8U Baserunning Drills: Teaching Kids Which Way to Run

The foundation of everything starts with running through first base. I learned this lesson when my son got thrown out at first on what should have been an easy infield single. He slowed down three steps before the bag, thinking he needed to stop.

The Home to First Drill is dead simple. Line everyone up at home plate. Hit or toss balls to different spots in the infield. Kids run through first base, touch the bag, and keep running into foul territory. That's it.

What makes this work is the repetition and the one simple rule: always run through first base. No exceptions. Even on obvious outs. Even when the ball beats them by ten steps. This builds the habit before we add complexity.

I time each kid from home to first with a stopwatch. Not to pressure them, but because kids love knowing their times. "Tommy, you just ran a 4.2!" Watch their faces light up. Now they're competing against themselves, not just learning a rule.

Once they master running through first, we teach them when to round the base instead. This is where it gets tricky because now they have to make decisions while running.

I start with the Banana Run Drill. Kids line up at home, and I place cones about three feet to the right of the first base line, starting halfway down. They run in a slight arc - like a banana - so they hit first base with their left foot and can easily turn toward second.

The key insight: they need to start their turn before they reach first base, not after. When I tell kids to "make a banana," they understand immediately. When I say "take a proper angle of approach," their eyes glaze over.

Practice this with no pressure first. Just have them round first and stop at the base, getting the footwork right. Once they can do the banana run without thinking about it, then we add decision-making.

This is where 8U baserunning gets interesting. Kids need to learn the difference between "hit it and run" versus "hit it and think." I use the Traffic Light Drill to teach this.

Set up different scenarios: ground ball to first base (red light - run through), line drive to the gaps (green light - keep running), pop fly to the infield (yellow light - get halfway and decide). Kids love the traffic light concept because they already know what red, yellow, and green mean.

I hit balls to different positions and call out the color as they run. "Ground ball to shortstop - what color?" If they yell "RED LIGHT" and run through first, they're getting it. If they round first on a routine grounder, we talk about why that was the wrong choice.

The most important lesson: when in doubt, be aggressive. At 8U, most fielding mistakes happen when kids try to make plays quickly. A runner who keeps going often forces an error. A runner who stops gives the defense time to make the play cleanly.

Tagging up at 8U is mostly about not doing it on obvious line drives. I've watched too many kids get doubled up because they ran on a line drive right at the second baseman. But I've also seen kids glued to first base on a deep fly ball that gets dropped.

The Freeze Tag Drill teaches the basics. Put runners on first base. Hit pop flies and line drives to different spots. If it's a high fly ball, they can take a few steps but need to be ready to get back. If it's a screaming line drive, they stay put.

I use the "count to two" rule. If they can count "one-Mississippi, two-Mississippi" while the ball is in the air, they can take their lead and think about advancing. If it's caught before they can finish counting, it was too hard hit to run on.

Don't overcomplicate this. At 8U, we're just trying to avoid the really bad decisions. Perfect tagging up technique comes later.

Nothing motivates 8U kids like a good race. I end most practices with Around the World Races - kids start at home plate and see who can touch all four bases and get back home first. No baseball involved, just pure running.

The Relay Race Drill is huge. Split the team into two groups. First kid runs to first, second kid runs from first to second, and so on. First team to get everyone around the bases wins. They're practicing proper base paths without even realizing it.

My favorite is the Beat the Throw Drill. I roll a ball slowly toward first base, and the runner tries to beat it there. Then I roll it a little faster. Then I throw it. They learn to judge whether they can beat a throw without any pressure.

These races solve my biggest problem: getting kids to run hard through first base. When they're competing, they naturally run their fastest. When they're just doing drills, they jog.

8U kids have zero spatial awareness. They run in straight lines to bases, cut across the pitcher's mound, and somehow always end up in the worst possible spot when the ball is coming their way.

The Cone Path Drill fixes this. I put cones along the proper base paths between each base. Kids have to run around the outside of the cones. It forces them to take proper angles and stay in foul territory when running through first.

Safety is huge at this age. I teach them the "Get out of the way" rule. If you see the ball coming toward you, move. Don't stand there and watch it. Don't try to help field it. Just get out of the way and let the fielders make the play.

The most important base path rule: run in a straight line to the base you're going to, not where the ball is. I can't tell you how many times I've watched kids run toward second base but drift toward the ball because that's where they're looking.

The kid who always stops at first: This is usually fear-based. They're scared of getting thrown out if they try for second. I fix this with the green light drill - hit obvious doubles to the gap and make them run until I yell stop. Build their confidence on the easy ones first.

The kid who runs on everything: They think aggressive means stupid. I use the red light drill heavily with these kids. Ground ball to first base? That's a red light every single time. No exceptions.

The kid who watches the ball: Put a parent or coach at first base to give directions. "Don't look at me, look at Coach Sarah." Eventually they learn to trust their base coach instead of trying to see everything themselves.

The kid who runs the wrong direction: This happens more than you'd think. I put cones at each base with big arrows pointing toward the next base. Visual cues work better than verbal instructions for directionally challenged kids.

The secret to good baserunning practice is keeping kids moving. Nothing kills energy like standing in line waiting for your turn. I set up multiple stations: one group doing home to first sprints, another group practicing rounding bases, and a third group doing relay races.

Rotate every five minutes. Keep the energy high. Make everything a competition or a race. "Who can touch first base the quietest?" sounds stupid, but it teaches them to hit the bag properly instead of stomping on it.

I track everyone's home to first times throughout the season in BenchCoach. Kids love seeing their improvement, and parents love seeing the progress reports. It turns baserunning practice from a chore into a challenge.

End every baserunning session with something fun. Around the world races, relay competitions, or just letting them run the bases while you cheer them on. They should leave practice excited about running, not dreading it.