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Umpires need to be sharp on penalty enforcement. Youre going to be the one who makes sure the W.H. gets it right so make the All But One your best friend. I also found that Its VERY important to always be aware of the down and distance. My biggest mistake in a game was when I bee-bopped over to the ball which was just outside the hash, and picked it up to move it inside when it was forth and inches. The W.H. came up and quietly told me Just put it down. A made the line to gain by an inch or so. I think 8^). After that, when A was close the LTG, you could find me at the bottom of the pile gluing the ball to the turf in case we need to measure. Of course this didnt happen in a pee-wee game with a dozen or so Moms watching .It just happened to be the IWFL Championship game where EVERONE seen my goof. I was fined a pitcher of suds for my mistake.
Besides getting to wear two down indicators you also get to wear two whistles. Youll want a whistle on a lanyard that you keep in your mouth until the snap, and a finger whistle to blow (if necessary) to let players know the play is over. At least this is what I was told to do. What I found was I hardly ever blow either whistle when working Ump. Plus, I was so used to using my lanyard whistle Ive yet to blow the finger whistle at all. Im thinking about going with just the finger until I get used to using it. Any thoughts from you more experienced Umps about this?
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