Quote:
Originally Posted by johnnyg08
I was told by Evans that what is covered in the manual is "basically" what's covered in umpire school. I'm not saying nor did he say it replaces Umpire School by any means but for the guys who will never attend the Academy or any of his 1 week camps...this will be an excellent tool for training and development. The comments seem to support it. I would say that even though you attended the academy...a person may have finished at the bottom of the class and would also benefit from the manual...it's never bad to brush up and relearn/review concepts. It also helps to have an authorative document to support local training as well. That's my .02
|
it is "basically" what is taught at the school, with some other things thrown in as well. you have to keep in mind that what is taught at the schools can vary a bit each year as they are tailored to what PBUC wants. while jim may not agree with things that PBUC changes and tinkers with, he has to keep up to speed with them because the bottom line is that he is training guys that are trying to get to PBUC's evaluation course.
there is stuff in the book that jim believes in and would teach at school if it didn't differ from what PBUC wanted, and that is the stuff that i was referring to when i said there is "some other stuff thrown in there as well." while the book is fantastic in it's comprehensive coverage of the 2 man system, it could NEVER replace the learning experience that is attending the 5 week school. for those guys that have read the book already, imagine being able to go page by page through that book and have each thing demonstrated to you by the MiLB guys on jim's staff, then drilled on the field (you would likely get 2 or 3 reps, but you would SEE 100+ reps and be able to learn from others as they make mistakes or do things right) with their supervision and instruction, and then applied through game type situations.
that is what the 5 week school is all about. it starts with the very basic stuff and progresses through to the very difficult stuff, but each and every step is broken down, taught, demonstrated, and drilled...and each new step builds on the step before it. if you can afford both the personal and financial sacrifice it takes to attend the 5 week school, you will be an entirely different umpire upon completion. and that goes for all levels and ages. from the mouth (or fingers as the case may be) of a former instructor, i can tell you with absolute conviction that the staff at jimmy's has great respect for older umpires that attend the school with no aspirations of going to PBUC, and are simply there to better themselves as officials. every student gets the same training, same attention, and same level of commitment from the staff...whether they are there looking for a job or not.
that is all.