Interesting Kickball Rule You Should Be Aware Of

 

When it comes to Kickball and Kickball Rules you have the Official WAKA Rules and then you have various park districts and church leagues as well as pickup games where rules may vary. In several leagues I've played in there's an interesting rule having to do with foul balls. You should be aware of this rule should you're league have it and it's a good thing to look into or ask about when starting a new Kickball League. 

According to the Official WAKA Rules if a batter kicks a foul ball and the player tries to field it and drops it, it's a foul ball just as it would be in Baseball or Softball. An interesting rule I've seen in a number of leagues however is if a fielder attempts to catch a foul ball and winds up dropping it, the ball is now in play. 

Now personally I'm not a fan of this rule, however what this rule means for play and for the game is that fielders should be very careful in deciding whether to field a foul ball or not. Foul balls can be difficult to field as players are often having to run to get the ball, the ball may be near the backstop or first or third base fences, and overall it can just be a more difficult ball to play and field. Should you wind up dropping it you're likely away from other fielders where you won't have any help and the ball could easily get away and lead to the other team taking several bases. While I wouldn't caution teams not to field foul balls, be very strategic when fielding them. How confident are you that you can catch the ball? If you drop the ball how far away is it going to get from you. Does the other team have players on base who can advance or are you just dealing with the batter? These are all things to consider if fielding foul balls in a league with this rule. 

What Kind of Cleats to Buy for Kickball? Soccer Cleats Vs. Football Cleats

While Kickball is a fun and fast growing sport, it's not quite big enough yet to where sports equipment brands are making kickball shoes. That may not be the case forever though as tons of brands are rushing into the Pickleball space and we never would have foreseen that happening. Anyhow, many Kickball players like to wear cleats, especially on dirt or gravel fields where tennis shoes have no traction. Our choices as Kickball players are basically soccer cleats, football cleats, or baseball cleats. In today's post we're going to examine what is the best cleat to buy and wear for kickball.

So first off, most baseball cleats are made out of metal and are going to be out, not only are they not allowed in most kickball leagues but they're unnecessary and potentially dangerous. That leaves us with soccer cleats and football cleats. When I purchased my first set of cleats for kickball I was tempted to go with a football cleat as I felt they offered more ankle support, however there's one huge flaw in kickball cleats, they have a toe cleat which could stick in the dirt and cause you to trip, or worse injure your foot.

We've discussed in other posts how to properly kick a kickball, how to kick bouncing pitches, and how to kick grounders or keep the ball low kicking groundballs and line drives. To do so you want to extend your foot to provide a flat surface and kick with your laces. If you attempted to do this with a football cleat there's a good chance your cleat would wind up catching and sticking, and you'd either wind up best case tripping and falling on your face, or worst case injuring your leg.

If you're looking to pickup a pair of cleats for kickball make them soccer cleats. Checkout the pair below as it's our favorite pair of soccer cleats for kickball and they're quite affordable as well. 

BUY DREAM PAIRS KICKBALL CLEATS

Safety Bases in Kickball Help Minimize Collissions

 It's only been in the past year or two that I've begun to see safety bases on Kickball fields, although since we kickball players typically play on Baseball or Softball fields, I should should say they've become more prominent on youth baseball and softball fields.

A safety base or safety bag is an orange base connected to the standard white base on a baseball/softball/kickball field. The first basemen uses the white bag inside the foul line while the baserunner uses the orange bag outside the foul line. Having a safety base helps to minimize the chance of collisions between first basemen or and baserunners. 

While these safety bases were actually designed for the baseball and softball games typically played on the field, they actually are as helpful if not more helpful for kickball. With baseball or softball it's typically fairly easy for a second basemen, shortstop, third basemen or pitcher to make an accurate throw to the bag, and because of the size of the ball, the fact the first basemen is wearing a glove, and the nature of the sport the first basemen typically one toe on the bag while stretching to catch the throw to first. 

In kickball however the ball is large and clunky, its more difficult to get a targeted throw on first, and again because of the nature of the ball a first basemen or whomever is covering first typically has to catch the ball two handed. The first basemen also typically isn't stretching for the ball, they're much more likely to be pretty squarely on first base. This leads to a much higher chance of collisions.

For this reason, if you're fortunate enough to play on a baseball or softball field which has a safety base its much safer for all players on the field. 

