Mid-American Umpire Clinic Registrations

[MidAmUmp]

There are still a few spots available for the Mid-American Umpire Clinic, Sept. 4-7 in Springfield, Missouri.  We have waived the late registration fee, so tuition is only $200.00.  Umpire-Empire Premium Members & past/present members of our armed forces receive $20 off registration.

 

Act fast before the clinic is sold out again this year!

 

http://www.midamericanumpireclinic.com/home.html

[MidAmUmp]

Correction - $25 off for U-E Premium Members and current/former military.

[GreyhoundAggie]

MidAm,

 

What's the earliest I would be able to get out of there on Sunday? I am thinking about driving up from Fort Worth and it's ~7 hrs if I decide to come.

 

Thanks.

[MidAmUmp]

We could actually arrange it where you work all your innings on Saturday and you could get on the road at your convenience on Sunday. Or if you want to work Sunday, Sunday, Sunday you could probably be on the road by 12:00.

[GreyhoundAggie]

That would be great either way. I really want to come and I think it would be a great clinic.

 

Are you one of the instructors by the way?

[MidAmUmp]

That would be great either way. I really want to come and I think it would be a great clinic.

 

Are you one of the instructors by the way?

Yes.  I stand up there and act like I know what I'm doing.  Don't set your expectations of me too high.  I usually speak during the naptime portion of the clinic.  

[GreyhoundAggie]

Alright. I am registered to come. Looking forward to it.

[hillbillyump]

Yes it is naptime when he talks.   Nap and see what it costs!!!!

[mjr_2013]

"Mr. Mid American, may I use the bathroom please?"

 

Sorry, just practicing.

[MidAmUmp]

"Mr. Mid American, may I use the bathroom please?"

Sorry, just practicing.

Bring me a beer on your way back.

[ricka56]

Though this was my first "real" clinic and I don't have anything to compare it to, I give this clinic (Sept 4-7) a thumbs up...worth the time and expense. 

[JasonPalo]

Looking to attend next year

[acpar72]

Though this was my first "real" clinic and I don't have anything to compare it to, I give this clinic (Sept 4-7) a thumbs up...worth the time and expense. 

Tell us more.

[ricka56]

 

Tell us more.

 

OK...I’ll write a review (by far my longest U-E post ever).

 

And speaking of reviews, in every training course that I can remember ever giving/taking, the presenter(s) ask for feedback through an evaluation process. No evaluation of the clinic was requested. I don’t know if this is an oversight or a lack of caring of the opinion of the campers. But, I’ll give my unsolicited review...for what its worth.  

 

I was impressed by the number of college level staff members at the clinic. There were probably no fewer than 8 staffers present at all times. All seemed well qualified to be on the staff.   

 

The campers had a wide range of skill levels at this clinic and staffers seemed to know what level of individual instruction was appropriate for the skill level of the camper.

 

Thursday/Friday classroom discussions were well organized and well presented. There were learning opportunities lost due to technical difficulties with the many of video clips, which was disappointing. I have had experience presenting when I was using local (not my own) electronic equipment and had technical issues. These can sometimes be avoided if you have enough time to thoroughly check the presentation on the equipment to be used. Perhaps a thumb-drive back-up of the presentation would have overcome this glitch in the presentation. But overall, the presentation was a success, IMO.

 

Friday AM, we lined up to do mechanics drill (outs/safes/time/FF). Some of the staffers walked in the lines and helped make corrections, but other staffers were just spectators. Then we broke into two groups of 25 campers, one for plate mechanics, the other for base mechanics. With as many staffers as there were, it seemed inefficient to have only two groups going. Most of the time we were just standing around...too much standing around, IMO.

 

Friday PM, again, a very inefficient learning environment (one group of 50 campers), IMO. Staffers manned defensive positions while 2 campers at a time worked one play. Later they let the 2 campers work 3 or 4 plays, but this only decreased the throughput. Most campers only worked one minute of drill/exercise for the 3 hours we were out there. With as many staffers present, I would suggest getting some temporary bases, breaking the campers into 3 or 4 groups, let the campers rotate through the defensive positions as well as the umpire positions, and run the exercises in all 4 corners of the ballpark (4 groups) to increase the throughput and keep everyone engaged. Our standing in line for 3 hours left us to our own devices. There was a dozen conversations going on in line, and though they were mostly umpire related, it was not conducive to learning.

 

Saturday we were schedules to work local games at 4-5 sites. But we woke up to rain and most games were delayed. At least one field was lost for the day and I don’t know if those campers got to work at all. Weather can create problems for a 4-day clinic. Reserving back-up indoor facilities may be cost preventative, but it would be good to be able to fill the time on rainy days better than we did.

 

Our Saturday games started on time and it turned into a perfect day to work baseball. We had two staffers on-hand (plate/base evaluators) giving feedback in between inning (sometimes in between pitches). This exercise made the whole trip worthwhile for me. When we weren’t on the field, we hung out with the staffers as they evaluated those on the field getting more insight into what they were looking for.

