POCATELLO − Normally, American Legion baseball teams don’t get much time to practice, going from high school seasons and tryouts right into a packed game schedule.

But with still over a week to go until games start, that’s about all teams can do, leading coaches to look to switch up their methods as they prepare players for what’s been — and will continue to be — an unorthodox season.

Batting practice at the Pocatello Runnin’ Rebels practice Wednesday turned into a competition, with players awarded points for hard-hit balls and the losers, of course, having to run after.

“I want to make everything as competitive as it can be, because they’ve missed out on the competitive part of it for the last two months,” Runnin’ Rebels coach Nick Sorrell said. “Usually with Legion, you come right off a high school season, you try out for two days and then you’re playing. There’s hardly any practice. But this year’s a little bit different, and so we’re trying to get them back into their competitive mindset, just to see those different situations.”

The Runnin’ Rebels will also scrimmage the Idaho Falls Bandits and the other Pocatello teams — another uncommon move — in the days leading up to their July 12 opener against Cheyenne, Wyoming.

It’s all part of the effort to get players who didn’t have much of a high school season because of the novel coronavirus pandemic back up to game speed.

“We’re not too far behind, but I feel like we’re just missing at-bats and a lot of game reps that you can’t really replicate,” Runnin’ Rebels player Seth Nate said. “Sorrell’s doing a great job of getting us those at-bats and getting us those game-like situations, so I feel like we’re just a step behind.”

Nate, who plays for Highland High School, was able to stay somewhat ready after the high school season was canceled by working out in parks with friends.

“Usually every day, we got a group of five and came out and we were throwing and hitting out on Hawthorne (Middle School’s) field,” his Highland teammate Dylan Jester said. “We weren’t having a full-on practice, but we were just kind of doing little workouts here and there to stay in shape. We didn’t know if we were going to get another chance, but if we did, we wanted to be ready.”

That’s kept their skills sharp and their arms in shape — something Sorrell was worried about before practice started — but there’s no substitute for live reps in a game that relies on timing as much as baseball does.

It’s a repeated cliche that pitchers are usually ahead of hitters early in the spring when nobody’s seen live pitching all winter. Coming off a high school season, that’s not usually the case in Legion ball, but it might be this year.

“We’ve done tons of bullpens, so I think our pitchers are right there with the game,” Jester said. “I don’t think they’re too far behind, but I just think it’s going to be the hitting. Hitting will come. You can’t force it, it’s just going to come with live at-bats.”

Regardless of how it looks, players have been glad just to have the opportunity to grind through a practice, even if it’s not the real thing.

“I think the kids don’t take anything for granted anymore,” Sorrell said. “They know that this could be their last pitch, and so I think they treat practice a little bit differently than they would. They come out with an intention, they come out with a purpose, and they’re trying to get better every single day. That’s not always the case at practice. Sometimes they go through the motions, but this year, because of the different circumstances, they’ve really kind of come out with a focused mindset.”

Opening Day set for June 12

Idaho isn’t scheduled to move into Stage 4 of its coronavirus reopening plan until June 13 — one day after the Runnin’ Rebels’ opening game — but the team got permission from the city to bump the date up.

They’ll host Cheyenne in a doubleheader at Halliwell Park, starting at 3 p.m.

“We got permission from the city, the parks and rec people, to go a day early, just because that team is coming in from out of town,” Sorrell said. “We went through all the hoops and made sure all of our protocols are ready, so that everybody’s safe here and they can social distance and they can actually come out and enjoy live sports for the first time in who knows how long.”

Sorrell also gave a glimpse into the social distancing protocols that will be in place. Fans will be asked to keep distance between themselves, which he pointed out shouldn’t be a problem at Halliwell with the grandstand behind the plate and bleachers down both baselines.

Concessions will be available, but the people serving food will be required to wear masks and gloves.

”We’re going to eliminate the after-game handshakes and just do something out of the dugout, tip of the cap or something of that nature,” Sorrell said. “Making sure everything is wiped down, clean, providing hand sanitizer. Those little things, just to help everybody stay safe. I tell these guys, Legion is going to be kind of the example everybody’s working towards. When these other sports come around, they’re going to see how this went and if we had any issues or how smoothly it went, they’re going to look to us.”