First Year Umpire

[jeschmit]

So, I've been reffing basketball and football for about six years now, and my mother (who is a HS softball head coach) persuaded me to get into baseball and softball umpiring. I have read up on a lot of threads about purchasing equipment for this year (big thanks by the way), so I think that I have most of that covered. However, I wanted to ask a lot of you that have been doing this for several years, what else can I do to prepare for my first season on the diamond? I have contacted a local association to get involved with, so that was step one in my book. Anyone got anything for me? What should I expect from this year? What are good ways of getting games this season? Any other tips from the pros? I just want to try and be as prepared as possible this year.