Baseball & Softball drill · Baserunning

Rounding the Bases

Why this drill works

Kids run the bases the way the diamond looks: in right angles, decelerating into every bag and re-accelerating out of it. The banana route is the single biggest free speed upgrade in youth baseball, worth a full second per circuit with zero athletic improvement required, and it is entirely a geometry lesson, which means cones teach it better than words. Attaching the third-base coach’s signal to the turn does double duty, building the heads-up habit that separates runners who take extra bases from runners who need permission.

How to coach it

Move the cones, not the mouth: nearly every route fault is fixed by adjusting where the swing-out cone sits for that particular runner. Kill the left-foot superstition early, because kids who stutter-step to engineer the perfect foot lose more than the corner ever gives back. Use the stopwatch as the proof; timing one volunteer on both routes settles the argument for the whole team in thirty seconds. And always end with the relay, since a race that route quality visibly decides is the rare drill finale that teaches harder than the drill.

Ages: 7–13
Skill levels: beginner, developing
Players: 4–16 (ideal 10)
Time: 12 min
Setting: outdoor
Space: Full base path diamond or 60-foot square

The banana route around first base, swinging out at the cone before the bag and cutting the inside corner toward second.

Equipment

4 bases
8 cones
Stopwatch or phone

Setup

A full diamond with bases at age-appropriate distance, plus two cones per base marking the banana route: one cone about 15 feet before each base and 6 feet outside the direct line, showing where the swing-out begins, and one at the base itself. Gather the group at home and teach the turn in three pieces with a slow demonstration: the ROUTE (run straight most of the way, then swing out toward the cone so you can curve back and hit the base already turned toward the next one), the FOOT (touch the inside corner of the bag, left foot when it comes up naturally, but never stutter-step to force it), and the LEAN (drop the inside shoulder into the curve like a bike turn). Contrast it once with the square route, running the right angles, so players see what the banana is replacing.

How to run it

Stage 1, home to second walking: everyone walks the route around first using the cones, feeling the swing-out, the corner touch, and the re-aim at second. Two walking reps, then two at a jog.
Stage 2, three-quarter speed singles-plus: runners go home to second at three-quarter speed one at a time, coach watching only the route shape. The universal fault appears immediately: swinging out too late and ballooning past first into right field. The early swing-out cone is the fix; move it earlier for repeat offenders.
Stage 3, the corner touch: focus reps on hitting the inside corner without breaking stride. No stutter-stepping to engineer the left foot; a smooth right-foot touch beats a choppy left-foot one, and saying so removes the overthinking.
Stage 4, second to home: the same technique around third, where the stakes are runs. Add the coach as a third-base signal: arm circling means GO, hands up means STOP at third, and runners must find the signal as they approach, eyes up out of the turn.
Stage 5, timed full circuit: each runner circles all four bases against the stopwatch, all route cones in place. Announce and record times; the banana route typically saves young runners a second or more versus their square-route instincts, and the watch proves it.
Finish with the around-the-world relay: two teams start at home and second respectively, each runner circling the full diamond before tagging the next. Route quality visibly decides the race, which is the lesson grading itself.

What success looks like

Swing-outs start early enough that runners hit each base already curving toward the next, inside corners get touched at full speed without stutters, eyes come up to find the coach's signal out of the turn at third, and full-circuit times drop as routes tighten. The relay produces visibly banana-shaped racing.

Coaching cues

"Swing out early, cut in close"
"Inside corner, any foot"
"Lean like a bike turn"
"Eyes up out of the turn"

Common mistakes

Swinging out at the base instead of before it, creating a wide balloon past the bag. The early cone placement is the whole cure; route problems get fixed with cones, not lectures.
Stutter-stepping to force the left foot onto the corner. Rhythm beats textbook footwork; a full-speed right-foot touch is correct, and freeing players from the left-foot myth speeds everyone up.
Running the whole route staring at the bases. The third-base signal exists to drag eyes up; add it early for groups that tunnel-vision.

Make it easier or harder

Easier: Shorten base paths, run home-to-second only for the whole session, keep everything at jog speed, and make the corner touch a two-foot-hop game for the very youngest.

Harder: Add a live decision: the coach stands in the outfield holding a ball up (hold at first) or dropping it (take second) as the runner rounds; or race full circuits in direct head-to-head heats on mirrored diamonds.

Adapt it to your team

Small roster: Four players get huge rep volume with no lines; run the relay as individual time trials with each player racing their own previous circuit.

Large roster: Sixteen players split between two focus stations, home-around-first and second-around-third, swapping halfway, then merge for the relay. A parent watches route shape at the second station.

Limited space: A 45-foot square marked anywhere teaches identical technique; the banana route scales down perfectly, and the relay gets louder in smaller spaces, not worse.

Limited equipment: Throw-down bases or flat markers plus any objects as swing-out cones; the stopwatch is a phone, and nothing else is needed.

Safety

One runner per route at a time in the teaching stages, and relay runners tag hands at home rather than diving. Bases must be secured or genuinely flat, since rounding at speed on a sliding throw-down base is the drill's main injury source; test each base with your own foot before the first fast rep. No sliding anywhere in this drill. See the safety page for general guidance.