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.