Practice #8--In the outfield

The infield is boring. In the infield, plays are made more often than not, especially given the strength of the Mudcats' likely starting group. And if a ball gets missed, hey, it just went between somebody's legs and the batter got one base. It happens.

But in the outfield, now that's some excitement. At Monday's practice, the Mudcats broke into three groups--one infield group (Boo...boring), one hitting group (all captured on video for later perusal and/or archival at the Smithsonian), and one outfield group. I don't know what happened at the other two stations, but I can tell you that in the span of about 75 minutes in the outfield group, with Coach Rob wielding an Agassi-esque forehand and hitting fly balls with a tennis racket, we had a tennis ball bounce off a head, we had multiple diving catches, we had players twist all the way around to perform a complete 360 and then making a catch, we had players running one way while the ball went the exact opposite way, and we had lots of grass stains.

Are you not entertained?

The drill was simple. Coach Rob started out hitting "normal" fly balls. Only, for a 5-to-7 year-old, there's nothing normal about a fly ball. It might be the toughest thing to do at this level of baseball. Here's the biggest problem--out in the yard, throwing with Mom or Dad, the ball usually comes more or less at you. But out on the field, rude opposing hitters very rarely hit it so courteously. It's a little to the left, or it's a little to the right, or it's dropping in front of you, or--most treacherous of all--it's over your head. And very few six-year-olds have taken enough fly balls off a bat to be able to read the ball in that first half-second. That's the biggest difference between fly balls at this level and the fly balls you see run down regularly in the big leagues. As they get older, they'll eventually learn how to react correctly as soon as the ball hits the bat. But in the Minor League, there's usually a full second or more where they're gauging the ball, figuring out which way they want to go. Unless it's hit perfectly, that second usually means the ball is going to drop.

To simulate the challenges of playing outfield, Coach Rob lined the Mudcats up in front of him, with them facing the "batter" one at a time. Then, with an evil laugh, he hit the ball over their head. The first instinct is almost always to try and run backwards to keep an eye on the ball. But running backwards while trying to look above and behind your head is also a recipe for an ESPN Not Top Ten tumble. So the teaching point for Monday in the outfield was to open the stance as soon as the ball was struck, running more sideways than backwards while keeping track of the ball.

Eventually, it started to look a little more natural. With three groups rotating through, there was a winner in each group, with the victor decided solely by the number of clean catches. Christopher won his group and also picked up the team-high, snagging an impressive 11. Big Ben won his group, and Hayes claimed the title for the final group. All three winners received helmet stickers.

Somehow there is no practice scheduled for Tuesday, which feels like a major oversight. We plan to drive around while eating dinner in the car just to stay in rhythm. See you Wednesday at West Raleigh at 5 p.m.

Practice #7--Mudcat lingo

A good percentage of the time, most of us have very little idea what our kids are talking about. My understanding is that this only increases as they get older. But the communication gap can be even greater at baseball practice, where the Mudcats have a language of their own. Here's a few of the terms you'll hear around Nowell Field in the days, weeks, and months to come.

Calling time. This was a major point of emphasis in the first half of Sunday's practice, as the Mudcats spent the first hour on the field working on game situation fielding and baserunning. There are only a few ways to stop an opposing baserunner from taking an extra base:

1. Tag them out.2. Throw to the base ahead of them.
3. Tell them there's a free Wii giveaway at the top of the hill (generally frowned upon but permissible in extreme circumstances).
4. Run at the lead runner and scream, "Time!" at the top of your lungs.

Choice number-four was practiced extensively on Sunday. It's not as simple as just yelling, "Time!" and it's not as simple as running at the lead runner. It's the combination of running at the lead runner while yelling "Time!" at the same time. Given the way the ball can occasionally be tossed around the infield in this league, calling time can often mean the difference between a big inning and snuffing out a rally.

