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Q&A: Baserunning "Ready Position"
by Dave
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
A reader writes: I am coaching girls majors softball(9-12 year olds). The question I have is, what is the right way for girls to be running from first to second or second to third? What should their READY position be? I have coached boys before so this is all new to me. I watch Girls softball on TV alot and I noticed that all the girls get ready by having their left foot touching the front on the base while their right foot is behind it. Is this the correct position?
A:
This is actually a great question and very common from guys who once played or coached baseball and are now coaching softball. Your observation is an astute one. Girls do take up the position you describe, the front foot on the inside of the base occupied and the other foot behind it. I believe the reasons are multi-faceted.
The first reason is, obviously, there is no leading in girls softball. So there is no reason for the balaced body position we learned and taught in baseball. The sprinter's position is far more advantageous for getting a quick running start but if, as in baseball, there is a reason to move quickly backwards, this position is very bad indeed.
The second reason, I believe, is a runner can clearly get a better start if she has something to push off of with her first step. The anchored base fits very nicely into this category. So I try to teach girls to use the base for leverage on their first step. The best way to get that leverage is by beginning the running motion with one foot behind the base and as that leg comes forward, using the base to push off from.
The final reason to begin with one foot on the inside and one foot behind the base is as a timing mechanism. In higher levels of competition, girls are allowed to leave the base as soon as the ball comes completely out of the pitcher's hand. Generally a runner does not merely stand there staring at the place the pitcher releases the ball waiting until that moment when she can see it free of the pitcher's hand. Instead, your typical quality runner times the ball release. Ideally, she will be in full motion or momentum at the moment of ball release and lunging off the base just after that instant.
So in conclusion, what you have observed on television is quite right. The vast majority of high level base runners start with one foot on the inside of the base and the other behind it. They do it because it is a better position than a baseball lead to get moving, it provides something to push off from, and it provides a decent timing mechanism.
While I cannot be certain that the league rules in your 9-12 year-old league allow for leaving the base before the ball crosses homeplate, I still think you ought to teach the skill in this fashion because girls should be made familiar with the differences in our sport and baseball at the youngest possible ages.
 
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