[UmpJM]

...what do you do?

As many of you already know, I am quite new to umpiring. I worked my first two games of this season on Monday and Tuesday of this week (HS Soph & Frosh, respectively).

Prior to the Monday game, I was as nervous as a Muslim virgin in heaven who has just heard there was another suicide bombing.

I would prefer not to "tip-off" anyone at the game about my relative lack of experience.

What I have done in the handful of games I have worked is:

After the plate conference, as the home team takes the field, I stand on the baseline about a third or half way up the baseline from home. After the starting pitcher has thrown two warm-up pitches, I put on my helmet and get behind the plate, and say somethng innocuous to the catcher as I do ("how you doing today catch?").

I then take two pitches from the RHB "slot", followed by two pitches from the LHB "slot". I then remove my mask and return to the baseline for the pitcher's two remaining warm-up tosses.

I repeat this process as we enter the bottom half of the 1st inning for the Visiting pitcher. Thereafter, I do the same thing each time a new pitcher enters the game (absent the "introduction" to the catcher).

I do this to:

Introduce myself to the catcher & get used to his set up

Get used to picking up the ball from the pitcher's delivery and the idiosyncracies of the "flight path" of his pitches

Get used to the timing of setting for the pitch in rhythm with the pitcher's delivery

Allow the pitcher and catcher to get used to my presence behind the plate.

This particular thing has never really been addressed in any of the training I've had or anything I've read.

So, my question is:

Is this a good thing to do, or something that marks me as a complete "newb" who has never done this sort of thing before? Or, a matter of personal preference or "style"? Or, something else?

How many of you do this, or something similar? How many of you wouldn't be caught dead doing it?

Thank you in advance for your replies.

JM