Softball · Sliding · Baserunning

Hook and pop-up slides

Senior runners learn the pop-up slide to get straight back on their feet and the hook slide to avoid a tag, on a slide mat or wet grass before the dirt.

slide matgo down: 3 m outR1R22BCO
Start / 6
Time
25 min
Players
3–14
Age
U16+
Area
30 × 15 m of grass
Equipment
1 slide mat or slip-and-slide sheet1 loose or rubber base4 cones4 softballs4 batting helmets1 sliding shorts or long pants per runner

Setup

  1. Lay the slide mat on flat grass (or wet the grass) with a loose base at the far end. Never start these slides on dirt.
  2. Put a start cone about 15 m back from the base and a 'go down' cone about 3 m short of it.
  3. Runners wear helmets and sliding shorts or long pants. Remove jewellery and anything in pockets.
  4. A fielder stands beside the base to give a tag target; a coach feeds the ball to the fielder from the side.
  5. Every runner must already slide feet-first well before learning these variations. Warm up first, including hips and hamstrings.

How it runs

  1. Pop-up slide (8 to 10 reps): from half-speed, the runner drops at the cone into a bent-leg slide, the bottom leg tucked under the top knee. As the top foot hits the base, the runner uses momentum and the bent leg to come straight up onto their feet, eyes looking for an overthrow.
  2. Hook slide (8 to 10 reps): the fielder shows the tag on one side. The runner slides to the other side of the base, body away from the tag, and reaches back to catch the corner of the base with the hand or the foot.
  3. Combined: the coach throws to the fielder late and the fielder sets up on one side. The runner reads the fielder's glove and picks pop-up (no tag) or hook (tag coming).
  4. Build speed over the session: walk-through, half speed, three-quarter speed. Go to full speed only when the slide is smooth and the runner is in control.
  5. Move to a dirt base with a breakaway base only after a clean session on the mat.

Coaching points

  • Go down early and low, about 3 m out; sit into it rather than jumping or diving.
  • Hands up and fists closed to protect the fingers; do not put a hand down to break the fall.
  • Pop-up: the bottom shin and the slide momentum stand the runner up; drive forward off the base.
  • Hook: keep the body away from the tag and reach late; a straight-line slide gives the fielder an easy target.
  • Slide into the base, not into the fielder. Never raise spikes or go out of the path to take out a fielder; check your competition's rules on interference and collisions.
  • Fielders: tag low with the ball in the glove and let the runner come to you; leave the runner a path to the base.

Common mistakes

  • Starting the slide too late and crashing into the base, which jams ankles and knees.
  • Putting a hand down to land, risking a wrist or finger injury.
  • Hooking too wide, so the runner misses the base completely.
  • Leading with spikes high or sliding past the base into the fielder.
  • Going straight to the dirt before the slide is smooth on the mat.

Say it: “Down early, hands up, away from the tag.”

Make it harder

  • Live tag plays at second off a catcher's throw, with the runner reading the throw's side.
  • Pop-up into an immediate advance: the coach rolls an overthrow and the runner takes the next base.
  • Slide from a full run from first to second, with a breakaway base.

Make it easier

  • Socks only on a wet mat, from walking pace, to feel the slide.
  • Pop-up only until the runner stands up smoothly every time.
  • No fielder for the hook; aim at a cone set on one side of the base.

Pairs well with

Reviewed by the Sportdify coaching team.