The following is your top ten for becoming a great practice player.

One, did you give your best in every drill, sprint or scrimmage?

Two, did you work to overcome any obstacles or difficulties in practice?

Three, can you name one skill area that you devoted extra practice time to today outside of regular team practice?

Four, did you arrive 15 minutes earlier and/or stay 15 minutes later than your team for practice and put in a little extra work?

Five, did you lead your team and teammates in enthusiasm, encouragement and effort?

Six, did you hustle at all times in practice even running over to the coach when the whistle blew instead of jogging?

Seven, did you ask your coach to help you with a weak skill area or teach you a new move you may need in order to improve your performance?

Eight, were you mentally tough when things became harder or were you beaten down? Did you give in, give up, give out or give more effort?

Nine, did you experienced any minor pain or injury that you could play through and keep practicing with or did you use it as an excuse to stop practicing because you were too tired or fatigued?

Ten, were you filled with the spirit of competition and did you have an intense desire to win?

In closing, I will leave you with this final thought, you may not be the tallest player on the team, you may not be the strongest athlete on the team, you may not be the fastest runner on your team, but you can at all times be the biggest player or athlete on your team. You have to do more than your competition if you want to be more than your competition. Good luck with your practice.

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