VHSL Rules on headfirst slide?

Unless the rule has changed, head first slides are legal. Now whether he should be sliding head first is an altogether seperate question.

My son (now at a DII JUCO) slid head first most of the time - even into 1B - during his HS career. I cringed sometimes, but he never injured his hands/fingers that way.

The funny thing is he injured his hand (12 stitches) as a catcher tagging a runner who slid into home feet first. Go figure.


There are some studies that seem to suggest head first slides are faster, but nothing conclusive.

wow... bhis agressiveness probably got him noticed... but i am a no on 1st base and home plate head slides no matter what!

unique players cant be ade to stop, but I more talking about how/or if we should start one day?

I watch and its a no brainer that leaning and falling would be easier perhaps... but lots of L teams dont allow it...
really a quandry

Going head first into 2nd and 3rd is absolutely faster, and in my opinion, the right way to play the game. There is a reason you rarely see a major leaguer going feet first into 2nd base when attempting to steal. If we are talking about base stealing specialists at the MLB level, you almost never see guys going feet first.

It is counter to a runners natural actions to be sprinting properly (leading with the head) and then attempt to arrive at the finish line leading with his feet.

It used to be that the "pop up" slide was considered most efficient since it allowed a runner to react more quickly to a throwing error or other opportunities to advance. Now days (in my opinion), the premium is placed on doing everything possible to beat a good throw rather than being prepared to react to a bad one.

Anyway, if your son is going into high school baseball I would not deter him from going head first into 2nd or 3rd. In my humble opinion, its part of playing the game with maximum effort.

Certainly not a rule that needs to be touched by the Federation or VHSL anytime soon. But then again, judging by how the new pitcher innings limitation rules were adopted, anything is possible. The way things seem to be headed, it wouldnt surprise me if we were using Incrediballs by 2020.

Sliding into 1st under just about any circumstance is foolish...and slower.

I agree with all of the comments about not sliding into first base with one exception. If the runner can read that the first baseman is coming up the line for a bad throw, he should slide to avoid the tag. IMHO, it takes advance players to react quick enough to read this play. Also, to minimize the liklihood of an injury, the runner should slide past the base tagging it with his hand instead of sliding directly into the base.

Agreed Springer, either that or if the throw to first is high bringing the player off the bag you go low to avoid the tag. Our best player is head first guy and it is a pleasure to watch. He is aggressive and instinctual on the bases.

Noone is mentioning what my concern really is - injury.
Several Major League teams forbid the headfirst slide in the minor leagues, so as not to seriously injure their promising prospects.
As a dad/coach, shouldnt I be concerned with the same thing... or is it smarter to let him shine and excel as a base stealer, since that is a big part of his skill set?
A serious shoulder or hand injury can be a stopper.

Do you want your son to dive while playing in the field to try to make a play? How about keeping his feet in the batters box and letting a fast ball hit him without getting out of the way?

To me, these are similar aspects of playing the game the right way that could also be construed as dangerous. No one wants to see players conducting these actions improperly (i.e. it's important to TURN when getting hit so you absorb the ball more with your body's backside than frontside), but they often are an important part of players learning to play WINNING baseball. Major League teams dissuade certain prospects from going head first in the minor leagues because they have a LOT of money invested in them. That is the sole reason.

My own opinion is that young players entering high school should be taught to develop their hustle and their instincts for playing winning baseball as much as they should be taught to develop their talent. Never at the expense of safety, obviously, but playing all out should be placed at a premium. Injuries do occur and they are unfortunately a part of the game, but conscientiously adopting a style of play that is designed NOT to get hurt is never a good idea.

Just my own personal thoughts, though.

Another thing not mentioned - the coaches...If he's just going out for HS ball, his coaches may or may not allow head first slides and the coaches may want them to slide head first. I think I would let him work it out with the coaches.

Some of the kids on my son's team did slide head first and others (including my son) didn't. I left it completely up to him and his coaches. It will be interesting to see if he's changed his approach this year in college ball...

I remember that they're required to attempt to avoid contact at home, but I can't remember if there is any VHSL restriction on head first into home. In either case, not sure I'd want to slide head first into catcher's gear...