Sliding on a slide mat

Setup

1. Lay the slide mat on flat, soft grass, clear of fences, bases fixed in the ground and other groups. Wet it lightly if it is a tarp. If there's no mat, use thick, damp grass.
2. Put a loose base at the far end of the mat. Never practise into a fixed base until the slide is solid.
3. Players wear batting helmets and long pants. No metal spikes on the mat: socks or flat rubber-soled shoes only.
4. Place a start cone about 20 m from the mat and a 'slide' cone about 3–4 m before the mat.
5. Only one runner on the mat at a time. The next runner waits until the coach says go.

How it runs

1. Step 1, sitting: players sit on the grass and practise the bent-leg (figure-four) shape: one leg straight, the other bent under it, hands up, chin tucked. Swap legs to find the comfortable side.
2. Step 2, walk-through: from a walk, each runner drops into the shape on the mat, sitting down rather than falling.
3. Step 3, jog: runners jog from the start cone, and on the coach's call of 'Down!' at the slide cone, slide feet-first along the mat to the base.
4. Step 4, run: build up to three-quarter, then full speed. The top foot reaches the base; the runner either stays down or pops up, as the coach calls.
5. Rotate quickly so everyone gets 6–10 slides. Stop if the mat dries out or the grass gets torn up.

Coaching points

• Feet first, every time. Head-first slides are not taught at this age.
• Start the slide early enough: about one-and-a-half to two body lengths before the base.
• Sit down into the slide; don't jump or dive at it.
• Hands up and fists loosely closed, or hold a little dirt in each hand, so the fingers stay off the ground.
• Slide straight at the base. In a game, slide to the bag, not at the fielder (bona fide slide), and at home slide or avoid the catcher; check your competition's rules.

Common mistakes

• Starting the slide too late and jamming the front foot into the base.
• Putting a hand down to break the fall, which can hurt the wrist or fingers.
• Leaping into the slide instead of sitting down into it.
• Slowing down before the slide, which makes it short and awkward.
• Catching the spikes of the bent leg in the ground, which can hurt the knee or ankle.