My son

[dddunn3d]

My son is 13, has been playing ball of some sort for eight years. He has always wanted to umpire, so I told him that this year, after he has some playing experience on a real-size diamond, I would teach him what I know (insert your own joke here).

My question is: How should I go about this endeavor? Where should I start, etc? I have explained some of the more esoteric (to a young player anyway) rules to him as they have happened in his games through the years, so I'm really looking for mechanics education techniques and such.

Thanks much in advance,

dddunn3d

[nickrego]

Well, when I taught my son how to umpire, we started with the rule book. Each night he would read at least 3 sections, then we would discuss them.

Once he knew the rules, we went out to an empty field, and I taught him the base mechanics. We then worked 5 games together, with him on the bases. I had him paying close attention to me, when he wasn't making a call, and my game management. My wife also video taped him, so we could review the game later.

In between games, we went to local Minor league games, and spent most of the game watching and talking about what the umpires were doing, and why.

Then I took him out and taught him plate mechanics. My wife sat on a bucket like a catcher, so I could teach him how to work around the catcher.

Then I taught him the "Art of Calling Pitches", by watching games on TV and at the field.

Then I had him work two games behind the plate. Again, my wife video taped them for review. Then we started alternating working the plate and bases for the rest of the summer.

My son was a senior in HS, and becoming a certified Babe Ruth Umpire was his senior project. The following season, he started working JV HS level, and has turned it into quite an excellent money maker, while he is in college. He has also added basketball to his officiating.

The funny thing is, he had played baseball basically his entire life, and 'thought' he knew the rules, until he actually read them.

[SanDiegoSteve]

Originally Posted by dddunn3d

My son is 13, has been playing ball of some sort for eight years. He has always wanted to umpire, so I told him that this year, after he has some playing experience on a real-size diamond, I would teach him what I know (insert your own joke here).

Inserting joke: So, what you're saying is that it didn't take long, right?

[DG]

Originally Posted by nickrego

Well, when I taught my son how to umpire, we started with the rule book. Each night he would read at least 3 sections, then we would discuss them.

Once he knew the rules, we went out to an empty field, and I taught him the base mechanics. We then worked 5 games together, with him on the bases. I had him paying close attention to me, when he wasn't making a call, and my game management. My wife also video taped him, so we could review the game later.

In between games, we went to local Minor league games, and spent most of the game watching and talking about what the umpires were doing, and why.

Then I took him out and taught him plate mechanics. My wife sat on a bucket like a catcher, so I could teach him how to work around the catcher.

Then I taught him the "Art of Calling Pitches", by watching games on TV and at the field.

Then I had him work two games behind the plate. Again, my wife video taped them for review. Then we started alternating working the plate and bases for the rest of the summer.

My son was a senior in HS, and becoming a certified Babe Ruth Umpire was his senior project. The following season, he started working JV HS level, and has turned it into quite an excellent money maker, while he is in college. He has also added basketball to his officiating.

The funny thing is, he had played baseball basically his entire life, and 'thought' he knew the rules, until he actually read them.

Great story, great plan and extremely unusual wife participation, but you were teaching a HS senior and ddd is wanting to teach a 13 year old, and there is a world of difference.

[kylejt]

I teach 11/12 year olds down at the local LL fields. I've got about two dozen in a program right now, and we've been doing this for six years. If you've got a local LL program with a Junior umpire program, I HIGHLY recommend going this route.

If you're on the west coast, LL offers a Junior umpire camp at it's HQ in San Bernadino this June. It mirrors the adult school, lasts one week, and is very well run. It's $275, and I'm sending four kids there through our league. There's nothing like this anywhere.

I've found that kids these age have a pretty short attention span. An hour of classroom is the limit. In the winter (San Diego winter), I'll teach for an hour, and then we hit the field and work games. Each week we build on rules and mechanics, and after 10 weeks these kids are ready to go for the regular season.