Why Little League?

Jon, you are absolutely right! Great post and very instructive.

For my own teams, I publish a team manual that I distribute to players each season. Included is a section on double steal defenses. We tell the kids from the get go that we will contest every steal attempt. The kids are taught six different plays that are signaled in game situations by the field coach.

The results are great! We usually get an out at some base more than 50% of the time. Even if an out is not made, a message is sent to the other dugout. Some teams adjust to the defenses by curtailing their running game. Others will go to the delayed steal to see if we can shut that down. 10 year olds have no problem executing these plays.

The kids really like being aggressive on defense. As you indicated, employing a good strategy really helps the catcher and middle fielders develop essential position skills. It also keeps the outfielders alert, because they have to look for the play (signal) and move to the backup spots.