Sliding head first while running bases is something you see baseball boys do all the time. Some argue that girls don’t do it enough in softball. That may be true and there may be a number of reasons why. For me, there is one major reason why I, personally, do not slide head first into bases, I tell my daughters not to do it, and I don’t encourage it among my players. Now I do not stop or discourage players from doing it if it’s already something that’s 2nd nature to them.
However, for newer players, for my own daughters, and for myself, it’s not something I do or teach? Why?
Safety
Plain and simple, it’s a safety issue for me. Maybe I don’t pay enough attention, but I don’t hear about many baseball boys having season ending injuries from sliding head first into a base. However, I have seen and heard about many softball players breaking their collarbone, separating their shoulder, getting their fingers cleated, breaking their fingers, dislocating joints, etc from sliding into a base head first. I’ve seen it happen in games to people I know personally and I’ve heard about it happening to other softball players too. For this reason alone, I will always slide into a base feet first.
This doesn’t mean that I never dive. I will dive BACK to a base and I will encourage my players and my daughters to dive back to a base.
What’s the difference? Sliding head first into a base typically involves a players going at full speed running into a base and taking all the force and momentum into a possible collision. The same is rarely true when diving back to a base. Most times, you are not at full speed which means a much lower impact if their is contact. Is there still risk of injury? Yes, there is. But there’s risk with everything in this game. It’s just that for me, sliding head first into a base is not a risk I’m comfortable taking. The chance of game or season ending injury is too high for me.
What do you think?
- Have you heard about as many baseball players as softball players getting injured from this?
- Do you feel it’s a risk worth taking?
- Do you agree with the idea that the risk is higher going into a base vs back to one?
Don’t worry, I won’t be offended. 
I’d just like to know what other people, including you, think about this topic. Leave a comment below and share your thoughts!
I myself slide head first into a base for the simple reason its easiest for me. I also do it because i have a weak ankle and knee.
I believe that if you slide the right way it reduces the chances of injury. I also believe that there is the same chance of hurting yourself in a feet first slide and in a head first slide.
I do not coach the head first slide for the same reason. As a kid growing up I saw several of my teammates, who watched a lot more televised baseball than I did, try to emulate their heroes. We had several dislocated fingers and had several cleat injuries to hands, wrists, and forearms.
I was / am a big, slow, lumbering, tractor-trailor-framed kid. When I got all of it going full speed the hits were impressive, violent, and damaging. (Wonderful for football, dangerous for the base path) A head first slide meant that I was throwing all of that momentum at the second or third baseman or the base itself; injury was imminent.
Now that I am coaching, I teach my catchers to be aggressive, to come up and fire the ball toward the first base side of the second base bag (or 2nd base side of third or 2nd base side of first) If my catcher properly executes her throw, it puts a screaming softball in terribly close proximity to the base runner’s head. Even with a helment that is a mind and game altering experience.
Besides, it is awfully tough to break up the double play if you are already falling on the ground.
@Cassie
Certainly there is risk involved in a foot first slide. Busted ankles and tweaked knees are terribly common, they are however injuries that you might experience racing after a fly ball or planting to make a hard turn. By the nature of the game, the only protection I can offer my players from these injuries is conditioning and hope.
As a player, it was comfortable for me to do either. As a coach, I think you have to learn who your kids are before you try to teach them either way to slide. An knowledgeable base runner will know what works best for them if you offer both ways. You as a coach have to teach your kids when/why the advantages of each slide works. My own girls slide both ways, both have cleat marks in their hands and their ankles. I think if you give your kids as much knowledge as you can they will find what works best for them in the given situation!!!
I ‘ve been coaching for over 40 years, boys for the 1st 30 and girls the last 12 or so. I’ve never taught head first sliding. Like you I don’t stop the girls from doing it, but I recommend feet first. I do have a shortstop that is maybe the best player I’ve ever coached [boy or girl] that broke her ankle last year when her metal spike caught and now she is sliding head first. I told her I’d rather see her get away from the metal spikes , but as long as they are legal here , she will wear them.. Right now we are in a dome, so the head first slide sems to be easy on her, I’ll have my fingers crossed when we get back outside however.
Cassie: I can understand head first being easier for you with ankle/knee issues.
