Changing Direction Quickly: Understanding The 5/10/5 Drill

The Importance of Acceleration and Change of Direction in Baseball

In baseball, the longest straight sprint is just 90 feet between bases. Defenders often run only half that distance during a play. Because of this, the ability to accelerate and change direction quickly is essential for every player, regardless of position. These fast, reactive movements are key skills and should remain a major focus in player development.

Why Quickness Matters on the Field

Players who can accelerate, decelerate, and accelerate again gain a clear edge on the field. For infielders and outfielders, coaches must assess how fast they sprint toward the ball, stop to field it, and then make an accurate throw. For baserunners, quick starts and stops are equally crucial. Whether stealing a base, advancing from first to third, or navigating a rundown, explosive movement often makes the difference between success and failure.

How Coaches Measure Quickness: The 5/10/5 Drill

To measure these critical abilities, many coaches rely on the well-established 5/10/5 drill. This simple test provides consistent insight into a player’s change-of-direction speed.

Traditional Setup and Its Limitations

Traditionally, coaches set up two cones ten yards apart, with a starting point five yards from each cone. On the coach’s signal, the player runs to one cone, touches it, turns around, sprints to the opposite cone, touches that, and finishes through the starting point. The coach manually times the drill using a stopwatch and calculates the final time.

Although this method is straightforward and widely used, it has drawbacks. Timing by hand introduces variability, and evaluating reaction speed becomes difficult. As a result, many coaches now turn to modern technology for greater precision.

Pison’s Tech-Driven Approach to the 5/10/5 Drill

Pison enhances the drill with wearable technology and an intuitive mobile app. The athlete wears a wrist device, and the starting point features a Pison-powered base. In the Pison BASEBALL Pro app, the coach initiates the drill. When the athlete begins to move, the system detects it and starts the timer instantly.

Next, the player sprints five yards to one cone, taps it, then runs ten yards to the opposite cone, and finally returns to the base. This final motion stops the timer automatically. The app instantly displays the 5/10/5 time on the coach’s phone. Once the rep ends, the time is stored on the BASEBALL Pro dashboard.

By automating the process, Pison eliminates human error and improves both timing accuracy and efficiency.

Advanced Features for Training and Fair Play

Additionally, athletes can launch training sessions directly from the app. They can track performance over time and upload results to a personal database. This allows them to monitor progress, identify trends, and compare scores against teammates and competitors.

Moreover, athletes can benchmark their results against averages for higher-level players, setting clear goals for improvement. To maintain fairness, teams can assign “trusted” users to verify training sessions before uploading results. This system discourages cheating and ensures that reported times remain accurate.

Altogether, these features provide a transparent and reliable framework for measuring athletic performance.

Setting a New Standard in Baseball Performance Testing

Thanks to Pison, baseball coaches and scouts now have a powerful, technology-driven tool for assessing quickness. With real-time feedback and precise metrics, they can accurately evaluate a player’s ability to accelerate, decelerate, and change direction. As a result, Pison is setting a new standard for speed measurement in baseball.