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Slide Out

Saturday, May 1st, 2010

Slide Out

Sliding- Softballs Secret Weapon

Sliding into bases makes the sport of softball more aggressive and moves players around the bases. Stealing a base is a great feeling of achievement for a player and gives a base coach another notch in his cap. Experienced players make sliding into bases look easy. Well like everything else worth doing it takes some practice, patience and skill.

Every base coach knows the importance of the slide. When you steal a base you advance your batters around the bases and the slide is an important part of the play. Every year hundreds, if not thousands, of softball players are injured trying to slide into bases. This a statistic that can be lowered through proper training and the correct use of equipment.

To create a good slide the player needs to run hard and fast to build enough momentum to carry their body to the base. All of that momentum creates a lot of pressure on the body surfaces that make contact with the ground.

Here are a couple of things a players should have to lessen the impact and protect themselves. A good quality, popper fitting pair of sliding shorts and a sliding knee pad or knee sleeve. The knee sleeve will offer a tighter fit to keep it in place when sliding.

Of course protective gear and padding are great but the best way to prevent injury and promote proper sliding is through training and practice. The Slide-RiteTM trainer helps to teach sliding techniques while offering a protective cushion to reduce injury and allow players to do more repetitive training. The Slide-RiteTM is a basic device consisting of a base pad and a top sheet made of durable canvas. You slide on top of the unit and the canvas sheet slides across the padding. While this does provide less resistance than a real slide it is great for perfecting a players form before they hit the dirt.

So the bottom line is that the slide is an integral part of softball and can be a rewarding technique. Players should make sure they have the proper gear to protect them selves and base coaches should train players utilizing such tools as the Slide-RiteTM to ensure players can properly and effectively execute a slide.

You will find all of the above mentioned products and merchandise for all of your team sports needs at www.morleyathletic.com.

About the Author

Morley Athletic Supply Company Inc. has been in business since 1931. As a fourth generation family member involved in the company, team sports is more than a job it's an obsession. With thousands of new products being developed and marketed every year it is important to keep coaches and players updated on what's new for their sport. I write articles to provide them with this information.