Being a Runner~

[Westwind]

I’m not fond of the phrase “aggressive base running” tbh. To me it’s a buzzword that rock heads like to say behind the backstop who have no idea what it means.

Some stuff that worked for us:

If you are the batter runner and there isn’t a play at first, round first hard and get out there away from the bag. Especially with a runner ahead of you. Be dangerous. You want them to be at least thinking about making a play on you so the runner ahead of you can advance.

After you round first, stay out there when there isn’t a defensive player behind you. Don’t go back to the bag, be ready to run on a drop or a bobble. The only time you have to go back to the bag is when the defense makes you go back or the pitcher has the ball in the circle. If a defender makes a long throw, especially from the outfield to the infield, this can be a chance to advance. Go as soon as it leaves the throwers hand. If you are already going back you miss this chance every time. This opportunity presents itself Alot. This opportunity is missed Alot. Usually because Coach Square Hair is busy distributing a high five and telling the batter runner some bs that doesn’t matter.

When there are two base runners on, they are a team of runners not two individual runners. They need to be dangerous and should be far enough off the bag to get the defenses attention. If the defense makes a play on one runner the other may be able to advance. They protect each other by being in a position to advance. If one is not paying attention and is standing on a bag, the other is vulnerable.

Tag up on caught foul balls. There are chances to advance on this. We never put this into action as much as we should have. The opportunity exists but it is gone so fast. If a runner is already back to the bag and sees no one covering the next base she should be green to go. This would have to happen fast, fast.

Balls to right field….. a burned right fielder is a triple if batter runner can run at all. The runner has to be thinking third on this and she will need a little help from the 3b coach. If you are on first and the ball is behind the rf, she is thinking at least third but she can score on that. So often what matters is the intent to take three bases instead of two…. Good outfielders will stop you but most won’t….

On an infield fly the ball is live. Never really figured out how to take advantage of that but I bet you could.

All runners and coaches MUST know this: “The look back rule is in effect when the pitcher has the ball in the circle and the batter runner has reached first base.” The LBR is like a light switch. It can be on one minute and off the next. If all the conditions above don’t exist, it is off. Pitcher wanders out of the circle with the ball? Off. Ss is delivering ball to poor poor pitcher to console her for giving up a 5-6 hole ground ball? Off.

Do what you will with this. Opportunities will present themselves. Doesn’t have to be the hated first and third play- although that’s a lot of fun.

Fake bunt steal with a runner on 2nd…..

There are runs in baserunning. It’s fun.

There are a million ways to be a better base runner. I only know a few. Station to station base running sucks, that’s the one thing I know for sure.

Last- if you are a 10u coach, work on sliding into second behind the bag. Hint: this might be the last thing you do at practice, it doesn’t have to be 100% bright daylight to work on sliding. Sliding for young kids is a process. Keep working on it. It will get better.

 

[Westwind]

Coaches: Quit talking to your runners at 1st and 3rd until after the play is over. You look soooooo stupid when you are locking eyes with the runner who is standing on top of the bag with both feet and the ball is rolling happily in that no man’s land between the rubber, first and home... Opportunity missed. Again. When it keeps happening, and you haven’t figured out why, you suck.

When is the play over? When the P has the ball In The Circle and the batter runner has Reached First Base. Save your super important coaching and motivational high fives until after that happens.

 

[_MIA_]

I’m not fond of the phrase “aggressive base running” tbh. To me it’s a buzzword that rock heads like to say behind the backstop who have no idea what it means.

I agree that just saying “be aggressive” without actually explaining what that means is useless for many (most?) kids. That said do you think that “bad” baserunners just haven’t been taught properly or is there more to it than that? That is certainly possible but it is hard to believe that MLB’ers haven’t had baserunning instruction at the numerous levels they have played at but yet you still see players who are not great baserunners

Of course it is also possible that said players just didn’t listen to the instruction because they raked and knew that they were not going to be benched if they didn’t take that extra base

 

[Westwind]

I agree that just saying “be aggressive” without actually explaining what that means is useless. That said do you think that “bad” baserunners just haven’t been taught properly or is there more to it than that? That is certainly possible but it is hard to believe that MLB’ers haven’t had baserunning instruction at the numerous levels they have played at but yet you still see players who are not great baserunners

I can’t comment on MLB because other than really liking the video of Randy Johnson hitting a bird with a fastball whenever I see it on Twitter, I don’t watch mlb much!

I think many bad base runners have been taught but the teaching was ineffective. And, they have not been in an environment where it’s importance has been consistently emphasized. This probably happens because the coaches are trying to put out all the fires that come up with youth coaching. Just getting the basics nailed down is tough.

