I have just been informed that normal draft games are not for practice. I have been informed that I am in the wrong, and normal draft games are serious business, for serious players. For all of you thinking that you can just play normal draft games all day and work on your skills, you are very much mistaken. I am so grateful, for this eye opening information, into the critical nature of normal draft games.

well to be honest, any kind of normal isn't for pure practice. You should still take normal seriously even though it isn't ranked because it's still all human players playing a game they want to enjoy.
If you want pure practice, go to co-op vs AI, that's what it's there for. You shouldn't even go into normals with a champ you don't know how to play. It is sorta practice in a way, but it's competitive practice that should still be taken seriously.

I understand you don't "play to lose" in a normal draft game, but pulling the generic "go play vs bots" line to someone is not realistic. Bots do not simulate anywhere near the same level of play that is experienced versus players. Bots are for the people that are new, or clueless about a character, but it takes a legitimate challenge for someone to improve.