head first vs feet first

[obbay]

In High School ball, baserunners are not allowed to slide head first, unless they are diving back to a base they overran or are avoiding a pick-off attempt.

DD's coach insists that when taking a lead, all baserunners must dive back to the bag if there is a pickoff attempt. my question is if the girls have never played in a league where head first is allowed and they are very facile at getting back to the base (including if they need to slide), why must they always dive back- especially when they don't know how to and there is no instruction being provided to the new recruits?

my thought is that diving should be an option but not a requirement. I saw two girls diving back to a bag into a high tag that their feet would've slid right under.

the other thing is if feet first on an overthrow, you'll see it sooner roll into a sprinters position and take off where the dive has you entirely committed back to the bag.

What advice should I give DD concerning diving back?

 

[Hoover's Dad]

Our 10u team practiced diving back to first and the right way with your left foot and peel off yesterday. These are small things that I dont think you should take for granted, we are an extremly athletic team, and we had girls that looked funny divng back, mainly because I dont think they had ever worked on it. We spent 15 minutes on diving back to first and talking about avoiding tags going into a base.

 

[Comp]

I believe Little League has a rule against head first slides, but no such rule in high school ball.

 

[JAD]

Diving back to the bag on a pickoff attempt is not nearly as dangerous as a head first 'Charlie Hustle' slide! You should teach the girls to dive back to outside corner of the bag with their right hand extended. This will make the tag more difficult for the 1st baseman. There is a still a chance for getting fingers stepped on or jammed, which is why I HIGHLY recommend using a courtesy runner for your pitcher and catcher!

 

[obbay]

Thanks!
I was told that in Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) rules that you can't slide head first. interesting to find out that NFHS says it's ok. Then again, I recently found out that NONE of our coaches have the required certification to coach.

thank you for the advice. at least I can give her something to work on because no one else is.

Someone earlier had mentioned that by HS they should know how to dive and while I won't disagree, I will say that if they don't play tournament ball, there isn't any place to learn or use that skill.

thanks again!

 

[mad hornet]

We teach our first timers to dive back with a fist to protect the fingers. Yes they lose a couple inches of reach but still better than not diving and fingers aren't exposed.

Oh and yes it is an absolute requirement. You don't want to be the kid who got picked off on my team and did not dive back!

 

[CoachKevin]

We practiced that at every practice last year. I would line the team up the 1B line and practice leads, dives, and steals. It only took about 10 minutes or so and it helped during games. I think everyone on the team at some point had to dive back to the bag during games.