If you run a kickball league or are involved in the park district, local church, of whatever organization manages and upkeeps your fields it's pretty easy to add a safety base. A floating safety base which is fastened down with stakes typically runs about $50, where as a real or true first base with ground pegs will run a little under $100. These are very easy to install and make play on the field for all sports much safer. 

BUY A KICKBALL SAFETY BASE FOR YOUR FIELD

100+ Funny Names for Your Kickball Team

So you've got a group of friends together and you've joined a Kickball League. One of the funnest parts of kickball outside of playing is coming up with a team name. Now I'd encourage you to try to come up with your own before borrowing one from this list, it's often fun to come up with a name that reflects your group or is an inside joke between you and your friends. However if you're struggling to come up with a name we've put together a list of over 100 Kickball Team Names for your team.

1. Recess Rejects

2. Kick Tease

3. The Kickin' Chickens

4. Puntastic Players

5. Kick Don't Kill My Vibe

6. Booty Bouncers

7. We've Got The Runs

8. Recess All Stars

9. New Kicks on the Block

10. Natural Born Kickers

11. Alive and Kicking

12. Toe Jammers

13. Kick the Habit

14. Kick Addicts

15. Pitches Be Crazy

16. Bouncy Balls

17. Ace of 2nd Base

18. We Came We Saw We Kicked

19. Recreational Hazards

20. Fresh Prince of Ball Air

21. The Ballbarians

22. Slim Kickers

23. Swift Kickers

24. Kick It & Bounce

25. Suns Out Guns Out

26. Leg Day Legends

27. Grass Stain Gang

28. Sassy Kickers

29. The Kickaholics

30. Rolling Rubber

31. The Spin Masters

32. The Kicking Koalas

33. Sir Kicks Alot

34. Kickin Up Dust

35. Kickin It Old School

36. The Kick Whisperers

37. Punt Monkeys

38. Swift Swervers

39. Skeet Skeet Kick Kick

40. No Mercy Just Kicks

41. Twinkle Toes

42. Kickball Kings

43. Kickball Queens

44. The Goal Gurus

45. The Cleat Crushers

46. The Cleat Chameleons

47. The Toe Tappers

48. Balls Deep

49. Alcoballics

50. Baller Status

51. Kick It & Quit It

52. 2 Kick Chumps

53. Our Kicks Don't Lie

54. The Tar Balls

55. Saved By The Ball

56. Scared Kickless

57. Risky Ballness

58. The Sick Kicks

59. Recess Gods

60. Life's a Pitch

61. Dream Crushers

62. Sit On My Base

63. Free Ballers

64. The Dropkick Murphys

65. Drunk Again

66. Cups In Hand

67. Sons of Pitches

68. Balls to the Walls

69. The Toe Squad

70. Ballsagna

71. The Blue Balls

72. The Rubber Rockets

73. The Rubber Cannons

74. After School Special

75. The Special Editions

76. Kick Some DIrt

77. Brews on First

78. Beantown

79. Pitches Love Me

80. We're Probably Drunk

81. Kicks R For Kids

82. Kicks R Us

83. Balls On Fire

84. Fondle My Balls

85. 4th Base

86. Deep Kickers

87. The Nut Shots

88. Flat Footers

89. Ball and Dolls

90. Rubber Lovers

91. Win or Lose We Still Booze

92. Brew's Your Daddy

93. Chug Norris

94. Drunk Looking to Score

95. Kickleob Ultra

96. Red Balls & Vodka

97. Menace 2 Sobriety

98. 2 Girls 1 Base

99. Dip My Balls

100. Fresh Kicks

101. Foot Clan

102. Prestige Worldwide

103. Dragon Ballsy

104. Jimminy Kickit

105. WAKAholics

How to Kick Bouncy Pitches in Kickball

One of the biggest challenges when it comes to being a batter or kicker playing kickball is keeping the ball on the ground. Fly balls and popups are too easy to catch on such a small field so the name of the game is kicking hard ground balls and low strong line drives. This is challenging under normal circumstances, but becomes even tougher when the pitcher you're facing is pitching bouncing pitches.

Now in most leagues there's a rule the ball can't bounce higher than six inches, though you will find some umps will allow balls to come in nearly knee high and still call strikes. So in this post we're going to talk strategy and technique regarding how to kick against a pitcher who's bouncing the ball at you. 

