But that may give you a limited view or options on a straight in play or when you have a smart catcher (granted, many of them are not) who doesn't reach for a tag

I was wondering how many posts it would take for someone to catch that.

it also can give you a better look at OBS and ATR or not with respect to positioning of the runner and catcher. if catcher doesn't reach for a tag, then its a matter of blocking the plate.

Another clinician and I spent a 1/2 hour last night at a nearby clinic demonstrating calling positions for plays at the plate. We explained when should we use 1BLE and when should we use 3BLE; where we need to be in order to be able to adjust to either of these positions.

I am a big proponent of 3BLE. The number of times a catcher swipes a tag far outnumbers how many times she has the ball and the runner slides in. I have the numbers and photos to prove it.

With that said, even I wouldn't use 3BLE in this case. I would have been in the wedge and then rotated out two steps to get onto 1BLE. If there were to be a swipe tag possible, it would have to be on the runner's backside, which 3BLE is not designed to cover.

While you may use 3blx for college ball, the initial statement in this thread was using it as a preferred default. That (as a default) is NOT supported by the NCAA, and Big Slick is correct in his statement.

The NCAA mechanic is point-of-plate as the standard default, and then adjusting to the play to use whatever positioning allows you to see what is necessary.

As others have noted, there are times when 3blx is clearly NOT the place to be, when the catcher is set up to block the plate and the runner slides straight in; you cannot see if the runner reached the plate, and even have a poor position to judge obstruction (if contact occured before about-to-receive). On the other hand, 1blx is a bad place to be when the throw pulls the catcher deep and the runner then slides to the front side; and is weaker than 3blx when the runner slides to back door.

Each play is different; point-of-plate allows the most adjustments as the play develops.

What I was really trying to/should have said in my post....so thanks for saying it better than I did.
Trust me, any time I'm able to catch a live stream replay of any of my college games I always see myself having had a couple of "WTF were you thinking/doing on that play" 'cringe' moments that make me say to myself, "I've got to work on/not let that happen again." You hate watching yourself at times but that's the beauty of video as a tool to catch your missteps.

Here's why....

There were runners on first and second, and a hit to the outfield.
In NCAA 2 umpire mechanics, proper coverage has the PU (based on how he reads the play) doing one of the following:
[] "Immediately moving to the holding area in foul territory between home and third base OR
[] If you read that there is no possible play at 3b on the lead runner but a good chance for a play at home plate:
-Move to the point-of-the-plate
-Read the throw and the catcher, adjust to the play".

(P.317 2014 CCA Manual)

Pretty much what has already been posted by BigSlick and AtlUmpSteve.

My 'young pup' days are a long way behind me, but if I feel my age and wear tear dictate that I have to cut some corners on proper mechanics when I work a college DH, then that's when I have to be honest with myself and call it quits working NCAA.

I prefer 3blx over 1blx the majority of the time.

But how to recover ?

How many plays do you miss when you "cut some corners"?

At the collegiate level, where a majority of plays seem to be back door slides, that is a statement with which I could agree. But at an observation and evaluation level, we need to train ourselves to start point-of-plate and let the play tell us where we need to be to best call it.

On this play from the video, I have to believe that 1blx was much more helpful in seeing the ball arrive and the runner's actions going into the collision. If 3blx on this play, you would know the runner didn't change her path, and that the catcher drifted back to the runner's path, but you would then have to see through the catcher to see the arms come up, and have no information if she drove through with the arms or simply used them to protect herself.

I am confident that an NCAA evaluator would tell you that you weren't in the best position for this play if you defaulted to your preference.

And if the catcher holds the ball and makes the tag, you may not see that from 3blx which is what I have seen that bothers me the most.

POP is our holding position.