Summarize:

Relax. Don't use any more muscles than necessary. Maintain a strong fulcrum. Hands, when not playing, should be at rest in the set position in order to look confident and professional. Chops are the key to playing great burning muscle pain is your friend. When playing a marching bass drum, play in the center of the head. Have the mallet striking at a right angle (check this by practicing in a mirror). The mallet must always contact the head with its full velocity, especially when playing low. Play through the drum; when playing an orchestral bass drum, strike a bit off centerthis will produce fuller overtones. Be able to play the whole part with proper mallet heights before attempting to split it up with the bassline. Make sure it is always hitting the drum in the center of the head, this may be harder if you have a smaller drum. This will get a fuller sound. If you have rolls, make sure your pinkies don't fly out! Practice with a metronome or electronically quantized music. Know where the downbeats are and be able to count all of the rhythms while marking time with your feet. When playing splits, always stay with the full ensemble, don't adjust your timing to a previous error within the bassline. Play aggressively. Take one step at a time (especially with tempos). However, get to know the whole part and not just yours. Knowing how the split flows will help you with your own part. Once you rehearse with the drumline, you will see how your parts fit in with the snares and tenors. This will help with cues and timing. Get your charts. When you set them up, make sure you know where your music starts and stops and how it fits in with the charts. Make sure your spacing in the bassline is even, as this will be very noticeable. Make sure the drumline's arcs and lines are smooth (because you are probably on the end and you can tell if it is smooth, more than the snares). Playing split sextuplets can look really hard but just know where you come in and it should be fine. Also, don't crush them down. They should sound smooth and not choppy. The same rules apply to 32nd note splits, if they are at fast tempos they probably won't sound choppy. Just make sure you are hitting all four notes and not just three. If you are used to playing sextuplet runs and then you have a 16th note run, make the switch in your head and play them smooth and even.
Get the correct posture: Play the bass drum. Hit the drum correctly. Get the rhythm right. Don't practice "above your head". Memorize your music. Practice with the bassline to get your parts solid before going into a rehearsal with the rest of the drumline. On the practice field: Playing long splits: