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Originally Posted by wadeintothem
I consider NFHS to be mid level at best, and easy to do.. pay your dues, attend a couple of meetings, and go do it. No big deal.
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Wow. Is that really the way they do things in your area? It's quite the opposite here.
(And, no, this isn't a "baseball vs. softball" rant, or an argument why one is better than the other. I do both, enjoy both and try to do each with the proper mechanics and guidelines provided for either.)
Around these parts, the FED baseball and softball groups are two separate entities. If you're doing baseball, attendance is mandatory for at least eight two-hour meetings and a field clinic. Your first year, you must pass the FED test with a minimum of 80% or you'll never step foot on the field.
Your first year will be sub-varsity games only. Your second year requires more mandatory classroom time, another test (this one closed-book), another passing score and another field clinic to advance. Before getting your first varsity games you must schedule and pass a "live" game evaluation performed by two senior members of the local association.
In short, it takes a lot more than "paying your dues and going to a couple meetings" to get assigned to FED baseball in this area. And there's no getting certified for both FED baseball and softball in one association. If you want to do softball, too, then you have to go through a similar process with a different group.
I wish that our local ASA group had half as much training. They truly are closer to "pay and show up". You need only attend two meetings and pay your dues to get put on the field. The ASA test is not required and neither are any local clinics or evaluations. (We do happen to have the National Umpire School coming to our state this year and I hope to avail myself of that opportunity.)
Then there are the other "alphabet soups" playing one form of ball or the other- NSA, USSA, PONY, LL, etc.- which truly are "pay and you're in", with no training or testing required at all.
Baseball or softball- for me, neither is better than the other. But the training and certification for baseball in this area far exceeds anything that is offered for softball. Only FED softball comes close, and ASA is a very distant third.