The money ball. You could have Nolan Ryan on the mound...whoops, sorry, forgot most of the Mudcats know him as an old guy who owns the Rangers rather than a pitcher who throws 100 miles per hour and beats up members of the White Sox. Let's try that again. You could have Roy Halladay on the mound firing fastballs past the Mudcats without hope of them hitting it. But let Halladay say, "This is the money ball," and there's a good chance they'd start spraying the ball around the cage. The money ball isn't necessarily different than a normal baseball, although from time to time the coaches have been known to sneak in a softball or even a ping-pong sized ball as the money ball. It's simply the last ball in a particular drill, and for whatever reason, the players love it.

On Sunday, while the hitters were taking BP in the cage off Coach Andrew, several asked, "Is this the money ball?" before taking their final swings. If he said no, it was possible they might miss it. But if he said yes, it usually resulted in a line drive--and maybe even a piece of gum (more on that later).

Power position. It's the difference between a weak, three-bouncer throw and one that zips straight to the chest of the recipient. It's not just using the arm. It's having the body properly aligned with the front shoulder leading towards the partner and throwing arm straight behind the thrower. You'll most often see it at the beginning of practice, as during Sunday's initial warmups, when players had to complete at least five consecutive throws with their partner with no misses. Another solid example came during Sunday's first hour, when Gabe made a perfect catch of a high fly ball in left field and then zipped the ball in to the cutoff man.

Fast/slow/fast. You'll hear this frequently in the infield. The infielder wants to get to the ball quickly, charging it if possible. Once they arrive at the ball, they want to slow down to make the play as they watch the ball into their glove. Once it's securely transferred to the throwing hand, it's time to speed up again and whip the throwing arm through to make a solid throw to first base.

Dude. A tremendous all-purpose word, this is something our son has started adding to every sentence. Sometimes it makes sense: "Let's go hit in the cage, dude." Sometimes it makes a little less sense: "Yes, Mom, I'm ready for bed, dude." Should the Mudcats decide they no longer want to play baseball, they could put together a very solid surfing club.

Many uses of "dude" could be found in the final hour of Sunday's practice, as the team went through the usual tee/soft toss/batting cage rotation. The stakes were raised in the cage, as any line drive to the back of the cage net earned the hitter one piece of gum from Coach Andrew. Every Mudcat earned at least one piece, with Anthony and Drew leading the way with four pieces of gum apiece.

Coach Rob was Sunday's eagle-eyed assistant, as he spent the practice looking for the Mudcat with the best demonstration of "having fun." Not a goofy kind of fun without paying attention, but fun that included supporting teammates and smiling from drill to drill. Sunday's winner was Little Ben, whose solid week of practice has included winning a throwing competition and earning a pair of helmet stickers.

The squad's next practice is Monday night at 6 p.m. at Penny Road Elementary, dude.

Practice #6--I want to eat spinach

Practice began in the cage, which is always a challenge. Not for the actual players. They do fine. The challenge is for the parents, because do you know how hard it is to find a spot of shade down there at a 3 p.m. practice? No toughness sticker for me today. As the parents slowly edged toward the tree line, the Mudcats split up between the tee, soft toss, and--once they'd completed those two stations--live pitching in the cage off the rubber-armed Coach Andrew. Cage highlights came when Hayes smoked a ball off the ball bucket, and Smiley earned a piece of gum by ripping the ball straight back up the middle off Coach Andrew, who was foolishly fearlessly pitching without a screen.

After an hour in the cage, the Mudcats begged to challenge the Bees to a race around the bases before taking the field for the second half of practice. But the Bees had already grabbed their bats and were headed over to the cage. Ah, but that would only prolong the inevitable...

As Coach Mike gave the infield the best watering job a baseball field has seen since Noah's flood, the Mudcats split into two groups--infield and outfield. The first infield group dragged a little until an impassioned speech from Coach Andrew. After gathering the infield group around him at home plate, it went a little something like this:

With a bored, straight-up stance and a tired voice: "This says, 'I want to eat spinach.'"

Knees bent, crouched like a panther: "This says, 'I want to play baseball!'"

With a bored, straight-up stance and a tired voice: "This says, 'I want to clean my room.'"

