Quote:
Originally posted by nickrego
Carl,
I am afraid I am a bit confused
The pictures of the umpire in your article has his knees bent so that his upper thighs are at about a 45 degree angle. I myself found this to be the most comfortable position.
A quote from your article, Part 2;
I experimented with the system for all of August and September (about 35 plate games). After each one I noted my legs and thighs were loose, but my neck ached even though I wore a super light-weight mask.
When I told that to Scott, he chuckled. Thats the one thing you cant see from television. Its why we want the umpire to drop his seat at the time of pitch. That brings his neck up and back. I tried it. No more neck strain.
I just cant imagine keeping my legs straight with my knees locked. I must be misunderstanding something ???
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Nick:
I'm communicaing poorly. What I'm trying to say is that the umpire should adopt the same set position behind the plate that he (often) uses on the bases. (I don't think it's 45 degrees.)
The more you bend the knees, the less you gain the benefit of the set. Put it this way: We're taught to use the "standing set position" for calls on the bases. That position is also the one used by the heel/toe slot umpire.
That kind of umpire is bending his knees at 45 degrees.
Dropping the seat, as I indicated, is needed
at the beginning of your adopting GD
only if you're experiencing neck strain. After a time, you won't need that.
In short: Your knees
are bent, but
you don't bend them. I hope I'm getting through better now. The angle is the one that occurs naturally when you lean over to rest your hands on your knees.
You might also want to widen your stance, which will help you find the comfort zone. Let me know if I'm making any better sense.