Never done this before: Told a coach to go yell at my partner :D
 

Started my ASA/USA season in Nebraska tonight with a scrimmage. I brought a new umpire with me, and worked some 3 man with my regularly scheduled partner.

In a late inning, my newbie was at U1 and kicked the shit out of a routine play at 1B to end the inning. BR was safe by at least a step, but she called an out. No one said a word...I told the coach, "Hey, we both know she missed that. Go talk to her. Hell, yell at her if you want."

He did. She took it like a much more-seasoned umpire and told him "This is what I got: the ball beat the runner. It's an out" When he persisted with statements, she said "OK, coach. Do you have another question?" Coach did not. My newbie's eyes were the size of teacups.

On the ride home, I told my 13 y/o daughter that it was me who sent the coach across to talk to her. She said "I knew it!!! But I think I missed that one. What should I do if that happens again?" We talked about when to get help and when to just eat one, as it was not the only call she may have been the only one in the park with.

For the record, I would never do this with any other partner or new umpire, unless it was at an umpire camp.

Are you serious????

I am. The U1 was my daughter working maybe the twentieth game of her life, I've known that coach for 15+ years, and this was a scrimmage between two 16U teams from the same club. Both teams were practicing and they knew the umpires were practicing too. My daughter is generally terrified of the unknown (but gets comfortable with things quickly after her first rodeo), so this was a way to have her interact with a coach after a call for the first time in a safe, controlled situation rather than at some tournament this summer with a partner she doesn't know.

As I said, I'd never do this with anyone else unless it was a camp. Opportunities to practice game management are awfully rare, and this was one.

I seem to recall one of those "opportunities" a couple of years ago.....:)

I said "practice"! Not do it on the fly.... :|

Thanks, Andy :D

For what it's worth...this exercise paid off. My rookie umpire called a LOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWW strike 3 this weekend at a 10U tournament. By "LOoooooowww" I mean...it hit the plate. Coach McJerkerson understandably got a little heated. Rookie Umpire was flustered, but she called her partner (not me) in, talked about the situation, and then the Rookie told the coach (paraphrased, since I wasn't on the field) "We hear you, but the pitch was judged a strike and that's what it's going to be." Rookie Umpire's eyes were the size of teacups again through the whole experience.

Lesson #1 in eating one in a real game and moving along. One bad miss in seven games: not a terrible first tournament for a 13-year-old umpire.

I'm glad she has the ability to learn from her mistakes. I've witnessed too many situations where potentially good officials make a mistake and get so beat up about it by coaches and parents that they quit umpiring. We even had a basketball official quit mid-game a few years ago when he was corrected by a fellow official mid-game. He took off his whistle, threw it on the table and walked out.

Update: The young rookie umpire worked with me again tonight. 12U this time, she was a little nervous. Luckily we had good teams, so the plate work was easy. Solid plate game, and a hammer signal so crisp and by the book that I wish that I could emulate it.

She booted a couple, as we all do in our first years. A semi-close play at first was missed....in favor of the team that desperately needed the help. :D No one said a word. She also forgot that a caught ball (and subsequent live-ball appeal on the runner) is the same as a force out, not a tag play. R1 on 3B, line drive to F1, and quick throw to F5 at 3B.

Mechanically, she made a great call: good timing, good positioning at almost 90 to the runner (bonus for having the awareness to come inside to the baseline on this play!), a point (double bonus!!), and a loud-enough verbal "No tag - Safe!". Buuuuuuuuutttttt......the runner was definitely out. Even Blind Grandma in the stands could have made the call. We could have gotten that right even with a one-man crew.

I wasn't going to bail her out, but Rookie called me over as soon as she finished the call and asked a great question: "Dad, that's an appeal, right? I think I missed it."

I said, "Yup. Do you know how to fix it?"

She said "Point at the runner and give an out signal?"

:D I think with a few more years under her belt, she's gonna do just fine.

Edit to add: her eyes were NOT the size of teacups this time.

fortunately, it wasnt a tanked judgement call that we all beat ourselves up over, but merely a rules-interp situation that's easily fixed with no sour grapes on either side.

I really wish I started that young. But at that age, I didnt have a 12 year old daughter whose mom was her coach (who needed a dad to umpire a game)...

You will be sure she knows the difference about force out, right. ;)

Right....I again should have known to use more precise language. "Live-ball appeals for leaving base before a batted fly ball is touched can be made by tagging the base while in possession of the ball, in the same manner that force outs can be made." :D