Stacia: thanks for that comment. I do agree it’s important to give your players as many “tools” as you can so that they can find what works best for them. This is just not one that I highly encourage. Of course, if I have players that prefer it, I will make sure to help them work on doing it well and as safely as possible!
I have been coaching for over 10 years now and I personally can’t remember but one finger injury from anyone sliding head first. However, two things I teach and encourage:
1. If you are a head first slider – don’t do it at home plate. There’s a big difference between a collision with a “glove” (or a baseman) as opposed to a catcher geared in full battle armor.
2. Don’t slide going to first. I believe it has been shown many times that it is faster to run through the bag. The only acceptable/logical reason for sliding into first is if you see 1B coming off the bag toward you because of an errant throw and you want to get under a possible tag.
The other I’m mixed. I leave it up to the player. If they regularly do head first at bases that’s up to them. We don’t practice head first, only feet first.
Both are dangerous if not taught properly. I’ve seen tons more accidents waiting to happen from feet first slides, because players haven’t been taught to get there feet up, on t\not to go stiff legged into the base. I believe a head first slide gives you a more controlled slide and also allows the player to go inside or outside the base more effectively.
I would hoppe that coaches spend way more time teaching both slides and when to use them than I see most coaches of younger players doing. Most of the injuries incurred can be directly related to lack of training.
I am a high school coach and my personal experience in my own daughter has disclocated her shoulder 3 times by sliding into third base. she is 19 now and just had shoulder surgery
and has spent the last 4 months in rehab. my opinion no sliding head first.
As a head coach of a high school team
I hate it don’t encourage it. Our conf use saftey bags at first
If you do not want to see a player get hurt then do not even attempt to teach them this
As a coach I’ve seen far more injuries from girls sliding into a base and their (metal) cleats digging in than I have from girls that have learned the proper way to slide head first. I agree with Dennis 100%, the injuries you mentioned for shoulders are the result of poor mechanics. They went down on the ground and their shoulder absorbed the blow instead of extending and going forward allowing the torso to absorb the impact and actually “dive” forward so that they have less effects from friction and the ground. Their arms should not be “locked up” as they extend so that they do have “give” should they hit something solid (just like their knee better not be locked up if they slide feet first) and more importantly they should be diving to the unoccupied side of a base and extend just their hand.
In terms of the game, diving is a faster way to get there because all of the momentum is going forward and provides much more mobility for last minute decision making on which side of the base to go to based on the defender. If you commit to a particular path and begin a slide you are locked in. That extended leg doesn’t have anywhere to go if the defender makes an adjustment.
Diving Back to the base is the same mechanics, just less momentum, so all of the same injuries could occur. You probably hear of less injuries for boys because they start doing it much earlier than most girls, because “fear” isn’t tolerated in their dugouts. So they take their blows when they are younger and learn how to mechanically make the corrections by the time that they are older. Whereas we allow girls to play the game based on “fears” and make accomodations for them.
I do teach girls both techniques and spend 75% of the time discussing the safety issues. I like to refer to the technique as “diving” though instead of “sliding head first” because the connotations from the word describe “going out” not just down. Many girls slide about 2 feet from the bag because they really just do seat drops and without distributing their weight they can’t really “slide.” A true slide should be at least 2 full body lengths from the base, and a true dive should can be at least 3. The closer they start to the bag the more risks of injuries because they are going down into the ground, instead of out across the ground.
teach the kids the proper mechanics for either one and know it’s easier to come back from a broken finger than a broken ankle or knee injury
I have to agree with with Ruer, a lot of injuries are due to poor mechanics. If players are taught proper mechanics and they actually use them, it reduces the chances of injury.
I have to agree with Ruer, a lot of injuries are due to poor mechanics. If players are taught proper mechanics and they actually use them, it reduces the chances of injury.
Nobody talks about an obvious issue with girls that the boys don’t have to worry so much about. I tried sliding head first when I was a player and ended up digging two trenches with my chest. It hurt very much!!! I wonder if anyone has done any research on an increase in breast cancer as a result of impact to the breasts? Injuries happen all different ways, I think it’s important for the person to be comfortable whichever way they decide to slide!
Michelle: good point there.
