NFHS Equipment Inspections

[UmpireErnie]

Originally Posted by BretMan

I'm about a dozen games into the high school season and, so far, I have heard some variation of this phrase from three or four of my partners: "We're not allowed to go into the dugouts anymore".

The rule says that the umpires aren't "required" to go into the dugouts to check equipment. Somehow that's getting translated into "dugouts verboten!". I haven't seen anything that makes a dugout off limits to us.

This is a good example of something a coach may say that a good official simply can "fail to hear". With the equipment inspection taking place outside the team area now there is very little reason for us to be in there anyhow. Outside of sitting in an empty dugout waiting on team playing on another field or the occasional field that requires passing thru the team area to exit the field why would you need to go in there? And since you don't need to go in there why let it be a thing with a coach. That just starts the game off on edge for no reason.