Getting back to effective teaching…. Has to happen in practice, and has to be recognized by the coaches in games and explained while the adrenaline is flowing.

Teaching people to perform in the real world, whether it’s sports or on the job/in the field happens best with realistic scenario based training. The best training allows players/employees have to make decisions and see the result of those decisions. Outside the training environment, immediate and honest debriefing during a game/during an incident can be effective too.

Poor training equals poor results.

Also…. Training to deal with complex situations is such a process. Building that flow chart in a player/employe’s head of “what will I do” takes time. Mistakes will be made. But over time it gets better. As the coach/mentor you just have to keep in mind that it is a process, and all people will be at a different point in the process.

I’m wondering how similar/different it is to be teaching in an academic classroom. Is teaching and training the same thing? I have “taught” off of a power point many times…. It certainly wasn’t academic… Is that training or teaching, what is the difference? And the employees I am trying to create don’t get where they need to be without both “classroom” training and mentoring in the field…. How do engineering professors create engineers? How do you teach something that abstract without practical training?

This is such a “rabbit hole” type discussion! I do think it’s interesting though.

 

[_MIA_]

I’m wondering how similar/different it is to be teaching in an academic classroom. Is teaching and training the same thing? I have “taught” off of a power point many times…. It certainly wasn’t academic… Is that training or teaching, what is the difference? And the employees I am trying to create don’t get where they need to be without mentoring in the field…. How do engineering professors create engineers? How do you teach something that abstract without practical training?

This is such a “rabbit hole” type discussion! I do think it’s interesting though.

I teach (or try to at least) kids to think..that is something which “scales” to the “real” world. I know that sounds cliche, and it is, but long after they forget what a weak form is, that skill will be with them.

What that actually involves has a number components to it and relaying it on here would likely result in the ol’ “rotten fruit being tossed at me” treatment

Many Engineering companies in 2022 do a lousy job of hiring IMO..

 

[Westwind]

Being in front of a classroom is exhausting. There is nothing more rewarding than when “it works” though.

I know what you mean about trying to put students in a position to “think” and maybe see the process of “how did we get here” helps to get them there.

Once upon a time I tried to get an unpaid job helping a hs softball team. I created a coaching resume which not only touted my obviously vast coaching knowledge (lol!) but also my professional experience creating and implementing scenario based training and mentoring employees.

I didn’t get the job. The unpaid job. They did decide to hire and pay the son of the beloved wrestling coach who needed to fill resume space. (Actually, I really doubted he ever created a cover letter or a resume) He had no coaching experience at all.

I love how hs’s really love to hire coaches who have never loved coaching enough to have done it for free. After all, it would be pretty tough find an opportunity to help a rec league or help with a travel team.

 

[Tatonka]

WW - on fire and on point this morning! The phrase “aggressive base running” to me is more of a mindset and a reminder/cue for some levels. Working on that in the classroom, understanding it in practice and then cementing it in a game like/stressful scenario.

It can be obvious on some teams who has worked on it and who hasn't. We've all seen a base runner catch up and almost run over their teammate on the base paths in front of them. It's not always about pure running speed. I like what you are saying about being a team threat and distracting to the defense. One baserunner doing that is good, two is better.

Developing your DD's or players to be students of the game and play heads up while taking advantage of what the other team is giving you is fun and wins games.

 

[_MIA_]

Being in front of a classroom is exhausting. There is nothing more rewarding than when “it works” though.

I like the actual teaching...lecturing is fun once you get the hang of it (and realize that it doesn't have to be perfect all the time...) The other stuff that goes with it I don't like so much (grading, etc). In a perfect world grades wouldn't be necessary..(we had no required courses for my PhD program at Duke..we could just audit the courses we wanted to take/needed for our research..)

 

[LEsoftballdad]

The one thing I will say is there are definitely tentative base runners out there who don't fit the mold of being aggressive. My daughter is not an aggressive runner because she doesn't trust her speed. She's a slow catcher with a big bat who usually gets a courtesy runner when she gets on base. Could she have been taught to be more aggressive? Perhaps. But it wouldn't have made her faster.

 

[angispeds]

If you want to understand aggressive baserunning watch any game coached by Bill Conroy and his Bandits team or really any Bandits team but Bill builds his teams for this. No hit or steal or even a walk is one base is the mindset he teaches his players. Everybody runs even his slower players and in this case slower means average because he doesn’t put actual slow players on his team. He loses base runners sometimes and it has certainly cost a game or two over the time we’ve been with the orange but more often than not it works and it’s a fun style of softball to watch and certainly some of it doesn’t translate to the next level due to the skill of the defense but the mind set certainly does.


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