Situation 6: The Frozen Runner The Problem: You are standing on first base after a teammate hits the ball. You freeze up and stay glued to your base, missing a wide-open chance to run safely to second base because you weren't watching the defense. The Solution: Base runners need to use smart decision-making and aggressive, swift running to figure out the right time to advance. * Question: What should a base runner look for before deciding whether it is safe to sprint to the next base?

A base runner should look for the location of the ball and the positions and actions of the defensive players before deciding to sprint to the next base. Specifically, they should observe: Where the ball is: Is it in the infield or outfield? Is it being thrown? Which fielder has the ball: Is it an infielder or outfielder? Where the fielders are positioned: Are they covering the bases? Are they out of position? What the fielders are doing: Are they looking at the runner? Are they throwing the ball? Are they off-balance or distracted? Signals from their coach: The coach often has a better overall view of the play.