GD Stance in Softball??
 

You betcha!!! :D

Since I started using the Gerry Davis stance (for those of you softball-only officials, this stance is best described as "hands-on-upper-knees" set position first devised by MLB umpire Gerry Davis, hence the "GD" stance) in baseball, I've wondered how it would work in the faster pace of fastpitch softball. I had a 12U NSA tournament today and did the first two of four games behind the plate. I have to say the Gerry Davis stance worked quite well.

If we are going to have another long debate about stances, someone please define it better. Meantime, I will use the wide spread, heel-toe, slot, variable squat stance which generates almost no problem with pitch calls.

Not so much a debate, but a personal testimony. A few of the advantages are:

1) Your head is completely locked

2) Greater consistency

3) All the strain is taken off your knees and hip flexors

http://baseball.officiating.com/x/article/2904

I now use the GD stance/system (just going by the descriptions I've read; I did not attend a GD clinic) in NCAA and ASA softball. I would concur that it does have the advantages claimed for it. It works just as well in softball as it does in baseball.

A few weeks ago I worked the NJ state 16u tournament and did the plate in the final game. Some of the state officials told the tournament director (whom I work many games with throughout the season) that I was too far back from the plate. "He can't see the pitch correctly from that distance," etc. However, they did not find fault with any of my calls.

I find that after a game I have fewer calls that I think back on as maybe should have gone the other way. I plan to continue with the GD.

Personally, I don't want an umpire whose head is completely locked. Don't particularly care for the hand placement this position seems to promote. I have found in any mechanical stance, that umpires often begin to set-up based on placing their hands in a certain place as opposed to the batter's strike zone. You also have the injury factor to hands and fingers hit by a pitch or fouled ball.

If that's what you are seeking, fine. I'd rather the umpire be correct.

The wide stance, heel-to-toe mentioned above is equally comfortable and easier on one's back if done correctly. No matter what stance someone uses, if not done correctly, there is going to be some additional physical strain especially on the knees and back.

A half-dozen years or so ago, a member of the NUS took a couple of UICs from his region to Bergen County, NJ for a clinic. They came away somewhat frustrated as many of those at the clinic just could not grasp the part of the mechanic which asks them to keep their back straight and "sit down" into position. Apparently, so many of these umpires were so accustomed to bending down to the top of the strike zone, they just couldn't get the gist of "keeping the back straight".

Even today, what I have found of those who mock this mechanic is they have a picture in their mind that just isn't the mechanic. The "straight back" does mean that you lock your spine in a vertical line like you had a nasty nun standing behind you poised to strike you alongside the head with a ruler.

Not everyone has perfect posture and no one is expecting it to suddenly appear because of an umpiring mechanic. Keeping a straight back means to drop your tail to lower your eyes to the top of the strike zone as opposed to leaning forward to reach that point. It also helps to turn the toes out a little bit to allow the knees to toggle in a more natural position.

But as we have all found in the past, regardless of what I or anyone else believes, if someone gets comfortable with something, no one is going to convince them there is something better and that applies to everyone no matter of the stance being promoted.

I think the GD is a stance that works for some, not all. I dont prefer it. The thing that is going to happen, which is unfortunate IMO, is you would lose out on eval. SB is very rigid in the expectation that you conform to one way. This is where SB falls short compared to BB umpiring.

I got the GD leg guards this year..and found they are very nice (surprise) for using the GD stance...I have found, like others, much less stress on the knees...

I bought them this season, I like em for my regular ole stance as well

I've bought stuff from Gerry Davis in the past - does that count? :D

I once owned a cassette that had "Bette Davis Eyes." Will that count?

(Actually have a pair of GD shoes...)

Mmmm... Bette Davis eyes...

Stop that, I'm at work!

:rolleyes: :(