Base running for 12u
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Some additional (and possibly repeated) things you need to practice in base running:
1. Running through 1st base and breaking the run down while looking right (for past ball)
2. Rounding 1st, stopping and diving back (helps with backpick and quick back to base) - you can actually start at first, take a lead and then dive back as well
3. Picking up the coach at 3rd when going from 1st to 2nd (give out a number with hand after they have left 1st and have player call it out before they round 2nd)
4. Pop-Up slide, slide by or plain slide to second, third, or home
5. Running outside the baseline... 3rd base runner should never start off home in fair territory - drill to teach them to start home always outside the baseline
6. Multiple runners on base with non-lead runner shadowing the lead runner... big leads for non-lead runners
These 6 things can be practiced in every practice in under 5 minutes and without wearing players out... 5 minute drills in multiple practices to reinforce and improve what they know works much better than a 1 hr running marathon where they start getting sloppy
Other items that should be practiced but maybe not every practice:
1. Tagging up - when to tag up and when to go half way
2. Delay steal.. when to move ahead to next base and when to go back
1st-2nd Delay Steal Drill:
Coach Pitch, Coach Catcher, Players line up at first - run hard to half way mark between bases at pitcher release
Coach catching will either backpick to first, throw to second, throw to pitcher or charge runner from behind (first) or from ahead(third)
Teach players what to do in each scenario...
7. Pass the leader drill... one player (A) starts a third of the way to first the other (B) at home...the chase goes around all the bases and ends back at home. if the player that starts at home (B) passes the player that starts with a lead (A) , the lead player (A) has to do a dare of player (B) choosing (dare should be safe and in the spirit of the game... like singing for 30 seconds, dancing in the mound or something fun..) <--- you will be surprised how much "time" the lead runner will gain going around the bases when they have someone chasing them!
1. Running through 1st base and breaking the run down while looking right (for past ball)
2. Rounding 1st, stopping and diving back (helps with backpick and quick back to base) - you can actually start at first, take a lead and then dive back as well
3. Picking up the coach at 3rd when going from 1st to 2nd (give out a number with hand after they have left 1st and have player call it out before they round 2nd)
4. Pop-Up slide, slide by or plain slide to second, third, or home
5. Running outside the baseline... 3rd base runner should never start off home in fair territory - drill to teach them to start home always outside the baseline
6. Multiple runners on base with non-lead runner shadowing the lead runner... big leads for non-lead runners
These 6 things can be practiced in every practice in under 5 minutes and without wearing players out... 5 minute drills in multiple practices to reinforce and improve what they know works much better than a 1 hr running marathon where they start getting sloppy
Other items that should be practiced but maybe not every practice:
1. Tagging up - when to tag up and when to go half way
2. Delay steal.. when to move ahead to next base and when to go back
1st-2nd Delay Steal Drill:
Coach Pitch, Coach Catcher, Players line up at first - run hard to half way mark between bases at pitcher release
Coach catching will either backpick to first, throw to second, throw to pitcher or charge runner from behind (first) or from ahead(third)
Teach players what to do in each scenario...
7. Pass the leader drill... one player (A) starts a third of the way to first the other (B) at home...the chase goes around all the bases and ends back at home. if the player that starts at home (B) passes the player that starts with a lead (A) , the lead player (A) has to do a dare of player (B) choosing (dare should be safe and in the spirit of the game... like singing for 30 seconds, dancing in the mound or something fun..) <--- you will be surprised how much "time" the lead runner will gain going around the bases when they have someone chasing them!
We teach breaking down and looking and pivoting left. They don't make a turn or any motion towards 2B, they pivot left as they come to a stop. They don't need to see the ball going past, just the 1B reaction and listen to the base coach. If they're already turned towards 2B it's much easier to get them going that direction. I picked that up at an Ohio State camp a few years ago, works pretty well.
LOVE this! Can't wait to try it!
Resurrecting this thread... I liked a lot of the suggestions, and would add a few points that we worked on with 10's and 11's this year:
1.) infield hit, race to beat the throw at first - focus on first base from the time you start running; amazing how the body works and auto-adjusts to tag the bag w/o major adjustments. Just takes that focus
2.) hit through the infield, possible double - run towards the first base coach who has to know to setup for this (straight towards coach from the batters box) - then cut the corner to head direct towards 2nd; this is vs. the "banana" turn or "bubble" turn
3.) leads = 3 step @ 1st, 5 steps @ 2nd, and walking lead @ 3rd (in foul territory)
4.) delayed steals on certain situations, especially if "lazy" catcher (throwing back to pitcher on knees, or lobbing the ball back) or lazy fielders
5.) don't head in to a sure tag/out; at least with rundown there's a chance - if in rundown try to find that lazy player w/o the ball that didn't clear the base path and draw the obstruction...
