Running over a fielder in the base line...

[KC Kings]

At what age do you teach kids to run over a fielder in the base-line, and how do you explain to them how to do it in a sportsmanlike way?

I coached a 8U competitive machine pitch team this past season, and two instances stick out in my mind that I don't want to run into. The first incident, our 1st baseman was barely on the bag and the runner shoved him on his way by. He was either a kid with a 5'6" dad with an little guy complex telling him to do this, or he didn't understand what the coach was teaching him. Either way it was unsportsmanlike and I don't want my boys doing that. The second incident was when we had a runner going from 1st to 2nd and he pulled up to run around the 2nd baseman as the SS was covering the bag and as a result was forced out.

We are playing 9U kid pitch this fall, and it is easy to say "if they are playing competitive, run 'em over", but these are kids just out of 2nd grade. I think that they are ready to learn to run over players in the baseline, but how do you teach them to do that without being a dick?