01/26/06 Indoor

The first practice went very well: Zac and I were very organized, the players seemed to enjoy it, and we wasted absolutely no time. The goal of Zac and I running practices was to make it as stress-free and enjoyable for the three captains as possible, so they can focus more on getting better individually and push the other players rather than worrying about logistical stuff. In time, hopefully people will look forward to practice and thus have more motivation outside it to throw and work out.

We did some running, stretching, and moderate throwing, in which Zac and I walked around and gave individual tips. Every player would benefit from individual coaching on their 15 to 20 yard throws, but clearly we do not have enough time to stand for fifteen minutes behind someone. In the future I think having small throwing groups, maybe three or four people at Prospect or ERP on weekends will have to do.

We ran a modified box drill which was so-so, lots of imprecise cutting and throwing but also lots of enthusiasm, especially when they realized that dropping too much was punishable by sprinting. A cute thing we did was when they completed the requisite number of consecutive throws in the drill, we had them line up as if to do a sprint anyway, counted down, and just told them to get water. I think little things like this will help soften practices and give Zac and I a bit of personality, especially given that practices are more intense and hard than they were accustomed to.

The second handler dictated deep/in drill really exposed our main weakness--deep throwing. Right now, only one girl--Mia--is capable of hucking consistently, and we need to bump that to four or five come sectionals time. After the two drills we had minigames and ended with sprints and more throwing.

Positives:
The general level of enthusiasm was refreshing. Everyone was very responsive to the more intense practices and receptive of criticism. There weren't any brand new players so drills ran relatively smoothly. There were some surprises, like Lisa, who we did not expect to improve this quickly since fall.

Negatives:
Throws were predictably sloppy their first practice back, and the new offense that we will be teaching requires a level of handler skill that right now they frankly are not close to. But we will get them there.