There are three fundamental skills of baseball: hitting, catching, and throwing. Coach Cook asked me to talk to all of you, because he thinks you all do not want to practice. To succeed in baseball, you must practice because repetition is the key. Whenever one repeats an action it becomes customary and easy for one to perform a task.

When I was a ballplayer, my teams were very successful because my coaches told us the importance of practicing. One year my coach could not coach us because he did not have the time to do it. That same year the teams were shuffled and everybody had different teammates. My best friend, Wes Cook, made it on my team. Wes was the best player anybody had ever seen. However, He did not enjoy practicing. He thought he could succeed without practicing

Our first two batters got on base. The next batter struck out. Right before Wes went up to bat, I told him to concentrate, and keep his eye on the ball. As he steps in the batter's box, the opposing coach decides to make a pitching change. He brings in the best pitcher in the league. While the pitcher is warming up, our coach tells Wes to be careful and not go for the homerun and just try to make contact. He tells him, "Yes, sir. I know what to do."

y. Let's get out there and concentrate on winning this game. Everyone put your hands in and yell Braves on three." Everybody said, "One, Two, Three, Braves!"

Catching and throwing are the two other types of skills needed in baseball. It requires hand-eye coordination and speed. When a ball is hit toward a player, he must move in the direction of the ball. Once he positions under it, he must raise his glove and use both hands to catch it. Using two hands is the best technique to catch the baseball. If the ball is hit on the ground, the fielder must shift in front of it so it will not get passed him. Throwing is another type of skill. It requires hand-eye coordination and a good aim. Once a player has caught the ball, he must transfer it from his glove to his hand. After he has done that he needs to plant one foot in the ground and step forward and throw the ball toward the base.

Wes and I were a great duo. I had the highest batting average for our age group, and he had the second highest. Wes had five homeruns to my two. As the season progressed, we cooled down. Everyday, when I had a chance my dad and I would practice in the batting cages. I would call Wes and ask him if he wanted to come with us and he would tell me that he was busy playing Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis. I would try to tell him that he needed to work on his swing and that I could help him with it. He never wanted to come and put extra time into refining his skills. One day I told him that not practicing his swing would hurt him later on in his baseball career.

Baseball is a just like any other sport. Each athlete must practice, so as a team they can be successful. It has been shown in history, that the great baseball players are the ones that work diligently day after day. After I told this story to the ball players, Coach Cook told me that they started practicing harder than they did before. Their record improved vastly and they reached the playoffs.

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Approximate Word count = 1640
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)