Baseball5 is a simplified, urban version of baseball promoted by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC). It's played five a side on a small square field, with no bat and no gloves: you hit the ball with your hand. That means you can play it in a school gym, on a school playground or in a courtyard, anywhere a full baseball field won't fit.

For a PE teacher it has a few practical advantages. You need very little kit, the rules can be explained in a few minutes, and with small teams almost every child has something to do all the time. If someone takes to it, it's also a pretty natural way into ordinary baseball.

How the game works

A match lasts five innings. In each one the teams take turns to attack and defend, and a half-inning ends after three outs, just like in "big" baseball. A run is scored by a runner who goes around the bases and reaches home plate.

There's no pitcher. The batter puts the ball into play by hitting it with their hand and immediately runs to first base. The action starts straight away, and someone who has never seen baseball picks up what's going on quickly.

  • The field is square and much smaller than a baseball diamond.
  • You don't need bats or gloves, just a ball and marked bases.
  • Baseball5 was already part of the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires in 2018, which can be a bonus selling point for pupils.

Why it works in PE

Regular baseball needs space, a net, bats and time to teach a safe swing. In a 45-minute lesson that rarely works out. Baseball5 keeps the best bits of the game: running, quick decisions, working together, and the moment when the ball suddenly comes to you.

In a gym it's easy to set out the bases and split the class into several teams. Children who usually stand at the side in other team games get to hit and field regularly here, because their turn keeps coming round. You can raise the difficulty gradually: start with a soft ball and a smaller field, and add fuller rules once the class has settled in.

Equipment and safety

To start you need a Baseball5 ball or another soft ball, four bases or cones, and a flat, non-slip surface. In a gym the lines on the floor help. On asphalt you have to be more careful about footwear and falls.

Hitting with the hand doesn't have to mean chaos, but you do need to show the children how. Before the game we practise how to put the ball into play, how not to run into a classmate who's running, and how to shout "mine" when the ball is within reach of several people. Those same habits will come in useful later on a full field.

A sample lesson

  • a few minutes of warm-up: running, changes of direction, throwing and catching in pairs,
  • a quick demo of the rules: bases, outs, switching sides after an inning,
  • a 5-on-5 mini-game, umpired by the teacher or someone from the class,
  • a second round with an extra task, for example compulsory calls in defence,
  • a moment to sum up: what went well, what we'll improve next time.

Of course that's only a sketch, not a ready-made lesson plan, but it shows that Baseball5 doesn't need a whole sports day. You can fit it into an ordinary PE week.

What we can do for your school

We run workshops for PE teachers, from the rules and safety to ready-made lesson ideas. We can also come and give a demo to a class of your choice, so the pupils can see the game live and the school can check whether the format suits its hall.

Showing baseball outside the club is part of our mission. We'd like more people in Greater Poland to know what the game is about. If a child later wants to train regularly, we'll invite them to a first training session, but that's entirely the family's decision and no condition of working with us.

If you represent a school in Poznań or the surrounding area, write to baseball@goatspoznan.pl. The most useful information is the size of your hall, the number of pupils and the class you'd like to start with. From that we'll work out the scope of the sessions and, if needed, a starter set of equipment.