Preparing a newcomer to umpire.....

[Rog]

If an 18 year old former LL and JV player came to you wanting to be come an umpire, what would you suggest they do to prepare themselves?????

[Jim Porter]

Originally posted by Rog
If an 18 year old former LL and JV player came to you wanting to be come an umpire, what would you suggest they do to prepare themselves?????

Geez, Rog, has he got several dozen years?

The first thing I'd do is get him a membership to eUmpire.com. (grin)

Then, I'd start him off reading the rulebook. Tell him to read it day and night, night and day. Keep a copy on the bedstand, keep a copy in the john, take a copy with him everywhere so he can read it every chance he gets. On the subway, on the bus, in a car - - everywhere.

Next, I'd get his butt to a baseball field to teach him basic mechanics. Show him where to stand, and tell him why he's standing there. I'd go over making calls, and positioning, and catch coverage.

I'd also go over plate mechanics briefly. Show him the different stances, tell him which is expected of him at higher levels. I'd go over tracking and timing, opening the gate, point-of-plate, and every other aspect that I can think of.

Then, I'd drive him to a local clinic, where he can learn more about the rules, base mechanics, and plate mechanics. I'd introduce him to assignors, and get him to join an association.

From there, the work continues. He'd have to be introduced to the NAPBL (now PBUC) Manual, Jaksa/Roder, Jim Evans Annotated, and other books covering the history and evolution of the Official Baseball Rules (no FED in my state - that makes my job easier.)

He'd also need to be better trained in all the facets, from polishing his movements and mechanics on the bases, to getting him cage time with a video camera for his plate work. I'd recommend a school or multi-day clinic.

I'd take him with me to every function. I'd introduce him to all the important people. I'd make sure he had a helping hand every step of the way.

Welcome to the world of mentoring, Rog.

[PeteBooth]

Originally posted by Rog

If an 18 year old former LL and JV player came to you wanting to be come an umpire, what would you suggest they do to prepare themselves?????

18 huh - I do not know about you but at that age I was interested in only one thing - ok ok I'm not going there.

Jim P has given you good advice on the mentoring procedure, I will add this:

Rather than join an association first, I recommend that he get his feet wet and start umpiring at your local LL Organization. My mentor told me that if you can umpire in LL, you can umpire anywhere. In LL you will see all these types of unusual plays we discuss here on the internet that you probably will not see anywhere else.

By being exposed to these unusual type plays, it FORCES one to read the book.

Also, since he is young, you really do not know if he will actually like umpiring, that's why it's good to join an LL organization and learn the ropes. Also, you do not have to spend BIG Bucks at the very beginning. Most LL organizations supply the umpires equipment.

As with all things in life - start out slow to see if you actually like something, then proceed.

Pete Booth

[Jim Porter]

Originally posted by PeteBooth
Rather than join an association first, I recommend that he get his feet wet and start umpiring at your local LL Organization.

Hmmmmmmm, misunderstanding.

The local associations around here do cover Little League. For the most part, you can be in an association around here from Little League Minors right up to MSBL, and everything in between. All that and you pay the same association dues every year - handy, eh?

I s'pose it don't work that way elswhere.

[mikesears]

Would you recommend the same process for a 31 (or is that 32) year old guy who has just started umpiring. I ask because that would describe me.

[Jim Porter]

Originally posted by mikesears
Would you recommend the same process for a 31 (or is that 32) year old guy who has just started umpiring. I ask because that would describe me.

Ahhhhhh, '69 was a good year, wasn't it? (That was the year I was born, too.)

Yes, the process would be the same. I would work with you the same way as an 18-year-old.

Age is all in the head anyways. (Alright, sometimes its in the back, knees, wrists...)

[JJ]

Two great bits of advice for ANYONE starting out (I was 31 when I started, too, and I've progressed to a D2 College World Series and a full time D1 conference schedule) -
1. Go to a camp or clinic and pay attention, then follow that with a review in a mechanics book. The stuff in the book will make a lot more sense when you've worked on it in a clinic.
2. Find an umpire that is good and follow him to a few games - TO WATCH. Watch where he goes when the ball is hit, watch where he is when there are runners on, watch where he is when there are NO runners on, watch how he deals with coaches and players, watch his signals, watch how he communicates with his partner, watch his timing, watch what he does when the ball is hit on the ground, watch what he does when it's hit in the air, watch how he handles checkswings, watch him watching base tagups and touches, watch where he watches them from, watch where he goes between innings, watch how he inspects equipment during the pregame. TAKE NOTES! Then after the game ask him why he did the things he did that you didn't understand. Then go to another clinic and you'll be astounded how it falls into place.
From there it's "get out there" time - and ask your partner to watch you! Then ask him for a critique. Then see #1 above.