[ENelson]

Oh my what a range of responses here. They are all good resons and are all legitimate.

The post about being trianed first is correct if you are afforded the opportunity and the trainer is qualified. You still can not prove yourself until given the opportunity. You can have good mechanics in the cage and then get a batter\catcher\pitcher and suck. Remember it is only a game. Hopefully you do not affect the outcome. A consitently bad umpire is as good as a consitently good umpire. They will swing the bat and adapt to you.

So doing the plate for the first game? You have 300 pitches to call, batting orders, pregame, and the responsibility of being the Umpire in Chief. I would avoid that situation. But if you do succeed more power to you.

Now starting on the bases. You may have 1 or 2 whackers. (Call it out) The rest is learn the positions and hustle. Relax and take your time. Watch the ball. Glance at the runners. And hopefully your partner is a understaing veteran. We call these guys mentors. With a good mentor you can feel comfortable. Talk to one another between innings.

Remember the most important thing about umpiring. "You may go to class and hear the lecture, you may read the book, you may go on the field and do the drills. You will never learn more than learning from your mistakes". Experiencing errors, close calls, timing, rules. You may question your judgement, you may even miss it. Figure out why and do not do it again. In 20 years you should be pretty good. Again it is a game. You are there to maintain a competitive balance this includes errors.