First College Games
 

After several years doing high school ball, I'm doing my first junior college game this week (2 man). Any advice from you college veterans?

Study/review....
1) The rule differences between NCAA and the other rulesets you may work....NFHS, ASA etc.
2) NCAA two umpire mechanics.

Good luck with your first college assignment.

relax. You have probably seen better ball already.

Be aware of the rule differences

first game
 

Relax and have fun.Absolutely be sharp with your mechanics,I won't mention the rules knowledge again...=·)

Bigdawg beat me to it. I just worked a Juco DH this past weekend, and I've done HS games that are much better played.

We had a leaving base early violation in our game. Runner actually took a legitimate lead off of first base. Surprised my partner so much that he called "Illegal" instead of "Early" on the DDB call.

Other things I've experienced in my four or five years of working Juco in our area:

- Teams are notorious for not being ready for the bat inspection using the NCAA bat list. They show up with old copies of the list, they don't have the lists pre-marked with the bats they have, they mark the list using the list from the last game and now have different bats, etc.

- Know the unreported substitution rules and the penalties. So many coaches don't understand that they must report when a player changes defensive positions.

- You WILL see a fielder obstruct a runner while the runner is rounding a base. Happened to me again this past weekend. Know the implication of that violation (player warning, etc.)

- Don't ask, "Are your players legally and properly equipped" at the plate conference. :o

- There are no courtesy runners in Juco. There are no courtesy runners in Juco. There are no... :o

Most Junior Colleges I see could be beaten by a good U14 travel team.

Working in the same JUCO league...I concur.....

Keep everything at a professional level..no small talk. College coaches aren't your friends, they'll quickly turn on you.

We should be that way at every level except perhaps with rec leagues.

Make sure you review the NCAA strikezone. It is different from what most high school umpires call.

first game
 

Strike zone,great point, its a point of emphasis this year.:)

There, I fixed it for you. :D

Addressing the OP. Yep, it has all been said. Most of the 4 and 5 A ball around here will outdo anything you will see on a JUCO field. Yes, be professional at all times. Yes, JUCO coaches like to think they are in the big leagues. Yes, know your rules, especially the differences in the areas of substitution, conferences...etc.

Is this any different than the other coaches we deal with?

And I just thought this was unique to the JUCO league I work....:D

Everything went fine ... No issues. Thanks for the help.

Great ! :cool: