My 2015 Umpiring Resolutions

[teebob21]

I've been working on a list of things to work on in the coming year, and I thought I'd share for feedback.

1. Have a more thorough pre- and postgame discussion with my partners.
I picked up a good checklist at the last clinic I attended. My current pre/postgame routine is poor at best.

2. Change my "Jackie Chan kung-fu punch" sell out mechanic to something closer to what one might call the "NCAA whack".
My natural sell out mechanic is reach way back and punch straight ahead, directly at the play along my line of sight. It has always left my feet in poor position as I tend to throw my weight too far forward. I have to step back away from the play, rather than towards it. I believe slowly changing to a mechanic with more lateral and less forward motion will put me in a better position to take that final forward step back into the set position, and be better prepared for another play.

3. Develop a better pre-pitch preparation for both 2-man and 3-man bases.
Two man is so routine that I can usually simply react to the play and be where I need to be. Not good - time to turn my brain back on. I don't work enough 3-man, so every pitch and situation I'm racking my brain to remember rotation, fly ball and tag-up coverages. I need to start thinking more between pitches in 2-man and less in 3-man. Time to get in the CCA manual.

4. Ball status. Ball status again. Ball status x3.
I had the luxury of working with good partners all last year, and I got in a bad habit of turning my eyes away from a ball that could have become live while I moved into my next position.

5. Lose 20 pounds.
The game continues to get quicker, and I continue to get slower and fatter. Time to turn that around. I'm too out of shape to comfortably work heel-toe in ASA for more than a game or two. Plus, I won't have to buy bigger pants for the first time in three years.

6. Start taking notes on the field, and logging my games.
It's hard enough sometimes to remember how many outs there are, let alone a weird deviation that came up in the first inning of a doubleheader. If I write it down, I can remember. If I can remember, I can learn from it.

What are your 2015 umpiring resolutions?