Knees bent, crouched like a panther: "This says, 'I want to play baseball!'"

The message was received. Upon returning to their positions, the first group turned in a much crisper session. The outfielders, meanwhile, were going through the usual split between fly balls, throwing to the correct base, and a little bit of baserunning. After the groups switched stations, it looked like practice would end fairly quietly. At the post-practice meeting down the left-field line--after a somewhat loose practice--Coach Andrew asked the team to remember the "focus" part of the Mudcat Motto. Coach Tom handed out the day's helmet stickers. He had been watching for toughness, which means none of the shade-seeking parents were eligible. On a hot, humid day, Coach Tom picked Brenner for being oblivious to the heat and running anywhere and everywhere (at a post-practice pickup game, Brenner would again flash some toughness, verifying his selection), and Smiley for taking a couple tough collisions without complaint.

But the day wasn't over. The Mudcats again begged for a race against the Bees. This time, the foes accepted the challenge, putting the Mudcats' unbeaten, untied record in base races (that's a 1-0 record for those of you scoring at home) at risk. It was the most anticipated rematch since Ali-Frazier II, except with a much nicer venue than Madison Square Garden, which is perhaps the worst-smelling major arena in all of sports.

Just like last time, the Bees began the race at second base, while the Mudcats started at home plate. With only 10 players at practice, the Bees raced their three fastest players twice. The Mudcats, meanwhile, followed the same strategy that worked in the first installment, as five-year-olds (by league age, which, again, is far more important than real age) Asher and Brenner led off. The Bees grabbed an early lead, but fast middle legs by Tyler and Little Ben brought the Mudcats all the way back. By the time Drew slid triumphantly into home plate, the Mudcats had a sizable advantage...which was a good thing, because Drew wasn't the last runner (but it was a nice slide). He handed off to Smiley, who capped the Mudcat win with a good-looking feet-first slide.

The Mudcats will be back on the field Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. and will be on the field first, cage second. Since Monday is a school day, practice will end no later than 11:30 p.m. 11:29 p.m., at which time the team will adjourn to the home of the Alberghinas, who apparently have a very strong homeowners insurance policy.

Practice #5--confident but humble

Certain parts of the Mudcat Motto are easy to remember. Hustle, for example, is something that has been said by every baseball coach since the cavemen fielded a team (and yes, they broke into stations at practice). Having fun is a pretty simple one. Making the commitment to four team practices and/or games per week is a pretty good indicator that a player has fun playing baseball.

But being "confident but humble" is a little more mysterious. The confidence part comes fairly easily, and it's often a product of those four practices per week. When a player gets that many repetitions, their confidence naturally grows in proportion to the repetitions. You can already see progress in several of the Mudcats from day one to today.

Asking a six-year-old to be humble, though, is more of a challenge. Heck, sometimes asking a 36-year-old to be humble can be a tough assignment. We've spent a couple car rides to and from practice trying to distinguish "having confidence" from "being humble." Explaining that you want your son to believe he's the best, but not tell anyone he's the best, is one of those things that doesn't make a whole lot of sense when you put it into words. In that way, it's much like explaining why learning algebra is important.

That confident/humble combination is a fine line that exists from the smallest t-ball league all the way to the major league World Series. And everywhere in-between, too. It's even an issue at the Little League World Series, where one team is trying to draw the line between confidence and overconfidence.

One of the most remarkable parts of our first two weeks of West Raleigh play--other than the fact that we have an assistant coach with a direct line to Otis Spunkmeyer cookies--has been the way the older players carry themselves. It's not unusual at all to see Charlie coaching up Asher on the finer points of baserunning, or Drew reminding Brenner to follow his throws. The older kids are bigger, better, and more experienced. But they hardly ever act like it when they're interacting with their teammates, which suggests that even though the distinction between confident and humble might be subtle, they still understand it--even if they don't realize it.

