Failure to Slide

[DG]

[QUOTE=PeteBooth]

If you want to explain the rule to an 11 yr. old then explain by example. If you can get a tape of what Pete Rose did to Ray Fosse, then show it to him and say

You CANNOT do that or any other violent collission we had in the past regarding plays at the plate.

I have two great videos of maliciouis collision at the plate, one when my son (the catcher) was 10 and another when we was 11. These were in Bambino games (Babe Ruth Ripken division was formerly called Babe Ruth Bambino division) at a time when Babe Ruth did not have a malicious contact rule. I wrote Babe Ruth baseball on the subject and included the videos. A couple years later the rule was added to all divisions. I will never know if my letter and videos had any impact on that decision but I hope they did.

11 year olds can definitely be taught what not to do even without videos. By nature they want to avoid malicious contact. They would have to be coached to do it. Teaching them not to do it is easy..