umpire's lineup card

[TimTaylor]

Originally posted by newkidonthenet
I'm new! Because of overlapping for switches, I'm having a lot of trouble keeping track of the lineup after rotations. I wonder if other umpires are having this trouble, or if they ignore it because of more "important" considerations, or if it's really an experience thing that will come EVENTUALLY, or if there's a lineup card system that can really clarify this for me. Thanks for input!

Short answer - it will come in time. Face it, the umpire's job is like eating an elephant - the only way to do it without choking is a fork-full at a time.

That said, there are some things you can do to help it along. With respect to a lineup card system, the most important thing is to find something that works for you. My advice would be to keep it as simple as possible.

Another thing I'd suggest is to watch as many matches as possible when you're not officiating. Try keeping a lineup card & look for the switches & overlaps - learn to recognize the patterns. It's a lot easier to see when you don't have to deal with all the other stuff the umpire is responsible for.