by Pete Sprenkle, reprinted with permission from A Youth Baseball Coaches Tool Kit  (with side notes from WebBall's Richard Todd)

Plan your schedule so that after any trip of more than an hour or two you have time to take your players to a ball field near where you are staying and hold a short practice.

This accomplishes several objectives...

• It serves to bring the players focus back to the purpose of the trip - that is, to play ball.
• It helps to get the players physically over the trip and ready to play ball.
• And, a well run practice always helps a team play better. 

If you are traveling to a location for the first time you will need to contact someone in that location (tournament director, Parks and Recreation Dept., etc.) to find out where you can practice.

Sometimes you can actually practice on the fields used for the tournament in which you are playing. Most often however you will need to find other facilities. Schools, especially Junior High or Middle Schools, frequently have fields; parks are often available.

Once you have located a good practice field, use it often. If 'your' practice field is near where you will be playing games, it is a good idea to warm up for your first game (and later games, if practical) at that field. This gets the players away from the noise and excitement of the tournament so they can concentrate on getting ready to play, provides a suitable time and area to warm up properly and should have the players more than ready for the first game.

When planning a trip, especially after school is out for the summer, try and leave early enough so that you arrive at the location of the tournament with time available to have a short practice with a fun activity, clean up, go out to dinner and possibly enjoy a little entertainment. This provides a good transition from the travel to the tournament and also is fun for the team. If your team is enjoying themselves and is relaxed, they will play better when the real games begin.

Another aspect of a good road practice is to have the proper equipment with you - never assume it will be there for you, even if you've made arrangements. Consider tees, a screen, buckets with whiffle balls, maybe even a travelling hitting station, plus all the tubing you usually use at home. Have a designated equipment vehicle. It doesn't have to be a huge truck or SUV, from personal experience you can fit a lot into a Honda Element or even a small Subaru. - Richard Todd