Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Andy
My group does not want the obvious foul balls verbalized or signaled. Now the questions becomes.... define "obvious".
If I remember correctly, NCAA umpire training tried to instill this philosophy a few years ago...don't signal or call the obvious foul balls.
What they found was that the definition of "obvious" varied greatly from umpire to umpire. Coaches were complaining that balls that landed a foot outside the foul lines were not being called or signaled. Again, if I remember correctly, the NCAA umpires manual had to put some verbiage in something like..."any ball that lands within approx four feet of a foul line on either side must be signaled if fair and signaled and verbalized if foul."
So it may be to your benefit to have your group provide some guidelines around what is considered an "obvious" foul ball.
Remember...common sense isn't.....
|
I believe that the NCAA philosophy has trickled down to other associations, where "if it is what we do in college" becomes an assumption of good umpiring. Unfortunately, the trickle down in the attention span of rec coaches and rec umpires doesn't match that thought process.
In NCAA softball, umpires are to take a secondary role to the coaches. The coaches control every aspect of the game, other than judgment and rule applications (although, many or most try to control that, too). Umpires are not to presume to tell players that a ball is foul, or communicate with a player in any way that isn't a required call or signal; because the coaches are the only people allowed to communicate with the players directly. And, if it is obvious, umpires shouldn't presume that the coach is unaware of the obvious. The result is that players often run and slide unnecessarily, but that is what the NCAA coaches want; total control, with subservient umpires.
In most associations, the NCAA umpires are (obviously) the best, the officers, the trainers, or, at least, the role models. This specific example of NCAA mechanics is often
NOT what is best at high school or rec levels; the caliber of players, coaches, and umpires does not lend itself to the same philosophy. These players and coaches need for umpires to be more vocal, more demonstrative, and to protect them from themselves, even. "Obvious" obviously changes with the level of play.
As one who does NCAA, I know I now signal and vocalize less often in other levels of softball; but I do communicate whenever I think I should to benefit the players and coaches. I know it makes it harder to remember to
NOT do it in NCAA, or when being evaluated, but I try to find a middle ground based on the level of ball I am doing.