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I am in no position in my assocation to be training people, but I am somewhat critical of veteran umpires and rookies who have no business being on the field. I feel there is not enough accountability to know the rules inside and out. Now, memorizing the rule book is not important, because a monkey could do that. There needs to be an attempt to know the rules and apply them to situations. I like testing but only if there is accountability behind it to make the people better. I also felt like there is not enough on field work in my association, as people get out there for their first game and have no clue what to do. I think the working with veterans helps, but I find it impossible to put somebody with zero experience into a high school game to "learn on the fly." I would like to see people just watching a veteran crew work a local varsity game every once and a while, to learn before doing. Some people can get thrown into the fire...but not too many without serious mistakes. I like the required class time, as long as it is serious study and discussion, not a bunch of clowns in the back of the room talking about God knows what, that really distracts from the focus of the meeting.
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