Don't forget to plan before and after practice, too

Youth sports coaches often have brilliant practice plans, but these plans are only perfect if there are before- and after-practice plans, too.

Try to be there when the first kid arrives. If you can't be, make sure there is a league-approved coach at the facility. Parents should never drop kids off unless one of the coaches is there. It's imperative everyone understands this for safety reasons.

Give the kids something to do as soon as they arrive and try to make it something directly relevant to the sport in which they are participating.

Or if this is not possible, tossing a ball and catching it improves hand-eye coordination, a skill used in every sport. Playing on a playground can improve cardiovascular endurance and upper-body strength. In other words, don't let the kids just sit or goof around.

With older kids, this also could be the time used for stretching on their own. However, if you do this before practice officially starts, you must allot time for players to stretch who arrive right on time. Otherwise, the importance of stretching will be questioned.

Just as you or someone you appoint should be the first to arrive, someone should be assigned to be the last to leave. There is nothing wrong with stressing to your parents how important it is that they be there before the end of practice. (Hint: Tell them practice will end about 10 minutes before it actually will.) At the same time, there is something wrong if you leave a child unattended and just assume the parents will show up.

You might want to be careful about how much fun you make the post-practice activity. If it is too much fun, you might have players telling their parents to pick them up late. At the same time, wind sprints while they wait are probably not appropriate. You could have the kids practice their throw-ins for soccer or play "pepper" after a baseball practice. And the players should always help put away the equipment.

The children on your team are your responsibility from the minute they are dropped off until they are picked up. This is one of the major responsibilities you accepted when volunteering to coach -- and probably the most important. The more on task you can keep them during the down times before and after practice, the easier it is to keep them out of trouble and from possibly sustaining a "dumb" injury.

Once you add this to your practice, you'll have the perfect practice plan.