Oooh, oooh, wait! Please don't leave me out of this.
I wasnt leaving you out Mike. Youre a known FED basher and I didnt see any reason to give you any more free
PR.
My surprise was Tom apparently trying to hang on to your coattails.
I will be the first to state that they should get out of the rules business.
Why? Didnt you read what I said? I gave you reasons why the FED rules are better for youth sports. What have you offered as rebuttal to suggest that high school associations should adopt ASA rules? Saying that you dont them is not, in my opinion, a valid argument.
If NFHS got out of the rules business, would they exist anymore? What then? Use MLB rules for high school baseball? NFL rules for high school football? 24 second clock for high school basketball?
Actually I would suggest that ASA get out of youth rules and use the NFHS book for its JO program.
at least in my little section of this country, is that ASA provides 100% of umpire training.
In Michigan the MASA provides one day of mechanics clinics and intro to new rules. It is a quality session, but that is all it is. And the majority of the attention is on slow pitch. Local districts provide a half-day clinic; its OK, but its more of a business meeting than umpire training. Sure, I could drive 400 miles to an ASA national camp; pay an unknown fee (ASA doesnt publish the cost on its website), plus unknown expenses. And still have to put up with the adult slow pitch B.S.
The annual Fed "clinic" is run more for the coaches with the umpires almost as an afterthought.
Surprise Mike NFHS does not do umpire training! They write rules! Their support of umpires is limited to providing rulebooks, casebooks, and umpire manuals, along with interpretations and documentation for rule changes.
State Associations hold annual rules meetings for coaches and umpires to explain new rules. That includes game rules plus school rules, which include player eligibility, number of games, etc. I am sure that most State Associations, like Michigan, provide policy, training, and support to local associations to develop local training classes.
Our local umpires association provides one full day of mechanics training, one full day of intro and basic rules for Rookies, and 10 hours of classroom rules training. Targeted training NFHS rules for high school fast pitch umpires. As a certified high school trainer, I regularly attend ASA clinics and take what I learn there to help me train. But our training focuses on NFHS rules and, as such, is superior to ASA training for our intended purpose training high school umpires. Just like NFHS rules are superior for their intended purpose youth sports.
I put out the time and the money, and the NFHS benefits.
I put out time and money and the
high school athlete benefits. I had the opportunity to play high school athletics because adults put out time and money to be available to officiate my contests. And my children received the same benefit when they went through school, as has the first of my grandchildren.
If you dont like high school sports, so be it. But that doesnt justify this holier than thou attitude that somehow ASA is a superior organization to the NFHS.
WMB
[Edited by WestMichBlue on Nov 3rd, 2004 at 08:45 AM]