Take Thursday's practice, which began with a throwing competition. Players lined up about ten feet away and had to hit a bucket on the fly. It was sort of a souped-up version of Bozo's Grand Prize Game. As soon as anyone was eliminated, they went to the side and--apparently without coaching--did something noteworthy: they cheered on their teammates. Little Ben and Hayes eventually won one session apiece, but even when later congratulated on his victory, LB simply said, "It was fun." When I was seven, if I had won an event like that, I would've demanded a musical accompaniment of We Are The Champions every time I entered the batter's box.

After the throwing competition, players split into infield and outfield stations. In the outfield, the focus was on learning the correct way to get the ball into second base, and on which Mudcat (shortstop or second base) should be covering the bag depending on where the ball was hit. After fielding a few fly balls and line drives, the outfield station also worked on baserunning, especially on listening to Coach Mike in the first base coaching box and knowing whether to round the bag, head towards second, or run through the bag.

In the infield, the first group worked on game situations, including making some plays with baserunners. A continuing point of emphasis: stopping the lead runner by running at him with the ball and calling timeout. The Mudcats do not want to give away runs by needlessly throwing the ball around the infield. Running at the lead runner while calling time is always the safe play. In addition to making some plays at home and first, the second infield group also learned the finer points of making backhanded flips around second base. Eventually, it will become instinct, but right now they're still learning how to avoid handcuffing their teammate who is receiving the ball at second.

Practice ended right on time with a quick scrimmage, which included a pair of nice rips from Anthony. Today's helmet stickers were given by Coach Jim, who was watching for form and focus. He awarded stickers to Little Ben and to Charlie. Coach Andrew also awarded a sticker to Big Ben, who showed terrific hustle behind the plate both during infield drills and during the scrimmage.

The Mudcats, who are in the middle of a tough stretch of five practices in six days, have Friday off to work on their studies, and hopefully will do all their own work instead of letting a tutor do it. They return to the field on Saturday at 3 p.m. at West Raleigh and will be in the cage first.

Practice #4--on keeping score

In West Raleigh, we keep score. This should seem obvious to those of you with experience in the league, but to those of us new to the Mudcats, this is a revelation. Returning parents may not know this, but there are leagues where keeping score is actually discouraged (Also, in those leagues, which might or might not be the Chapel Hill YMCA t-ball league, you should never loudly advise your daughter to "run him over" when her path to home plate is blocked by an opposing player who isn't moving. Not that I would do that...or that I would know what it's like to then be stared at disapprovingly by a host of parents from the other team as they make a mental note to report me to the Bad Parent Hotline.).

There will be other parents--most of whom seem to live next door to us--who will tell you that keeping score is evidence that West Raleigh is too competitive, and is ruining the precious little hearts of our next generation. To them, I simply say, "Drop down and give me 50 pushups and quit whining, you little punk." Also, it turns out that they might be wrong. There's an increasing feeling that the prevalence of non-competitive youth sports might actually be detrimental to the kids involved. That link takes you to a very lengthy story, but it's worth reading.

Or you could just come to a Mudcats practice and see the evidence first-hand. Practice #4 was held on an immaculately groomed Method Park field. Immediately after preliminary stretching, Coach Andrew announced, "We're going to have a little cone competition." And what did the kids do when told there was going to be a contest? They cheered, as they broke into two lines and competed to see which pair could make the longest, most accurate throws.

Then the squad broke into three groups that rotated among three areas: infield practice, outfield practice, and hitting. Infielders began to deal with some game situations, knowing where to throw the ball with runners on base, and the importance of calling "Time" in a timely fashion. Don't know what to do as an infielder? Calling "Time" while running at the lead runner is always a safe play. Outfielders continued to focus on catching fly balls while also getting the ball into second base after making the play. And hitting was split into four stations--the "Hurricane," soft toss, the boat oar, and wiffle ball.

Wait, did he say boat oar? Yes, one of the most fun parts of practice involved each Mudcat putting the boat oar through his arms behind him. Because he wasn't holding it in his hands, but rather in the crooks of his elbows, that forced him to use his hips to generate some power while swinging at tennis balls. They make it look easier than it sounds on paper--everyone on the team got in some good swings.

