|
I would suggest getting with the Tournament Director and discussing things that are outside your responsibility, but would make your job easier. One in particular is infield practice order and the amount of time alloted to each of them. He needs to cover that in his portion of the meeting. Ask the TD about your supply of baseballs. Some tournaments require the teams to furnish a certain number of baseballs each game. If that is the case in this tournament, he needs to make sure the coaches know. You should not have to argue with the coaches about baseballs. The TD also needs to let them know if they will have responsibility for retrieving foul balls on their side.
Another problem that occasionally arises is the reporting of substitutes. Coaches are often used to reporting changes to the scorer and bypassing the umpire. Make sure everyone understands how that will work in your tournament.
The location of the on-deck batter is something that can cause confusion at a tournament. Sometimes there is not enough room for them to stay safely on their side of the field. Discussing that with everyone in attendance can eliminate delays during the game.
If at all possible, have your umpires at the meeting. Nothing is more embarrassing than having all the coaches on the same page regarding an issue, but the umpire does something different.
Congratulations on the assignment! Hope it goes smoothly!
|