Move Back in the Box

Moving back in the box may be a strategy for kicking against a bouncy pitcher. This won't always work, at the field I play at the fence / backstop is only a couple feet behind home plate, however if you have the room move back a couple feet behind home plate and give the ball a chance to settle down a little before kicking it. 

Kick the Ball on the Way Down from a Bounce

This is easier said than done, especially if the pitcher is throwing the ball in hard or at a good speed, however try to time your approach and kick so that you're kicking the ball as it's falling towards the grond as opposed to up in the air. 

Kick Leaning Forward Over the Ball

Another strategy for dealing with a pitcher throwing bouncing pitches is to try to lean forward when kicking, some will refer to this as keeping your "t!ts over the ball". When players throw their foot forward and lean their backs backward it tends to send the ball high. The opposite will happen when you keep your chest over the ball or lean forward, it will force you to try to keep the ball on the ground.

Maintain Eye Contact with the Ball

Lastly, maintain eye contact with the ball. This should go without saying, however many players take the their eye off the ball, maintain eye contact with the ball so you can make sure you're kicking the bouncing ball, and also making contact on the area of the ball you want to be hitting ie the upper half of the kickball. 

Kicking with your Shin

This can be tough or challenging to do, however I will say when I make strong contact with my shin I get some of my strongest kicks. When a pitcher is throwing bouncing pitches at you and the umpire is allowing it to happen sometimes you're only option is to kick with your shin.

How to Consistently Kick Line Drives in Kickball

One of the most challenging aspects of kicking a kickball is often keeping the ball on the ground. Unlike baseball where a batter has the ability to really hit the ball far which spreads out the defensive players, in kickball due to the nature of the sport and the size of the ball, most kicked balls rarely make it very far out of the infield. This makes keeping the ball low or keeping the ball on the ground incredibly important as any popup or fly ball is likely going to be caught.

So in today's post we're going to be giving some technique and strategy tips on how to keep the ball low and how to consistently kick line drives and hard grounders which are more likely to get you on base. Fly balls, pop-ups and soft line drives are incredibly easy to catch. By keeping the ball on the ground or kicking hard line drives you're going to force the opposing players to either make a good play on a line drive or field a grounder and make a strong accurate throw to first. When you have runners on base you're also more likely to be able to advance runners even if you windup being thrown out. 

Tips & Techniques for Kicking Line Drives & Ground Balls

Kick the Top of the Ball

Regardless of whether you're bunting, kicking with the side of your foot, or kicking with your laces a sure fire way to keep the ball low or to keep the ball on the ground is by kicking the top of the ball. Popups occur and the ball gets air when you get your foot under the ball or kick the bottom of the ball. Keep your contact with the ball towards the upper half of the ball and chances are you'll wind up kicking a ground ball or a hard line drive. 

Kick with the Laces of your Shoe

A lot of players have a tendency to kick under the ball. When you get under the ball the ball is going to get air. By kicking with the laces of your shoe you're going to be much more likely to kick grounders or line drives. You achieve this by straightening your foot, locking your ankle and trying to make contact on the upper half of the ball with your laces.

Be Planted Over the Ball When Kicking

A lot of players at bat have a tendency to throw their foot out in front of them, get under the ball, and really lift the ball. This the opposite of what we are trying to do if we're trying to keep the ball low or on the ground. When you kick, try to approach the ball, plant your non kicking foot, wait for the ball to be just under your shoulders and center mass, and then kick.

Kick with the Side of your Foot (Instep)

Generally it's a better idea to kick with your laces than your instep. While kicking with one's instep works in soccer, that's a different sport with a soccer ball being more inflated as well as a harder ball kicking with your instep works better. I'm hesitant to recommend kicking with your instep often, however if you really want a lot of control over the ball, kicking with your instep or side of your foot can be effective as you have more surface area on that part of your foot. With these types of kicks you're going for accuracy over power. I recommend this type of kick if you have a runner on second base and want to advance them to third. Having this added control can be a great way to kick a ground ball to the second baseman or first baseman to try to advance a runner. 

Kick with a Short Punt, Not a Hard Kick

One of the best ways to kick the ball fairly hard while keeping it low or on the ground is short punch like kicks, almost like a jab with your foot. Don't wind up, don't follow through too much, address the ball and throw a hard strong, but short kick focusing on kicking with your laces or even your shins. This is a great way to kick hard grounders or hard low line drive up the middle.