Idiosyncrasies with UIC's........how my weekend went

[Gulf Coast Blue]

14U FP State tournament this past weekend...........

Weather was brutal......games were GOOD (maybe even Great).......but I digress......

There were 63 teams and we were spread out between 4 complexes..........(the original scenerio was to be between two 4 field complexes......and the local HS field and the local College Field).......10 fields total.........We wound up playing on 11 fields due to the bad weather......

We had a Tournament UIC and 3 assistants because of the # of fields being played on.........

The UIC assigned to my field commented that he thought my rear foot was a bit too far behind the batter. I retorted that my wide plate stance was what was taught to me at the ASA National School (Wally Sparks, Henry Pollard, etc.)............he said my zone was good.......so don't change anything.......but he had never seen a stance where the rear foot was so far back..........(funny.....he UIC'd a National Invitational that I umpired in last year).........

He again reiterated that my "strike zone" was good.........but I may want to re-think my positioning..........(I pretty much expose myself in the slot........and have what I thought was a pretty good heel to toe position).......but, my rear foot may be behind my front foots heel.......do any of you see any problem with this??

I did not have any UIC's mention this last year..........should I get worried......or snooze it?

Joel

[St. Louis Blue]

I would snooze it. If your zone is good and you dont have any trouble clearing the catcher, I don't see what the problem is. Not everyone does everything exactly the same way. Even in the Bigs where they are trying to clone umpires there is still a large amount of individualism behind the plate.

It sounds like your stance is similar to mine so it must be as close to perfection as can be LOL.

Have fun out there. (keep cool and be careful)

[Larry Wolfe]

I agree zone is most important, but sounds like you have your torso in a twisted position which can't be good on the body and your inner thighs are probably exposed. I find a good slot position does practically eliminate being hit. I notice our guys who are rather tall tend to use a position similar to yours.

Just worked an 85 team tourny, really hot and noticed myself getting disoriented.

Wolfy

[SamNVa]

Larry,

If you find yourself ebcoming disoriented during a game, it is most likely due to dehydration. Most people don't realize that you need to start hydrating your body at least 12 hours before you go out into the heat and then constantly rehydrate during the activity. Whenever I know that I'm going to have a long day in the heat, I always drink at least 32 oz of water, not soda, juice of X-ade. During the game I always take a drink between each half inning whether I felt thirsty or not. By the time you feel thirsty, your body is already water-deficient.

Also, on exceptionally hot days, I use a gadget called a "Kold Kollar". You can find out more about it at this website.

Dura-Kold Products

It costs about $20, but it canreally be a life saver on those 90/90 days.

SamC

[Edited by SamNVa on Jul 10th, 2002 at 10:48 AM]

[Steve M]

Joel,
Your stance has been seen by the national level folks, I would not be concerned with the uic's comments. I went out of town & worked our 18&U A states & ended up working the final. The next week, I went out of town again and did the 18&U A regionals - and my state uic was the tournament uic. His plate stance is a lot different than mine - probably 'cuz he is maybe 5'6" and I'm a bit taller & less "round". He watched me Friday night on the plate & decided that I'd do the plate for the final. Unfortunately, I had to head home Saturday evening so I could go apply a quarterly maint tape in the office on Sunday. He recognized that stance is related to knees & size & all that. He did do a lot of work on one of the guys who had just come back from the advanced national school, 'cuz his plate stance just wasn't right - bent over at the waist rather than squatted.

On another note, working men's majors this past weekend, I got nailed at least 6 times with fouls. Sometimes that happens. I work the slot with a wide stance and don't think I have been hit more than a couple of times all season. At that level, even with all the gear on, the hit is pretty jarring.

And I'm off to a "showcase" invitational this weekend, but I think I'll be there partly to evaluate some other umps.

Steve M

[Andy]

Originally posted by Gulf Coast Blue

I did not have any UIC's mention this last year..........should I get worried......or snooze it?

My philosophy on feedback has always been to listen to it all, try some different things, keep what works, toss out the rest.

Your plate stance works for you, your zone is good, sounds like a good case for "thank you for the feedback" and toss it.

[ntxblue]

Originally posted by Steve M
. . . He did do a lot of work on one of the guys who had just come back from the advanced national school, 'cuz his plate stance just wasn't right - bent over at the waist rather than squatted.

Steve M [/B]

Steve,

That's not how they taught us at advanced school. I was amazed at how many guys/gals paid all that money to "do it their own way". There was one guy who actually slept through the classroom sessions. But he was the first guy in line for drills. He would then proceed to do exactly what they had just told us NOT to do in the classroom. At first it was humorous, but got old real quick. (Your guys name wouldn't happen to be Bill?)

Gary

[Gulf Coast Blue]

Being the geek that I am.........I have re-thought my plate stance about 10,000 times since I drove away from the BBQ lunch Sunday............grin

I can't think of any BAD thing about it except maybe exposing myself a little more than many umpires..........

I like the double wide stance and will continue it.......and I will continue to keep my position so I can get a good look at the plate...........

I did have one interesting conversation with 1 coach this weekend............

Their team had just won a 2-1 ballgame and he asked me where his pitcher was missing on the inside part of the plate...........(the pitcher was absolutely awesome......could have pitched for an 18U team)

I honestly told him that I very likely missed 5-6 pitches in that game..........because his catcher was the "jumpiest girl I have had the pleasure to call behind all year"..........I thought this kid was a cotton-pickin grasshopper......

I told her a couple of times that she might get more pitches if she would come set and keep still, but she continued to move all over the place............(Imagine a jumpy catcher and multiply by 10)........She did however, stop everything that came her way........and her pitcher was "bringing it"...........

Well...........I was soon to find out that the F2 in question was this coaches daughter.........I felt a bit like a heel..........but told him to try and get one of his local umpires to work with her to learn to catch and help the umpire to call "strikes".........(thanks Steve).....

He was at first offended.......but came around after our chat.........

BTW........anyone know how to get BBQ sauce stains out of the mesh ASA shirts...........grin

Joel

[MichaelVA2000]

If you are calling a good zone from your current position, why change what is working well.

Best of luck with your weather out that way.

Michael