Getting a better jump on steals

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Ken Krause

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May 7, 2008
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Mundelein, IL
Kathleen_running_bases.jpg
Have you ever sat in the dugout watching a team loaded with kids with world class speed and wished your team could run that fast? You think boy, if we could run like that we'd be stealing bases all the time.

You actually don't need that kind of speed to steal bases. We confirmed that this weekend when we tested out something my pal Rich and I learned at the NFCA Coaches College.

My team is not exactly gifted with speed. As a result, we tended not to attempt many steals. We'd either have to bunt, hit or wait for a wild pitch to advance a runner. But at the Coaches College, they suggested videoing your team while they tried to get off the base on a steal. (Obviously you do this during practice.) We did it, and even told our girls to try leaving early. Then we watched the video on my computer.

What we (and they found) was not only weren't they on time, they were actually very late. It was no wonder we weren't very successful. So now that they understood the timing, we worked on getting a better jump. Sure enough, this past weekend we were successful on roughly 7 of 9 steal attempts. The nine attempts probably was more than we tried all last year. It was an amazing turn around.

If you have access to a video camera, give it a try. You may find it opens a whole new level of offense for you. You don't need to be fast. You just need to get going at the right time.



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May 13, 2008
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Ken, I have a drill that I like to use that doesn't require the use of video. All you need is two whistles, I like to call it the "Two whistle drill" (imaginative, eh?).

Have a coach (or pitcher) go through the pitching motion and blow a whistle when they release the ball. Have another coach watching the baserunner and blow their whistle when the baserunner's foot comes off of the base. The goal is to get the whistles to go off simultaneously.

When you first start doing the drill it is very obvious when they are getting a late start. It only takes a few times through to get everyone starting sooner.
 

Ken Krause

Administrator
Admin
May 7, 2008
3,911
113
Mundelein, IL
We actually did a variation of it over the winter when we were indoors. That is also helpful. But there's nothing like seeing yourself on video to see just how far off you are!
 

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