I'd be interested in other approaches to rounding bases, and best methods to to teach base running on line drives.
1.) infield hit, race to beat the throw at first - focus on first base from the time you start running; amazing how the body works and auto-adjusts to tag the bag w/o major adjustments. Just takes that focus
2.) hit through the infield, possible double - run towards the first base coach who has to know to setup for this (straight towards coach from the batters box) - then cut the corner to head direct towards 2nd; this is vs. the "banana" turn or "bubble" turn
3.) leads = 3 step @ 1st, 5 steps @ 2nd, and walking lead @ 3rd (in foul territory)
4.) delayed steals on certain situations, especially if "lazy" catcher (throwing back to pitcher on knees, or lobbing the ball back) or lazy fielders
5.) don't head in to a sure tag/out; at least with rundown there's a chance - if in rundown try to find that lazy player w/o the ball that didn't clear the base path and draw the obstruction...
I'd be interested in other approaches to rounding bases, and best methods to to teach base running on line drives.
The mechanics of how to round the bases the correct way is very important and needs to be worked on but to me the biggest issue I see that hurts base running is not teaching them how to read the ball. They heard in 8U that they need to freeze on a popup or go half way on a fly ball and some just can't get those instructions out of their head.
They need to be able to read the ball in the air and determine if it will be caught. I've seen balls that were 50 feet over the OF head and the kid is just frozen half way on it. Or the little bloopers where it's clearly not going be caught and they freeze and get thrown out at second when they could have been on third.
Another one is the fly ball to the OF. If you are on first and it's a shot to deep left that may or may not be caught you need to be much closer to second versus half way. If they catch it you can still go back, but if it's over their head you get to score or get to third.
The final one at all ages is teaching how to score on a PB. It needs to be worked on so they can read the bounce while they get their secondary.
They need to be able to read the ball in the air and determine if it will be caught. I've seen balls that were 50 feet over the OF head and the kid is just frozen half way on it. Or the little bloopers where it's clearly not going be caught and they freeze and get thrown out at second when they could have been on third.
Another one is the fly ball to the OF. If you are on first and it's a shot to deep left that may or may not be caught you need to be much closer to second versus half way. If they catch it you can still go back, but if it's over their head you get to score or get to third.
The final one at all ages is teaching how to score on a PB. It needs to be worked on so they can read the bounce while they get their secondary.
Best play DD had last game.
Bases loaded 2 outs, DD on 3rd.
C dropped a 3rd strike and DD was gone sliding home on a pitch she would not normally steal on. Wish I could take credit.
Bases loaded 2 outs, DD on 3rd.
C dropped a 3rd strike and DD was gone sliding home on a pitch she would not normally steal on. Wish I could take credit.
Good points, but hard to teach, especially to 10 - 13 year olds... Some have the attention span of a fruit-fly and about that much memory. Skull sessions at this age are not always as effective as they can be with older players (at least in my experience). It's great to talk about these situations, it's just hard to teach the minutia (sp?) and different situations that can happen on the base paths. It has to be drilled and drilled and drilled again. Are there any effective ways to drill all of these finer points that you've run across?
Beginning of season we run into a few outs. Want to set the stage that they are all running all the time.
Then as the season progresses pull them back a little bit.
Then as the season progresses pull them back a little bit.
I wish I knew a great way to teach it. You can do situations in practice, but it's not game speed with parents yelling,etc. The only think I try and teach them is to not be afraid to make an out. As you move to 14 and then up, it's much harder to steal and there aren't a ton of WP's or PB's so you need to take every base you can. I had a play last year in a 1-1 game with 1 out and DD hit a shot to left center that looked like it was going to be a 2B in game and runner on first took off on a dead run and LF made a sideways leaping catch and caught it and doubled her off. We wound up losing 2-1 but I thought it was a great base running play.
Other little things that help is if the batter has 2 strikes with 2 out to start running if the batter starts a swing.
Even at 14U there are too many that don't run with 2 outs or yesterday had a girl hit a popup and didn't run that landed fair and got out.
