Gaining 3 person mechanics experience
 

Ok all the questions about 3 person mechanics (even a mention of 4 person, wow!) has got me thinking. How do you get people experience in working these systems? I know the obvious one, work more 3 person games. But $$ come into play on that. I see it everywhere there are people that just don't know these systems and it ends up losing its effectiveness if one partner screws the other two putting them in a worse postion than if they were running a good 2 person crew.

In our area several of us have volunteered to work 3 person for free on nights with no games, but these nights are very rare (the ones who are willing to work for experience only are usually booked) and the ones who are open are not willing to work for free. We have also split 2 checks 3 ways and everyone take a little cut to gain the experience but again people who are willing to share the money are usually also booked. BUT we see every year in the state tournament series, as well as ASA state and National events people who just aren't well versed in 3 person, and to their defense they just don't get to work it very much to get the rust knocked off, or to learn it at all.

Pre-game talks and classroom no doubt helps, but until you get diamond time it doesnt sink in all the way. So what do you all do to get people up to speed??

We do a similar thing in our HS association. We encourage all of our post-season recommended umpires to work in some 3-person games before we get to district playoffs. It requires some sacrifices [especially with the gas prices I paid this morning :eek: ] but it pays off in comfort when the playoffs arrive.

Dave,

You saw the three-man demonstration in the gym at the NUS. It lasted a good fifteen minutes.

You should be an expert by now! :rolleyes:

Go find a fairly decent Mens SP game... or double or triple header...and work it 3-man....LOTS of Rotations, etc....

Different areas seem to provide different opportunities. For example, the Lone Star conference (NCAA DII) use nothing but three person crews now. I know that there are some others, as well.

Also, here, HS use primarily three man, and in some cases four man, crews for their playoffs. There are some who are happy with two man crews, but they are far and away the minority. Also, every weekend tournament in this area uses three person crews for the consolation game and the championship. So, if you lived in north Texas, those would be your opportunities to get experience in three man mechanics.

Sometimes, during scrimmages at the first season, where we don't get paid, some of us will work 3 man just for fun.

At first, work them WITHOUT going out on fly balls, since you already know how to work a two-umpire game.

It's definitely area-dependent ... and umpire numbers and program budgets certainly are factors. My partner last night had worked the Florida-Florida State doubleheader the night before. I asked her who else was on the crew and she told me that they worked two-person! FSU only pays for two umpires for non-conference games ... even for a rivalry game like Gators-Seminoles!

We basically say to our crew that if they want post-season playoffs, state tournaments, ASA nationals, etc, then part of the reward of attaining those goals is the sacrifice made during the season working 3-man for free or reduced game fees. We actually have 1 or 2 weekend tournaments each year where it's expected that anyone who wants to be considered for post-season has to come work for free. The game fees then go to our overall hospitality fund and for paying our evaluators to sit all day and write up evaluations (they get one third of a game fee for each game evaluated), and we put on a big feed for the tournament. In 2006, we had about $1,200 from one of our "evaluation tournaments" from the game fees that went towards umpire hospitality for the ASA/USA 16-A FP National.

Personally I like it. I jump on a 3-man game whenever I can.

1/3 of a game fee for each person evaluated? Wow. Here we just get $25.00 per day/night. No matter how many you evals you do.

I do like the idea of a three man tournament required to work playoffs. I wonder if my board will accept that idea. Currently we are required to attend a 3 man mechanics clinic to be eligible for play-offs. I like the idea of rt work better.