Homerun Plays

Youth Defensive Plays

Help & Guide

What is this app?

Homerun Plays is a free teaching tool for youth coaches and players ages 6+. It shows how the defense moves on common balls in play — who is on the Ball, who covers a Base, and who is the Backup. It runs entirely in your browser: offline after the first load, no account, no server.

Getting started

  1. Open the Plays tab and pick a play from the library, or
  2. On the Field tab, set hit type and runners, tap the field for a target, then press Hit.

Either way, the defense animates and the job table under the field explains each player’s role.

Have an idea? Use the 💡 Suggestion button in the header.

Using the Field tab

  • Tap fair territory to set where the ball goes (marker for fly/pop/line; direction for grounders and bunts).
  • Drag fielder tokens to tweak starting spots.
  • Hit resolves jobs and animates the play.
  • Play / Pause replays or freezes the current animation.
  • Reset positions restores the active alignment and clears the target.

Colours on the field are teaching colours, not brand colours: red = on the ball, yellow = covering a base, green = backup.

The Play library

Plays are grouped in collapsible categories (Ground Balls, Bunts, Flies, and more). Each play shows a one-line plain-language description of what happens and what the defense is trying to do. Tap a play to load it on the Field and watch it run. Spot a play that looks wrong? Use Report an issue with a play on the Field tab.

The Lingo tab

The Lingo tab is a dugout dictionary — plain-language translations of the terms, cues, and chatter coaches use constantly. Search or browse by category (hitting, baserunning, fielding, pitching, rules, and bench talk). Each entry says what the coach actually wants, why it matters, and flags youth-rule differences or contested cues. Optional Read (MLB glossary) and Watch (YouTube) links need a connection; the definitions themselves work offline.

Coach tools

The Coach tab is for team setup and homework:

  • Field dimensions — switch youth basepath/fence presets.
  • Alignment — Standard, Infield In, Double-Play Depth, Bunt Defense, and outfield depth.
  • Custom plays — save a setup from the Field for your team.
  • Homework playlists — sequence plays for practice or take-home review.
  • Import / Export — back up or share custom plays and playlists as JSON.

📲 Add to your Home Screen

Install this app so it opens full-screen, without the browser bar — just like a native app.

On iPhone/iPad (Safari):

  1. Tap the Share icon in Safari's toolbar.
  2. Scroll down and tap Add to Home Screen.
  3. Tap Add — the app icon now appears on your Home Screen and opens full-screen, without the browser bar.

On Mac (Safari):

  1. Click the Share icon in Safari's toolbar (or use the File menu).
  2. Choose Add to Dock.
  3. The app now opens from your Dock in its own window, like a native app.