 

Sunday we had fewer fields, so we had more staffers on-hand at each one. One of them found a fundamental mistake that I was making in my infield ground-ball positioning...a bad habit that’s gonna take some work to fix. Again, a very positive learning experience on both the plate and base assignments. Though we only got to work one inning in each position on Sunday, there was plenty of learning opportunities whether you were on the field or obversing. My only suggestion would be to have the staffers invite those that weren’t on-field to obverse the observers...(“quietly†watching what the evaluators were making note of...without talking to the staffers too much, so as not to disrupt their evaluation work of the on-field umpire).

 

Overall, I would recommend this clinic to others.  

[MidAmUmp]

Normally I wouldn't rebuttal but I will answer some "issues" brought up in this review...

 

 

OK...I’ll write a review (by far my longest U-E post ever).

 

And speaking of reviews, in every training course that I can remember ever giving/taking, the presenter(s) ask for feedback through an evaluation process. No evaluation of the clinic was requested. I don’t know if this is an oversight or a lack of caring of the opinion of the campers. But, I’ll give my unsolicited review...for what its worth.

 

I specifically asked for feedback Thursday evening at the opening session and again Sunday morning at our closing session.  I also sent a follow up e-mail yesterday to all the campers asking for their feedback.  

 

I was impressed by the number of college level staff members at the clinic. There were probably no fewer than 8 staffers present at all times. All seemed well qualified to be on the staff.   

 

The campers had a wide range of skill levels at this clinic and staffers seemed to know what level of individual instruction was appropriate for the skill level of the camper.

 

Thursday/Friday classroom discussions were well organized and well presented. There were learning opportunities lost due to technical difficulties with the many of video clips, which was disappointing. I have had experience presenting when I was using local (not my own) electronic equipment and had technical issues. These can sometimes be avoided if you have enough time to thoroughly check the presentation on the equipment to be used. Perhaps a thumb-drive back-up of the presentation would have overcome this glitch in the presentation. But overall, the presentation was a success, IMO.

 

 

Yes, something went wrong with my personal computer during the presentation Thursday evening.  It worked fine when we set up that afternoon (so yes, we did have enough time to thoroughly check everything), but sometimes things go haywire at the last minute and that's what happened and my laptop is still acting up.  Everything will be fixed next year.

 

Friday AM, we lined up to do mechanics drill (outs/safes/time/FF). Some of the staffers walked in the lines and helped make corrections, but other staffers were just spectators. Then we broke into two groups of 25 campers, one for plate mechanics, the other for base mechanics. With as many staffers as there were, it seemed inefficient to have only two groups going. Most of the time we were just standing around...too much standing around, IMO.

 

 

There is a concept all camps used called: "Learning in line".  You learn more standing in line - if you pay attention instead of grabassing.  Could we split up the groups and send some to the outfield? Probably, but then the complaint will be - we can't visualize the plate circle, the base cutouts, etc.  It's been tried before...very unsuccessfully.

 

Friday PM, again, a very inefficient learning environment (one group of 50 campers), IMO. Staffers manned defensive positions while 2 campers at a time worked one play. Later they let the 2 campers work 3 or 4 plays, but this only decreased the throughput. Most campers only worked one minute of drill/exercise for the 3 hours we were out there. With as many staffers present, I would suggest getting some temporary bases, breaking the campers into 3 or 4 groups, let the campers rotate through the defensive positions as well as the umpire positions, and run the exercises in all 4 corners of the ballpark (4 groups) to increase the throughput and keep everyone engaged. Our standing in line for 3 hours left us to our own devices. There was a dozen conversations going on in line, and though they were mostly umpire related, it was not conducive to learning.

 

Ditto...

 

Saturday we were schedules to work local games at 4-5 sites. But we woke up to rain and most games were delayed. At least one field was lost for the day and I don’t know if those campers got to work at all. Weather can create problems for a 4-day clinic. Reserving back-up indoor facilities may be cost preventative, but it would be good to be able to fill the time on rainy days better than we did.

 

We had a back up plan - Classroom Breakout Sessions & Hammon's Field (AA Ballpark) Indoor Facility.  Both were used and the group who lost their early game learned a lot during those sessions (by their own admission).  Games were added that evening and no one lost games.

 

Our Saturday games started on time and it turned into a perfect day to work baseball. We had two staffers on-hand (plate/base evaluators) giving feedback in between inning (sometimes in between pitches). This exercise made the whole trip worthwhile for me. When we weren’t on the field, we hung out with the staffers as they evaluated those on the field getting more insight into what they were looking for.

 

Sunday we had fewer fields, so we had more staffers on-hand at each one. One of them found a fundamental mistake that I was making in my infield ground-ball positioning...a bad habit that’s gonna take some work to fix. Again, a very positive learning experience on both the plate and base assignments. Though we only got to work one inning in each position on Sunday, there was plenty of learning opportunities whether you were on the field or obversing. My only suggestion would be to have the staffers invite those that weren’t on-field to obverse the observers...(“quietly†watching what the evaluators were making note of...without talking to the staffers too much, so as not to disrupt their evaluation work of the on-field umpire).

If a camper wants to sit with the instructors, they simply need to ask.  No invitation is necessary.

 

Overall, I would recommend this clinic to others.