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Old Tue Jan 16, 2018, 01:17pm
FormerUmp FormerUmp is offline
In Time Out
 
Join Date: Oct 2017
Posts: 130
I started umpiring baseball when I was 15. 5th and 6th grade summer rec ball. It was the first years of the players pitching. They drew umpire for that level, and typically for 7th grade and even into 8th grade, from the high school baseball teams. We were basically thrown out there with no training, so to have something like this would have been great.

I kept umpiring after high school, primarily at the 8th grade level, for a total umpiring "career" of around 8 years. I got my state certification just after high school to get a little extra per-game pay, but it wasn't until probably year 5 that I started visiting sites like this and Umpire-Empire, ordered my own equipment, and really focused on trying to improve myself and be able to confidently work with and provide some pointers to the younger partners I worked with. Unfortunately I've had some medical issues come up that made continuing on impossible, but I felt really good about how things were headed.

I think that if we would have had some sort of training program in place, things would be better all around. The umpires treat it more seriously instead of an "easy $35-$45" for 2-3 hours of your time, depending on the level. The umpires are more confident in what they're doing. They call a better game. That translates to a better experience for the participants, parents watching, and coaches, although it always seemed like some coaches will never be happy .

Ultimately I think it's a great thing that you're doing and I hope it all works out for the best.
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