Feet-first sliding

Setup

1. Use soft grass or a slide mat, never the infield dirt, for the first sessions. A wet tarp on grass works well.
2. Use a loose throw-down base at the end of the mat, not a fixed base, so it moves if a foot hits it hard.
3. Runners wear helmets, long pants or sliding shorts, and take off metal spikes on a mat. Remove anything in pockets.
4. A start cone 20 m back, and a 'start your slide' cone about 3 m before the base.

How it runs

1. Sit-down first: from standing, each runner sits down into the slide shape on the grass, five times, with no running.
2. Then walk, jog and finally run at three-quarter pace from the start cone, sliding at the slide cone.
3. The runner keeps one leg straight toward the base, tucks the other leg under it in a figure-4, and slides on the back of the bottom leg and bottom.
4. The top foot touches the base. The runner pops up or stays down, walks back along the outside, and the next runner goes.
5. Six to eight slides each. Only feet-first slides are taught to juniors; head-first sliding is not allowed in many junior leagues.

Coaching points

• Start the slide early, about two body lengths out. A late slide jams into the base.
• Sit down, don't jump or dive. Lower the body and let the bottom touch first.
• Hands up and fists loose, or hold a small handful of grass, so fingers stay off the ground.
• Chin tucked to the chest so the head does not hit the ground.
• Slide to the base, not at the fielder. Avoid contact with the fielder and stay in the base path.

Common mistakes

• Leaping into the slide, which lands hard on the hip or tailbone.
• Putting a hand down to break the fall, a common cause of wrist injuries.
• Catching the spikes in the ground with a bent front knee.
• Starting too late and jamming the front ankle into the base.