Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Tim C
. . . and therein lies the "internet" problem with umpires:
At 11 years old you were not umpiring. It doesn't count on your resume and, in my personal opinion, shouldn't even be considered as "umpiring."
We get guys all the time that say they have "14 years experience" and we find that they are 21 years old. Something doesn't fly.
This is one of the reasons that I "hold in contempt" small diamond umpires.
Regards,
|
Tim,
Was I a great ump at 11? No, and would never claim to have been so, but I was as good as a lot of guys who had been doing games for years because I had attended the mechanics/rules meetings and always to improve. By the time I was 14 I was doing 80' ball (the local association was so short on guys and a few of the senior guys had watched me do LL games). I started doing 90' ball at age 16. I also got a copy of J/R, Evans, BRD, CCA, and the PBUC manual at that time so I could learn more. Now it did take time to adjust to the move up to big field ball, but I had learned a lot in those 5 years. When I turned 18 I started doing FED ball and was asked to help with rules/mechanics this past year, even though I am only 19.
I think the fact that I am an "internet umpire" shows that I wanted to go out and learn as much as I can. I started surfing these boards when I was 14, although I did not post. I was just trying to absorb as much as I could from individuals such as yourself, Steve, Papa C, and Dave Hensley just to name a few.
I have never, and won't for decades, claim to have a ton of experience. In my book, the ~1000 games I have done (~500 big field) pales in comparison to the 5000+ games that many posters here have called.
JMHO.