Teaching the Rim
 

Just wondering. . . Are high school chapters in your areas teaching and/or allowing rimming mechanics or are you using the book/ASA button-hook?

We are relatively small compared to many other high school chapters; however, we have had our fair share of NCAA officials who swear by the rim, and a few years ago we started teaching the mechanics to our higher-end officials.

We refer to it as working "smarter" and push the principle of knowing ball status at all times.

We believe we have been successful in improving our level of competency.

Just wondering what other chapters are doing out there . . .

A HS officiating group was doing that a few years ago and was ORDERED to stop or lose their allotment to the playoffs.

Personally, I don't buy into the premise of it being a smarter or that it provides anyone with a better idea of the ball's status.

I like to button hook for one simple reason: I can see the ball coming in from outfield. I've seen a few times the base ump get plunked in the noggin. No thanks

How do you not see the ball rimming? Clearly they aren't doing it right.

At our NFHS clinic we were reminded that we are NOT NCAA or ASA or any other of the alphabet soup of sanctions. We have an Umpires' Manual and we are to use those mechanics.

That said, we have numerous guys who prefer "doing their own thing", be it "working the outside", calling "baseball strikes", or whatever. Several (but not all) of these types are always quick to point out that they do "college ball" and tend to look down their noses at officials who do not work NCAA. They won't work the NFHS mechanics unless they're being evaluated. Uppity so and sos.

Explain it to me. I had not heard of it before this thread and thought I had figured it out, bc it sounds, to me, like just staying outside the diamond I.e. Around the "rim" of the dirt. That was my thought but I really don't know what it is.

Working from the outside is an approved mechanic in Arizona HS play. I may be wrong, but I think this was written by Emily Alexander. It is a good basic summary of the concepts of staying out on a ball hit to the outfield.

http://www.ahssug.org/documents/rule...he-diamond.pdf

Take a look at the article below. It's quite helpful. I would say that rimming had been around a long time, though just more widely accepted in the last ten years or so. The whole idea is to keep all the elements in your view, never turning your back to the ball and never being in line with a throw.

Think of it along the same lines as you would handle a pick-off or steal with R1 on 1st base only. Initially move out about twenty feet from 1st (same as general starting position with R1 at time of pitch) and let her push you toward 2nd or back to 1st. Don't be stagnant.

I get that you can see the ball better in LF by moving parallel to 1st-2nd line instead of an immediate button-hook, but you must be inside for the play coming in. There is no need to turn in away from the ball toward 1st, then continue to a 360 for the play. However, evaluations. :rolleyes:

NFHS Mechanics = ASA Mechanics.

I agree. For a while we used to be shown the ASA DVD on mechanics. Apparently NFHS is creating some of their own multi-media stuff now.

The emphasis was because people would often preface a comment or question with "In ASA we do..."

Even when someone tries to clarify a subtle difference between ASA/NFHS rules, they could be shut down. "We don't care what ASA does!" (EG keeping one foot in the batter's box between pitches; withdrawing the bat on a bunt attempt.)

But many of us work both sanctions and it helps to know the differences and which hat is currently on your head.

Those are rule differences, not mechanics.

I think I said that, star.

Our state director of NFHS umpiring- who also happens to be on the ASA national umpire staff- is fond of telling us that "NFHS and ASA mechanics are identical".

We are told that all the time also. We are also told the rules are the same, only to find out that is not true in a number of situations.