No doubt at this time of the year it is hard to find practice time outdoors and even harder sometimes to get indoor times. With high school basketball finishing up and springs sports beginning, field time and court time demand are at an all time high. Clearly getting outside is important and can give you an edge against teams who are unable to work on different situational drills indoors. Lots of players and some coaches after the game will blame the cold for the loss and lack of outdoor practice time which is understandable to a point, but that excuse runs dry quickly. Never the less while players and coach?s gear up for the spring season there are some things which have caught my attention and need to be thrown into the dog house. 

Dressing the Part
Dressing right for the cold may seem easy for most, but there are a lot of guys out there that still just don?t get it. When it is still 20-40 degrees outside shorts and t-shirts don?t work. You are not running a marathon and are not a football player trying to intimidate your opponent. Yes we know you hit the gym hard this offseason and are trying to show off a bit, but let?s wait a month before you break out the gun show. I can cut a pitcher some slack if they feel weird wearing a long sleeve while pitching, but during practice just isn?t very bright. Rule of thumb if you can still see your breath put on a long sleeve and some sweats/ baseball pants so you don?t get hurt.

Staying Warm
Staying warm during practices and games can be a challenge especially when you have been working out mostly indoors. In a game such as baseball where there can be a lot of standing around during games and practices it is important to not only dress right for the weather but to stay active. (Honestly if a coach is running a good practice there won?t be a whole lot of standing around and the chalk talks were already taken care of, but that?s a separate issue.) During games saying ?I was cold? cannot be an excuse. Players can jog down to the foul pole or around the bull pen, using the excuse of ?I was cold? when  you struck out after pinch hitting or walk a guy coming into relieve is embarrassing.

Coaches Rotation
Now I am not going to rip on coaches for how they practice because at the end of the day how they prepare their teams for games will be seen in the end result and the experience each player has. I will however extend an automatic dog house to any coach who throws their starting pitcher an entire game the first time out. I know it is going to happen. There will be a greedy coach who is up a run going into the last couple innings and will have their top guy throw a complete game to solidify the win. Everyone likes to win, but throwing a pitcher first time out a complete game in 30-40 degree weather is nuts. Yes you may win a few more games early on because of it, but you will also be leading the league in arm injuries at the end of it.