umpiring at a higher level

[Stan W]

I thought I would pass on an experience I had this past weekend. It all came about from advice on
this and other boards that if you wanted to move to a higher level contact the coaches and offer to do some
scrimmages...ect.."get your name out"...I have umpired youth ball from 8-16 and FED ball..I had
always wanted to try and move up to the JC or college levels, but time and opportunity never came
about..I was asked by a local coach to do a game between a travel team of High School age players
and a Baseball Academy team of college bound seniors and a handful of recently signed rookie
leaguers.....older team to use wood only..younger to use aluminum...but other than that straight
OBR...I wont bore you with the details of the game, but it was a great experience....teams were
good, level of play was good....it was a real eye opening experience for me...its not enough to just
pass the test....the speed of the pitching was far greater than anything I was ever accustomed
to....the pace of the game, the gamesmanship, the term "keep your eye everlastingly on the ball"
never had more signifigance.....mistakes in mechanics hurt you tremendously in the speed of this
game....it did expose some glaring weakness in my game ability....fortunately noone seemed to notice
my errors...only beef seemed to be that the HS team thought my zone was too low and the College
age thought it was too wide.....how do I know this..? I asked each team after the game was
over....now I dont know if I will move up to that level, but at least now I know what I need to expect
from the game and myself if I do.....

[cmcallm]

Now that you know a few more strengths and weaknesses of your game, investigate a few camps and find one that fits. You'll be surprised how fast you can pick things up - and try them without getting in s***. ALWAYS try to go to a camp that videotapes - it really is true that a picture is worth a thousand words!

[cmcallm]

Almost forgot - check out my personal website for more end of the year info. http://www.4umpires.com.

[PeteBooth]

Stan, others have given you good advice, I'll just add this.

I do not know about your area, but summer / fall ball in my area is big. Our association services; a collegiate wood bat league / men's over 30 leagues / Legion / 18 and under / 16 and under / 14 and under plus various tournaments. Plenty of baseball.

Obviously attend the clinics and pass the test for HS certification, but if you want experience, find an assignor or 2 that handles summer / fall ball, there you will get plenty of experience.

Except for the collegiate wood bat league, I have not umpired at the collegiate level. In inquiring about it from others who I know, again all depends upon your area that you live in - Umpiring at the collegiate level requires a great deal of travel, therefore, examine your personal committments first.

For me with my work schedule, I umpire roughly 75 - 95 games a year which is plenty for me. My daughter plays HS Softball and my young son is in LL so other than umpiring I
have some personal committments.

In summary, (1) attend a clinic (2) pass the HS certification exam and (3) umpire summer / fall ball.
After that take a look at your own personal circumstance and see if umpiring at the collegiate level fits your schedule.


Pete Booth

[Stan W]

Thanks Pete for the info.........just as an aside, I have passed the HS exam a few years ago, but my work schedule (like yours) does not make it financially feasable to umpire many Hs games....oh I fill in now and then when my assignor gets in a jam and my boss can flex my time...but on the whole....I just get to watch the last few innings..like you,.. my kids.....son HS baseball and a daughter in middle school softball certainly keeps my schedule from entertaining a serious move up.
My Association covers youth ball from 8-12, Pony league 13-14, Colt 15-16, HS, American Legion, and a semi pro county league 18-?.
I umpire 40-50 games a year, mostly summmer+fall youth ball since these are the games that start around 6pm, or on weekends........ I seriously doubt any move up can occur with my present circumstances, but it was nice to know I can handle it if I could.......

[cmcallm]

That has always been motivation for me that I pass along to new umpires - you can move up fast if you're available (of course, you still have to do the job!). I tell the new guys that when word gets out that you umpire, your phone will ring: The first question will be, "Are you available?", and the second question will be, "Are you any good?". If you answer "Yes" to the first question, they won't care what you answer to the second...