ASA umpire obstruction?

[Steve M]

Joel,
Betcha don't make that one again...
Here's what I try to do while in A - watch the ball just long enough to see that it's not likely to be a trouble ball that I should go out on. Then cut to inside of diamond, if a really fast runner, I may "rim" towards 2B 3-4 strides and then loop into infield behind the runner going into 2B (assuming no play at 2B - if play at 2B, I'll continue to rim & take positon outside for the call). Once I'm inside the diamond, I'll turn & run backwards to where I need to be for a call at 3B. By April/May, I'm conditioned enough that nobody will outrun me - even running bacwards - when I get inside the diamond. Running backwards allows me to watch the runner and glance to see where the ball is. I use my senses to know where F5 & F6 are so I don't get into a wreck. I was once an extremely well-trained martial artist, so my senses are still a bit more active than the average person's are.