Quote:
|
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. 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.
|
Okay, you're 26 so Wal-Mart & Sears are out when it comes to apparel. Use one of the links that I sent you in a previous post. At your age, you will need to look the part - you're not a kid anymore in a coach's eyes. You get "sized up" the moment you walk on the field as an umpire.
"Cups are required this year" - Yes, the FED requires that all the a$$holes that didn't wear cups before
have to wear them now. Now I am not doing a cup check on my partner but I always remind my partner to put on a cup when he has the plate. My advice is to purchase
UnderArmor or
Interawear long-johns for the plate. They have a built in cup pocket so you don't have to wear that ridiculous jock strap. The long-johns are used even on the hottest days to keep the body at a constant temperature, pull away the sweat, and add chaffing protection from the shin guard straps.
I also recommend Plate Shoes over steel toe. They are designed for plate work where plain steel toe are designed for regular work. The metatarsal protection is very important because a foul ball there can easily break bones.
The most important thing to remember is this: umpiring is a "side job". When the game is finished, you go home, shower, go to bed and have to report to work tomorrow! Most jobs don't want to hear that you can't come in because you got injured on a baseball field!
Thoughts to Ponder!