I took an introductory class two weeks ago from a local guide/shop. Now I am trying to practice my cast before I hit the water to lessen the chance of spooking the fish... I know it will happen anyways though. My question is what do you use on the end of your leader to practice with? I have have a a few flies and thought of sacrificing one by cutting off the hook but then I thought it might be a waste if there was a better option. Right now I just go to the local park and find a big open grassy area and cast with nothing attached to the end of my leader.

I used to tie a small piece of yarn on the end of my leader.  Good luck & have fun!

A piece of yarn is the safest thing to use. It will also help anchor your line on the grass.

Tip 1: Don't focus on the whole 10-2 casting technique. Every cast happens on a plane. The plane begins at point A and finishes at point B. The whole system can care less where the plane is. As long as your cast travels along a single plane start to finish it should be successful.

Tip 2: The cast does not begin until the whole system is moving. The system is the rod, line, leader and fly. What this means to you is if there is ANY slack in the system your casting stroke has to remove the slack before the cast starts. This is probable the #1 reason casts fail. Remove slack before casting and the cast will work.

Enjoy!

You will find that casting is about the last thing you need to worry about re: scaring the fish.   Your more likely to spook them with shadows or rapid moments (necessarily for casting!)  The greatest challenges have to do with achieving a natural drift without having gobs of slack on the water.  Have fun!  Great sport

 

Well said!

Use whatever natural cover you can find. I fish primarily in the Smokies and some streams have all kinds of large boulders, trees, etc. to help minimize spooking. I know there are a lot of waters that simply don't have that. Move slow and easy and depending on the rocks, weeds, etc., that is easier said than done a lot of the time.