Umpire schools--- advice wanted!!!

[Sfrancis2004]

Hey everyone, Im new to this site but wanted to say hi and give some insite that I have that might be useful in selecting a school. I am a minor league umpire. 2004 was my first year but it took me two shots at school to get in. That is not an uncommon occurance. After working three seasons of independent baseball and my first in the game I can tell you that you will get great instruction from both schools. I feel that the end result of both schools are similar but the path to get there is different. The main difference is that The Evans Academy relies mostly on minor league umpires to staff the school, while Harry's school puts more emphasis on Major League umpires to teach the students. Jim Evans believes that since graduates who get jobs in professional baseball will be placed in the lower minor leagues and will spend the first 6-9 years of their carrer in rookie ball thru AAA, minor league instructors will be most valuable to them. However of course, no one has more knowledge and more success than Major League umpires. And Harry's school has some very talented minor leaguers on staff too. So the decision has to be made only by the individual student. Look at the costs, the training facilities, talk to former students and make your decision. If you have the talent to be a minor league umpire, or the desire and drive to work hard enough for 5 weeks to learn what you need to be at that level, then either school will see you, mold you, and get you into the game.