Nearby, the highlight of the wiffle ball station came when Tyler caused a wiffle ball to disintegrate on contact with his powerful bat. The only thing missing was the theme music from The Natural as Tyler held up the remaining shards of the ball.

Practice concluded with the Mudcats broken into four three-man teams for a quick scrimmage. It was the first true live action of the season, with baserunners and live pitching on the field from Coach Andrew. Highlights included a nice sprawling grab by Anthony in shallow right field as he backpedaled from his second base position, and a bullseye long throw from the first base side of the second base bag by Drew that nailed a runner trying to grab an extra base going into third (perhaps due to poor instructions by the incapable third base coach).

Coach Rob was the designated assistant in charge of helmet stickers, and he spent the entire practice looking for good examples of hustle. He awarded stickers to (fittingly) Charlie Hustle, Anthony, and the Killer B trio of Ben, Ben, and Brenner.

Thursday's practice will be from 6-7:30 at East Cary. Yes, score will be kept.

We're going to Williamsport!

Well, OK, no we're not. Not because of a lack of talent, but because the Mudcats don't meet the age criteria--and a few other details.

If you're like us, your house has been besieged by the Little League World Series this week. It's easy to understand how the games can consume entire towns. We DVR most every game (have to include those extra 30 minutes on the end in case of extra innings) and watch at least a couple of games every day. Yes, school starting is going to put a major crimp in our routine. The favorite parts of the games at our house:

1. Any home runs, usually followed by the assessment, "Man, he smoked that ball!"
2. The part in the pregame when they show the players dancing with the mascot.
3. Any double plays or attempted double plays. If a triple play ever happens, odds are that we will need a new TV due to the excitement.
4. The Phineas and Ferb lead-ins that they play once per game.

Watching the game may not sound like an interactive experience, but it is. We recently were perplexed when the color in our relatively new TV in the den suddenly turned a strange shade of green. After jostling a few cables, er, I mean, "doing some highly dangerous electrical work," I determined the source of the problem. Our son likes to throw his nerf baseball at the wall and catch ground balls while he is watching games. Some of his throws aren't as accurate as you might like, which created some loose connections. The wires are now properly plugged back in, the color is back to normal, and our appliances will be forever grateful to Coach Andrew if he can improve our son's throwing accuracy.

Because we spend even more time watching the LLWS than we do trying to sell West Raleigh raffle tickets (remember, money is due before the first game on Sept. 9 or unspeakable consequences will occur), family members and friends have started to ask if West Raleigh feeds into the LLWS. Keep in mind we have been in the league for all of three practices so far. Apparently our family really likes planning ahead. Got to get that summer 2017 calendar ready.

West Raleigh has a league for 11-12 year-old kids. The LLWS is for 11-12 year-old kids. If you're not oddly obsessed with youth baseball (read: a West Raleigh parent) it probably looks and sounds like it's the same thing. But it's not. West Raleigh is affiliated with the Cal Ripken Division, which is part of the Babe Ruth League, a different organization than Little League.

You can see many of the differences as you're watching the LLWS. The size of the diamonds are different, there are some substitution and pitching differences, and there are some baserunning differences. The easiest way to see all the variations: check out the Cal Ripken World Series championship game between Mexico and Ocala, Fl., this afternoon at 3 p.m. on the MLB Network. What else would you be doing with a day off from practice other than watching a game?

So, no, we're not going to Williamsport (or, as Bill Geist relates in his very funny book, Little League Confidential, Williamsburg). Aberdeen, Maryland? That's a possibility...someday.

Practice #3--soft toss drills

It's one of the most basic of all baseball activities--just one coach (usually Coach Mike), sitting on a bucket or down on one knee, tossing baseballs to a Mudcat hitter, who then pounds them into the net. The soft toss drills, which are usually one of three stations when the team is spending an hour in the batting cages, take place at the far end of the cage, so it's not always easy to see what's happening down there. Plus, let's be honest, there's not as much shade on that end. So what exactly is happening down there at soft toss and what are some of those terms your Mudcats are throwing around?

