NC high school baseball gets 9 days from first official practice to first game. First Practice Date: February 16, 2026 First Contest Date: February 25, 2026 With multi-sport athletes, weather interruptions, and limited offseason throwing, that’s not realistic. So, athletes either prepare before the season or spend half the season trying to get ready. You’ve got: -Basketball players ending their season days before baseball starts -Athletes who haven’t thrown consistently -Kids jumping from zero mound work to live innings And nobody wants to be the coach who says: “You’re not ready yet.” Football has practice requirements before games...Baseball has… “good luck.” Something needs to change!