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Originally Posted by blindofficial
Well I'm 26. I've played all my life (not in college though). My goals would be to make it the big leagues.
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Then start saving your money and clearing your calendar for Proschool next January/February. The five week course usually begins near the first of the shortly after the first and runs through the first week of February. By the time you pay for school, lodging, a meal plan and airfare, you've invested around $4,000.
Don't worry about not having a lot of experience prior to school. Some of the instructors consider that a plus, since you haven't picked up a lot of bad habits. But get a hard start on the rule book.
Although they can't come right out and say it, there is a bias towards youth in baseball umpiring. It takes between 7 and 11 years or so to move up through the ranks to the Majors, and if you go by what they do and not what they say, it appears that they like their new MLB umpires to be around 35 to 38 years old. That said, a 42 year old was an honor grad this year and will be attending PBUC, the second stage of the training and selection process. That is the exception that proves the rule.
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I belong to the local high school association. I've watched some training videos via online. I love the game of baseball. I don't pretend to know all, because I know I don't.
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No one here knows it all. And those of us who did, have forgotten some.
Some training videos are excellent, such as Jim Evans Pitching Regulatons. Some are crap, like "See a balk, Call a Balk."
Loving the game is irrelevant. It won't help you and at times, it can cause despair as you see how some treat it. But remember, if coaches and players didn't lie and cheat, there'd be no need for umpires.
Good luck.