t have unlimited field time, and due to logistics it’s impractical to practice frequently as a team. You will be more likely to practice if you set a routine and make a commitment to a partner. If you really want to improve you need to establish a practice routine that you and a partner can do between team practices. It’s my experience that players get better in the off-season and pre-season. Baseball season is the time to prove it.

• Support your teammates. It’s important to our success that we all have the confidence and skill to play at this level. Help and support one another individually and we will succeed as a team. Players violating this responsibility may come to believe they are practicing for cross country.

• Accept the role / position(s) that best meets the team’s needs. Each of you will get to play multiple positions throughout the year. Take advantage of those opportunitities to prove your competence to the coaches.

• Do not tolerate teammates or others that are not acting in the best interest of the team. Address your concerns with the individual and/or the Coach.

1. Be at practices and games on time, or contact me beforehand.
2. Warm-up quickly and properly. Throw and catch like you’re in the game.
3. Look at and listen to the coaches when they talk to you. No talking when a coach is talking.
4. Run onto and off of the field between innings.
5. Be organized. Put your equipment where you can find it. If you’re responsible for the infield or outfield ball, put it in your glove when you come in the dugout between innings.
6. If you are not in the defensive line-up, you will warm up an outfielder, work in the bullpen (pitching, catching, or guarding), or you will be supporting your teammates and paying attention to the game.
7. No food in the dugout. It’s a distraction to your teammates.
Nobody leaves until the dugout is clean and all equipment is bagged.