No wasted swings. Coach Mike is a stickler for this. It takes more effort than you would think to compress 20-25 swings into a short amount of time. Around swing seven or eight, it's easy to only take a half-hearted swing, or maybe move the hands a little more slowly. That's a wasted swing, and they're the enemy of a good soft toss session.

Squish the bug. They're not actually killing insects down there. If they were, then you'd be asking for tips to try and ward off the legions of mosquitoes that seem to live in and around Nowell Field. Instead, "squish the bug" refers to the rotation on the hitter's back leg. To generate some torque and power, they're trying to rotate their hips into the ball. If it's done well, that rotation usually ends with the back foot twisting to follow the hips. It looks like, well, it looks like the hitter is squishing a bug. In this case, that's good news.

Balance. There are seemingly endless moving parts to a good swing. One of the toughest to remember is also one that seems like it would be the easiest: staying balanced. By the time the hitter works on getting his hands through to the ball quickly, and moving the hips into the ball, and keeping their head on the ball, it's easy to get out on his front foot. They should try to stay balanced, and there may be some props for future practices as a reminder.

Load. It's sort of the swing before the swing. As they're preparing to start moving their hands to the ball, the hitter moves their hands back an almost imperceptible bit. It can also help as a timing mechanism, and it's one of the first fundamentals of hitting the younger kids have to learn, because their first instinct is to chop straight down on the ball.

That's a little glimpse inside one of the hitting stations, which took up the first hour of practice. The second hour began with a relay race around the bases against the Bees. The Mudcat 5-year-olds (all ages in this blog refer to West Raleigh league age, which is far more important than actual age), Brenner and Asher, led things off. As the older players began to run, the Mudcats got great sprints from Tyler and Charlie that closed an early gap and put the Mudcats handily in the lead. That lead was maintained through the rest of the race, and Christopher capped the victory with a picture-perfect slide into home plate. The Mudcat coaches issued a follow-up race challenge to the Bees coaches, but the Bees decided to cut their losses with just one defeat on the afternoon. At least, that's why Coach Andrew said they weren't running.

The Mudcats split into two groups for an outfield relay race that served as a reminder to always follow their throws, then broke into groups for infield and outfield stations. At a post-practice meeting, Coach Andrew introduced (or reintroduced, as was the case for returning players) the tradition of issuing Mudcat batting helmet stickers for exhibiting certain parts of the Mudcat Motto. On Saturday, the assistant coaches kept an eye out for players exhibiting good leadership, listening and sportsmanship, and awarded stickers to Sticks and Asher (who is desperate to have a nickname but doesn't really understand what a nickname actually is).

Enjoy your Sunday off...the next Mudcat practice comes Tuesday at 5 p.m., with the team on the field first and then in the cages ready to squish some bugs.

Practice #2

The Mudcats held their second practice of the fall 2010 season on Friday night under sunny skies at Nowell Field. Players and parents showed good awareness of team rules, arriving several minutes early for the 5 p.m. start, only to discover that for the first--and likely only--time all season they had beaten Coach Andrew to the field. Let the record show that he did arrive moments before 5 p.m., thereby avoiding the substantial fine and sprints for being late to practice.

After stretching, the team broke into three groups and split into an infield station, outfield station, and baserunning station. The infield station was somewhat dragged down by an incapable catcher, but the Mudcats rose above his meager level of play and worked on making plays to home, first, and even turning a couple double plays. Infielders are asked to remember to follow their throws at all times.

In the outfield, the Mudcats had to catch several tricky fly balls off the tennis racket, perhaps making them the first team to potentially challenge for both the World Series title and the Wimbledon title.

No one is really sure what was happening at the baserunning station, because Coach Mike was so quiet no one could hear him. Hopefully he will speak up at Saturday's practice. Rumor has it that the baserunners may have been working on running through the bag at first base and reaction time to instructions to either move on to second or head back to first.

