Looking for [tag]coaching baseball drills[/tag]? You’ve come to the right place! Try out this idea below and let me know how it goes for you.
Sliding into the bag is an acquired skill that takes time to learn, but is extremely valuable in beating a tag out.
What you need – You can set up a couple stations for this [tag]drill[/tag], each with a line of players and a bag that they are going to slide into. Later on, you can add players trying to tag the runner out if you like. If you have players that are first learning this drill, you might want to try it out in the outfield to work on the technique, before you move to the infield.
How this drill works – The most important thing to begin this [tag]baseball[/tag] drill, and to reduce the chance of players hurting themselves, is to instruct the proper technique. When a player slides, they should be taught to create a triangle with the legs, and then to slide using the leg underneath, with the top foot free to touch the bag.
The player should lead with their left toe, right calf and then the slide should finish on the back of the thigh. Try to teach players not to go directly on their bottom (it will hurt a bit), but to focus on sliding in with the backside of their thigh.
Result – Once players can master the [tag]sliding[/tag] technique, you can take it one step further and show them what situations they should slide in. This is going to help their overall baserunning skills.