Sliding left leg tucked or right leg tucked

[WonderMonkey]

I was taught to slide with my left leg tucked under and my other coach slid with his right leg tucked. We chatted about advantages to either way and really couldn't come up with anything concrete on why you would do one over the other.

Any opinions on sliding (feet first) with left or right leg tucked?

[Craig S]

I was taught to slide with my left leg tucked under and my other coach slid with his right leg tucked. We chatted about advantages to either way and really couldn't come up with anything concrete on why you would do one over the other.

Any opinions on sliding (feet first) with left or right leg tucked?

WonderM.....I was taught to "tuck" both legs, depending on the situation.

When stealing.......tuck right leg, you will be facing the outfield, in order to see the pass ball into the out field in order to pop-up and advance to the next base, it also puts your back to the throw protecting you face.

When advancing on a multiple base hit (doubles & triples), tuck left leg, again protecting from the throw and facing the infield, in case the throw gets away, you can easily see it and react by popping-up and advancing if necessary.

[WonderMonkey]

WonderM.....I was taught to "tuck" both legs, depending on the situation.

When stealing.......tuck right leg, you will be facing the outfield, in order to see the pass ball into the out field in order to pop-up and advance to the next base, it also puts your back to the throw protecting you face.

When advancing on a multiple base hit (doubles & triples), tuck left leg, again protecting from the throw and facing the infield, in case the throw gets away, you can easily see it and react by popping-up and advancing if necessary.

Both those thoughts we were both making as reasons to do either way. About half of our kids would be able to learn both ways and know when to use either but the other half are the type that basically sleep-walk through the season and survive on athletic ability.

Thanks for the thoughts.

[tyberesk]

I've always preferred the headfirst slide. You can adjust your self easier when you see a throw in front of you to either the inside or outside of a bag and because your keeping your momentum going forward, its faster.

[Chris O'Leary]

Any opinions on sliding (feet first) with left or right leg tucked?

I think you want your more powerful (e.g. dominant side) leg under you so you can bounce up on an overthrow. For a RH thrower that means your right leg.

A second advantage of sliding with your left leg stretched out when stealing is that it will tend to put your back to home plate. That will protect you in case the throw comes into you and make it easier for you to track a ball that goes into the infield and see whether you can advance.

[Jake Patterson]

I've always preferred the headfirst slide. You can adjust your self easier when you see a throw in front of you to either the inside or outside of a bag and because your keeping your momentum going forward, its faster.

Note: Many youth leagues do not allow head first slides.

[Chris O'Leary]

Note: Many youth leagues do not allow head first slides.

There was a discussion on another board about a month ago talking about a guy who was paralyzed as a result of using a head-first slide.

[cong]

If you slide with your left leg tucked, you will be in a better position to pop up and advance to the next base.

[west coast orange and black]

i'm with craig in that depending on the situation, one leg will be better for the situation than the other.
craig has it correct when explaining the difference between sliding into the different bases.

it is a misconception that sliding headfirst gets you there faster -- it is scientifically proven that does not. the longer the human body is in the air, the quicker the deceleration occurs. look at hurdlers, f'rinstance, snap their trail leg to the ground over the hurdle.

anywaze, different slides are used depending on the situation. sometimes a pop-up slide is best used, f'rinstance.
players oughtta be safely taught as many slides as possible, and under which conditions to use 'em. that'll make for a more complete ballplayer.

willie mays mastered four different slides as he was able to do 'em all with either leg taking the lead.

[wilson68]

I always understood that most people will have a natural preference. I slide with the left leg bent and it feels unnatural to bend the right. Now I agree that learning several different slides is a brilliant idea but, if you are just trying to get a bunch of young ones to slide properly, than I would let their instincts pick the leg to bend. Of course I was never taught to slide and I do it badly. My sister still laughs when she recalls watching me. Basically, I fell down and tried not to scream. So I might not be the best person to chime in.

[Ursa Major]

Most kids today don't know how to slide, period. Gad, how many late, jump up and land on your knees slides have I seen over the years.

Probably, sliding with your right leg bent on balance is the best slide, because most throws will be from the infield side, and this slide (1) as noted, protects you from the ball, and (2) when hook sliding, takes you behind the plate and away from the tag. On the other hand, sliding on your left hip with your right leg extended makes it easier to pop up and head for the next base on a mishandled throw, as your rotation already has you facing toward that base.

However, for most kids it's more natural to slide on your left side with the right leg extended, as the counterclockwise rotation is more like the rotation you do in throwing and hitting. (On our team, the only kid who slides on his right hip is our only lefty.) Just getting 'em to do one slide well is enough. By the time you get 'em, they'll likely already feel that one or the other is more natural.

[Sultan_1895-1948]

I always understood that most people will have a natural preference. I slide with the left leg bent and it feels unnatural to bend the right.

Same here. Always tucked left leg under since tee ball. Right leg tucked would feel awkward, pretty much like trying to throw left handed. It's all about headfirst (only been spiked once) and left leg tuck for this chum :atthepc I do agree with many others about the advantages, but unless you work on using both legs tucked at an early age, probably better to just stick with what feels natural.

[BadKarma]

Dang it, now you guys got me feeling weird. I am a righty and always have slid with right leg tucked when going feet first.

[Sultan_1895-1948]

I think maybe it's the feeling of having your "strong" leg be the outstretched leg, and your weak one protected. Just somethin' comfortable about that feeling. Worth noting though, that players back in the day were sliding on rough infields plastered with small rocks. They pretty much had to switch up legs; didn't really have a choice. You'd slide on one side, and then switch to let that side heal up a little. Rasberries, strawberries, pussfilled gashes, you name it.

[BadKarma]

Ya, unfortunately most of the ball fields in Upstate NY aren't all that great, so definately a lot of the raspberries, strawberries, and puss filled gashes goodness from my youth as well. We did have some snow games though :D Always fun sliding on snow and ice.

[west coast orange and black]

BadKarma: ...unfortunately most of the ball fields in Upstate NY aren't all that great...

pop-up slides are the least taxing on the body, as opposed to head-first, which are the worst.

[TrojanSkipper]

Have them sit down "indian style" Whichever foot they tuck under is the one they tuck under when they slide.... Don't try to re-invent the wheel and undo their natural reaction.... Not all right handed people jump best off their left leg...