Quote:
Originally Posted by IRISHMAFIA
I agree and must admit that I am in a prime situation as it pertains to location. Then again, I also have to deal with some umpires who refuse to travel 40 minutes to work a tournament or attend a clinic or school.
However, that is why there are Deputy UICs and local/district/association UICs. The way it is supposed to work is that the state/metro UIC is trained to train other umpires. This is supposed to be the purpose of the Nat. UIC Clinic. In turn, the UIC is to train and provide as much information in a convenient format to the Deputy UICs,et al, to bring that to the local UICs and umpires. In an ideal world, this should mean everyone should be doing making the same calls and rulings from the same position. Then again, in an ideal world......nevermind. 
The problem arises when there is a breakdown in the chain and someone either doesn't do their job or decides that because they disagree or think they know better, this or that is passed along the the local umpire who believes they are getting the same as everyone else.
Granted, I disagree with quite a few things ASA teaches and will voice my concerns. (okay, I know I heard at least a dozen people just say, "no ****!) However, I never hold back anything ASA instructs from any umpire. When an umpire from my area goes away, they have been instructed on everything ASA wants from them.
The primary job of a UIC is not to get umpires prestigious National tournaments, NIF, Elite or whatever. It is to train them well enough to earn those assignments and awards. |
And I consider myself very fortunate to be able to make a local call to our state UIC, not a long distance one. NC ASA is fortunate to have a state UIC who will make the drive himself to hold multiple clinics across the state, directly involving himself with the training of our umpires. The nearest clinic for any NC umpire is about an hour, maybe an hour and a half away. Maybe that's just "part of the job," but it's apparent that there are other organizations where this could be improved. Personally, I think Phil does a tremendous job, which is probably why he was publicly praised at the 2009 UIC Clinic.
ASA has been making some amazing strides into the 21st Century. They're very active on Facebook and Twitter (multiple messages per day on each site). They created a training DVD that is the envy of other organizations, and I've heard that there is another in the works. They certainly still have a ways to go, and I think they could make better use of technology: DVDs, programs on the internet, etc. I'm not sitting by the sidelines, as I've even offered to assist them in this process. This will make it easier to get the message out to the masses and get everyone on board. However, in all, I'm very pleased with the progress ASA has made, even within the last year alone.