Running and rounding the bases - technique

I was always taught inside foot but the reality of the situation is that there will be times your steps won't allow it. So either you chop to get the inside foot which will slow you down or you just go with the flow.


I teach go with the flow - whichever foot is going to come down on the bag then use that foot. Make sure the head is looking down at contact because this is how you miss bases by looking at the play instead of your feet. Once you hit then either find the ball or coach to know what to do.

Inside foot:

Safer: (no lunging for a base, slipping, tripping or rolling an ankle).

Faster: your center of gravity is in control, you'll take a lot of the going wide away.

Safer: you'll never miss a base, as it takes more focus.

Least that's what my coaches told me, and I've passed it along ever since.

quote:

Originally posted by coach2709:
I teach go with the flow - whichever foot is going to come down on the bag then use that foot.

This. The inside foot is ideal if it works out that way, but if it doesn't your BR winds up thinking too much rather than just running.

Either foot. Just hit the bag in natural stride without chop-stepping.

I don't think it really matters which foot that the player touches the base with. This is one of the areas where I think coaches sometimes try to "split hairs".

I would say that most players don't have a problem with touching the base and they PROBABLY don't even think about it anymore. Making them use a specific foot just gives them one extra thing to think about when, in my opinion, it doesn't really matter anyway.

With that said, if I were teaching it to young players who had never been taught anything about base running before I would probably tell them to use their inside foot if possible.

Agree with Coach from Catching101. The link is a post on something I wrote which breaks it down even more.
http://baseballbytheyard.blogs...-you-touch-base.html

quote:

Originally posted by coach2709:
... Once you hit then either find the ball or coach to know what to do.

Except for the part quoted above I agree. Runners should glance to their base coach as they start to "flare" or "round" a base, not after hitting the bag. If they don't see a stop sign until after hitting the bag, then there's a good chance they will be too far away from the base and will get tagged out returning to the base or caught in a run down.

So when a runner starts to "flare" or "round" the base they should glance at the base coach at the same time, then look down and hit the base with their foot.

I'm for either, inside corner in stride.

quote:

Originally posted by BryanV21:

quote:

Originally posted by coach2709:
... Once you hit then either find the ball or coach to know what to do.

Except for the part quoted above I agree. Runners should glance to their base coach as they start to "flare" or "round" a base, not after hitting the bag. If they don't see a stop sign until after hitting the bag, then there's a good chance they will be too far away from the base and will get tagged out returning to the base or caught in a run down.

So when a runner starts to "flare" or "round" the base they should glance at the base coach at the same time, then look down and hit the base with their foot.

Just a quick question - do you teach that your runners have to pick up base coaches? If so then I agree with what you're saying but I don't teach that and what I teach sorts fits in with what you're saying.

I teach my runners to make the decision for themselves because it's quicker. After contact is made they need to check where the ball is while they are running then look at the base for contact then find the ball again (or coach). I would rather teach my guys when to advance and when not to rather than have them looking at a basecoach which can slow them down.

But teaching the runner to check with basecoaches I agree with what you're saying. I just didn't put the first check (coach / ball) in my post.

quote:

Originally posted by coach2709:

quote:

Originally posted by BryanV21:

quote:

Originally posted by coach2709:
... Once you hit then either find the ball or coach to know what to do.

Except for the part quoted above I agree. Runners should glance to their base coach as they start to "flare" or "round" a base, not after hitting the bag. If they don't see a stop sign until after hitting the bag, then there's a good chance they will be too far away from the base and will get tagged out returning to the base or caught in a run down.

So when a runner starts to "flare" or "round" the base they should glance at the base coach at the same time, then look down and hit the base with their foot.

Just a quick question - do you teach that your runners have to pick up base coaches? If so then I agree with what you're saying but I don't teach that and what I teach sorts fits in with what you're saying.

I teach my runners to make the decision for themselves because it's quicker. After contact is made they need to check where the ball is while they are running then look at the base for contact then find the ball again (or coach). I would rather teach my guys when to advance and when not to rather than have them looking at a basecoach which can slow them down.

But teaching the runner to check with basecoaches I agree with what you're saying. I just didn't put the first check (coach / ball) in my post.

Sorry it's taken so long to reply. I don't come here often enough.

Yeah, runners need to pickup the base coach, just do so before hitting the bag in case I want them to stop. On that note, I teach runners to always be thinking about going 1st to 3rd or 2nd to home. And that they only stop when told to (stop sign), otherwise they should be running. I like aggression on the basepaths.

Hit the inside corner of the bag with your right foot. It creates a more direct path to the next base. If the player concentrates on the corner of the bag, his body will naturally adjust his stride to hit that part of the bag without slowing down. Put a water bottle on the top of the base to force them to concentrate on where they are striking the bag.

At third base, with more advanced athletes, we teach to strike the home plate edge of the bag and dip the left shoulder as you drive off of the base toward the plate. It feels almost like a football cut and will get them directly in line with the plate.

Also, I don't think that it is always a bad thing to throttle down a hair just before getting to the bag in order to create a more straight line as you come out of the turn. Race car drivers don't take turns at full speed, they brake into the turn and accelerate out of it, why is running bases different?