After stations, the Mudcats adjourned to the batting cage, where they...split into stations. (If they don't split into stations, the assistant coaches have nothing to do, and bored assistant coaches are even more dangerous than bored 7-year-olds.) At the soft toss station, hitters were reminded to focus on their load, using their hips, and firing the trigger. Yes, all this actually relates to hitting. In the live batting cage, Coach Andrew alternately threw BP and dodged missiles off the bats of his hitters, including one that upended his water bottle and another that triumphantly toppled the ball bucket. On the tee, the Mudcats concentrated on getting their hands through to the ball.

So amazing was the display of talent that the team assigned to the field in the following time slot never bothered to show up. Word has it they have collectively turned in their uniforms, put their bats on eBay, and signed up for fall soccer instead. Expect more of the same at Saturday's practice, which begins at 3 p.m. (Note to Coach Andrew, who some people may not realize actually sleeps at the field on some nights: This means be there at 2:50, ready to step on the field at 3. Thanks for your cooperation.)

First team meeting

The fall 2010 season began for the West Raleigh Mudcats as a group of nervous, slightly shy and somewhat intimidated people gathered on Nowell Field.

But enough about the parents.

The half-meeting/half-practice session began with all 13 players and numerous parents gathered in center field for some brief introductions. Coach Andrew moved that the team colors be changed to a nice classy shade of blue (there were several seconds to this motion) before it was decided to stick with the traditional red and black. After all the players announced their name, years with the Mudcats, and favorite team/player (including Sticks' perplexing Yankees/Dustin Pedroia combination), Coach Andrew reviewed a few team rules. Highlights include:

1. Any player with a bat in his hands should have on a helmet.
2. Only swing a bat when you are swinging at a ball.
3. Hold bats by the barrel.
4. All players should wear sliders and a cup.
5. Drink plenty of water.
6. Players should carry their own equipment rather than bringing a personal sherpa/parent.
7. Don't ask me "Are we there yet?"...Whoops, wrong set of rules.

Players, coaches and parents also reviewed the Mudcat Motto, which has six key components:

1. Sportsmanship, including the head coach (the only person in Wake County allowed to talk to the game officials) exercising extreme diplomacy when conversing with possibly nearsighted but well-meaning umpires.
2. Hustle at all times.
3. Form and focus, maintaining all the key aspects of the game the Mudcats will practice regularly.
4. Toughness, both mental and physical.
5. Being confident but humble.
6. Have fun!

After the meeting, the players went through some brief stretching and throwing form practice. Meanwhile, general manager Jenn introduced the key elements of being a West Raleigh parent, including raffle tickets (sell $100 worth by the first game or unspeakable consequences will occur), working the concession stand (dates to follow), and the parent code of ethics, which sadly is not optional and must be returned signed on Friday.

As parents received their instructions, players worked on a fly ball station and a ground ball station. Several diving plays were made, significant hustle was shown, and other teams cowered at the formidable display of talent.

While this was taking place, parents stood in center field and tried to pretend like they weren't compulsively staring at their kid while hoping he made every catch. Fortunately, parents will be returned to their rightful place on the opposite side of the fence at Friday's practice, which begins at 5 p.m.

Announcing the Fall 2010 Mudcats

This Fall West Raleigh Minor League will have a 13 man roster. With 6 returning players, the Mudcats drafted 7 new players to the team including Brenner, Asher, Tyler, Benjamin, Hayes, John, and Ben.

The complete numbered roster for this Fall includes:

#00 Gabe Proctor

# 2 John Chapman

#3 Jacob Mitchell

#6 Ben Hunt

#8 Charley Hegeman

#9 Benjamin Penchuk

#10 Asher Lucas

#11 Andrew DiMeo, Jr.

#12 Hayes Anderson

#13 Christopher Gruskin
#17 Brenner Bouquin

#24 Tyler Key

#33 Anthony Alberghina

The team will practice together for the first time after their 5:15 PM team meeting on Wednesday, August 18th.