Also – I have to agree with the idea that many sliding injuries are often a results of poor technique (head first or otherwise).
I do not like it at all espically my pitchers broken fingers makes it hard to throw diving back ok but I tell then to tuck there fingers
When you slide head first your not supposed to hit your chest on he ground, your supposed 2 slide on your torso.
As a coach, I do not teach the head first slide. I teach feet first. I do teach a dive back to the base.
As a player, I play 3rd base. I have had 6 different occasions that I can vivdly remember, where the runner slid head first, at full speed, into my shins. I was a bodybuilder and have lots of muscle mass. These six got hurt. Two mild concussions, and then wrist and collarbones for the others. If they had slid feet first, they would have rocked my leg, but not hurt me or themselves. I have had that happen many times. I just think it is not the best plan to dive head first.
I disagree that sliding head-first is faster or even the same as sliding feet-first.Most boys/girls have lost the art of sliding,like the hook slide and having kids slide head first into 3B and slide past the bag is priceless!not to mention which runner will be able to get up quicker and run to the next bag on a passed ball…well,its not the kid laying on his/her belly looking at the ground.Kids can change direction of their slide with feet first in a split second but with head first its tooo late cause your in the air!It looks cool sliding head first and thats about where it stops
I agree with coach stacie there is more of a risk of injury sliding head first rather then feet first, and not so much diving back to the base. I coach softball myself and i do not teach my players in sliding head first its to risky.
Hi Stacie,
While I agree that there is more risk involved in the head first slide, I have no problem teaching my 12u team this skill. But, I believe in teaching my players many things that they will not use on a day-to-day basis. We spend time throwing off the wrong foot, fielding the ball unconventionally and sliding head first. I want them to know that they are capable of doing these things, and have the confidence that they know how to perform these skills correctly. I believe that being armed with these skills makes them much more aggressive players, and gives them the confidence to do things without fear. They may never use these skills, and they know that. But, they also know that its okay if they have to use them at some point because they’ve learned how to do it safely and correctly.
Hi Stacie,
I agree with Alyssa If you teach the girls the proper way and give them the knowledge of when and why you go head first, I think it could be a good thing. That player has one more weapon under her belt. I don’t know about you guys but it happen to me, but a couple of time when running to slide my feet was in the wrong step and i was forced to slide on my other leg and it didnt feel to good. When I was in college i went head first most of the time. Not first and home!!n To me I think I got up faster and got less cuts! Ha ha!
Can you do a blog on metal cleats for high school girls . I really would like to know what coaches think about that?!
I agree that sliding head first raises a safety concern. However it is no different in my mind than diving back to base. It is a coach’s job to make sure that proper technique is used to minimize injuries. If one of my 10 year olds chooses to slide head first because someone taught her that prior to joining my team I won’t stop her. If she’s not doing it correctly I will correct it. After attempting that, if it is still not correct, then and only then, will it not be allowed. Sliding is one of many parts of the game that needs to have room for individuality. If you don’t give young ladies a chance to make some parts of the game their own, they will start to lose interest fast.
Personally the coaches I work with do not teach head first sliding. I help coach my daughter fastpitch 14u team and my son’s 10u baseball team. With both of these teams we do not teach headfirst. I personally do not tell a kid that they can not do it but we teach them why we promote feet first. In my son’s Rec. league, sliding head first into home is an automatic out! This was put in place by our league because of the number of injuries happenning in collisions at home. These ranged from runners & catchers dislocating fingers, fingers getting cleated & shoulder injuries. We also had two serious injuries where one runner broke their arm and another base runner had a neck injury. Fortunately the neck injury just turned into a stinger but was a wake up call to a potential for a much more serious life changing injury. I’m not saying that headfirst should never be used but I feel that its not the safest way to teach youth players to slide.
I think that it is best to slide feet first because it is much easier to get back up and be ready for the next play. Although sliding head first is very fun it can be very dangerous.
Feet first sliding is way more dangerous. Two years ago my friend on my baseball team broke his leg/foot in three places sliding feet first when some of the cleats on the bottom of his right spike caught into the ground and he rolled over it. He still two years later can not walk or run right and i do not think he ever will again unless major surgery is involved.