First Game Experience

[Toadman15241]

Originally Posted by tiger49

Steve I agree with both you and Tim. I was one of those who started working games at a very young age (9). I didn't realize what real umpiring was like until I stepped onto a full-size diamond for my first competitive game (college bound seniors) at 15, and was even more in shock doing my first semi-pro game at 17.

Umpiring at a young age (11-15) gives you the basic 90% of the rule book (out/safe, ball/strike, fair/foul) however you don't get a feel for the situations as well as game flow, speed of game etc. that you do at the higher levels.

I would agree that you can not get a feel for game flow and speeed of game until you are doing kids aged 16+. I would, however, disagree about the rule book. I knew that long before I stepped foot onto a big field. Now of course, knowing what a balk is and being able to call it in an instant are two differnt things.