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NC First Year Umpire


Ricci67
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Hey Guys!

I'm 23 years old and signed up for my first season with my our local high school association. I also signed up with a booking agent that covers rec, travel and showcase ball to try to get more games in. (SWMBO is going to kill me if I keep dropping money before I get paid)

I did 12u and 10u rec ball my Junior and Senior years of high school and am looking forward to getting back into it. I've been reading the forums here and it's been really beneficial. 

Anyways I just wanted to introduce myself here. If any of the vets out there have any tips or sage advice for me I'd love to hear it. Hope everyone has a great season. 

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Welcome aboard.  This is an incredible resource to learn from.  Take advantage of it as much as possible.

I don't know if it a regional thing, but typically, "booking agent" = assigner.  Small thing, but it helps to know the "lingo".

Good luck to you!!!

P.S. - Take SWMBO out for a nice dinner with some of your first game fees.  It helps.

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15 minutes ago, conbo61 said:

Welcome aboard.  This is an incredible resource to learn from.  Take advantage of it as much as possible.

I don't know if it a regional thing, but typically, "booking agent" = assigner.  Small thing, but it helps to know the "lingo".

Good luck to you!!!

P.S. - Take SWMBO out for a nice dinner with some of your first game fees.  It helps.

Thanks. And I definitely will! Forgiveness comes easier than permission right?

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Welcome! Best advice I have to someone in your situation is to save your early game fees to buy *good* gear, if you don't have it already. And then save some back for taxes (don't forget to record your mileage - that adds up).

My umpire fees go into the "fun money" category, with which I take SWMBO out to dinner, etc. Definitely worth it to keep her happy!

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30 minutes ago, kylehutson said:

Welcome! Best advice I have to someone in your situation is to save your early game fees to buy *good* gear, if you don't have it already. And then save some back for taxes (don't forget to record your mileage - that adds up).

My umpire fees go into the "fun money" category, with which I take SWMBO out to dinner, etc. Definitely worth it to keep her happy!

Thanks for the tip. I have Adams all-star mask, shin protectors and chest plate along with 3n2 plate shoes and reebok base shoes. Not great stuff but should work for while. 4 concussions ended my college football career so I'm considering getting a nice hockey style mask sometime soon if you have any suggestions.

As far as mileage goes, what's deductible? It was my understanding that driving from home to the game site didn't count.

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3 minutes ago, Ricci67 said:

I'm considering getting a nice hockey style mask sometime soon if you have any suggestions.

I don't use an HSM, but there's plenty of info on the site if you search for it. Like here, for instance.

6 minutes ago, Ricci67 said:

As far as mileage goes, what's deductible? It was my understanding that driving from home to the game site didn't count.

Absolutely it is, in most cases.*

If you're umpiring as a "regular job" - i.e., they're withholding taxes, paying you on a schedule, giving you a W-2 at the end of the year, have worker's comp insurance for you, *and* are saying "Your regular job site is at the Memorial Baseball Complex" - then you can't deduct mileage, because that's just "commuting". If you're in that situation, and one day they say "we want you to work at the new complex instead of your usual one", you can deduct the mileage to/from the regular site to the other one.

I umpire several places. One of those does pay me on a schedule and withholds, etc. However, there is no "regular site", since I've worked at 3 different locations, somewhat randomly. I deduct mileage to/from those sites.

Everywhere else I work, I'm an independent contractor - they pay me by the game and pay on-site. I deduct all mileage to/from all of those locations.

Oh, and your equipment is all tax deductible on your Schedule C as well.

 

*I'm not a CPA, this shouldn't be taken as "tax advice", yada yada. But it is what those types of people have told me.

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On 1/25/2017 at 6:47 AM, Ricci67 said:

Hey Guys!

I'm 23 years old and signed up for my first season with my our local high school association. I also signed up with a booking agent that covers rec, travel and showcase ball to try to get more games in. (SWMBO is going to kill me if I keep dropping money before I get paid)

I did 12u and 10u rec ball my Junior and Senior years of high school and am looking forward to getting back into it. I've been reading the forums here and it's been really beneficial. 

Anyways I just wanted to introduce myself here. If any of the vets out there have any tips or sage advice for me I'd love to hear it. Hope everyone has a great season. 

Did a little research for you, with the area you are in.

Below is a chart. You will notice the areas and one should stick out for you.

Touch base with this person. I did some research on said person.

Anything you would need to know about baseball umpiring, and I mean anything, could be answered by this individual, or this person has the contacts to find the answer.

And, if this person thinks you got the goods, you can go far.

Nuff said.

http://www.nchsaa.org/officials/regional-supervisors-officials

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53 minutes ago, dumbdumb said:

Did a little research for you, with the area you are in.

Below is a chart. You will notice the areas and one should stick out for you.

Touch base with this person. I did some research on said person.

Anything you would need to know about baseball umpiring, and I mean anything, could be answered by this individual, or this person has the contacts to find the answer.

And, if this person thinks you got the goods, you can go far.

Nuff said.

http://www.nchsaa.org/officials/regional-supervisors-officials

I appreciate it man! I'm signed up with Ron and he's great. A lot of really great guys and training opportunities with the association. They just had an on-field clinic last Saturday instructed by 3 guys in our association that call games for the ACC, MEAC, and Big South. Rain scared some people away so there were only the instructors and about 10 guys there. I'm doing my best to soak it all in and ask the right questions.

Thanks to @kylehutson on the tax advice too. I'm planning on just saving all my receipts (and now recording my mileage) and letting a professional prepare them with me and my wife's other income. I figure he'll know how to squeeze a buck better than I do.

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  • 3 weeks later...
On ‎1‎/‎26‎/‎2017 at 8:48 PM, Ricci67 said:

I appreciate it man! I'm signed up with Ron and he's great. A lot of really great guys and training opportunities with the association. They just had an on-field clinic last Saturday instructed by 3 guys in our association that call games for the ACC, MEAC, and Big South. Rain scared some people away so there were only the instructors and about 10 guys there. I'm doing my best to soak it all in and ask the right questions.

Thanks to @kylehutson on the tax advice too. I'm planning on just saving all my receipts (and now recording my mileage) and letting a professional prepare them with me and my wife's other income. I figure he'll know how to squeeze a buck better than I do.

If you look on the list of regional supervisors that dumbdumb sent you: I would suggest calling Gary Swanson and asking about attending his camp in Charlotte.  It is held every October.  It is not that expensive.  And there are a lot of guys on that regional supervisors list that teach at that camp.  (Not to mention, MiLB evaulators, NCAA supervisors, etc.)  They separate the campers, and you can definitely join the "2-man" mechanics group that focuses on beginning umpires.

Just a suggestion, and I personally think it is a worthwhile camp.  (Of course, I'm biased because I'm an instructor, but that's besides the point.  LOL)

BTW, I'm not a tax attorney, but even a real estate attorney like myself would tell you that the camp's tuition is more than likely tax deductible for you.

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  • 2 weeks later...
Hey Guys!
I'm 23 years old and signed up for my first season with my our local high school association. I also signed up with a booking agent that covers rec, travel and showcase ball to try to get more games in. (SWMBO is going to kill me if I keep dropping money before I get paid)
I did 12u and 10u rec ball my Junior and Senior years of high school and am looking forward to getting back into it. I've been reading the forums here and it's been really beneficial. 
Anyways I just wanted to introduce myself here. If any of the vets out there have any tips or sage advice for me I'd love to hear it. Hope everyone has a great season. 


Hello and welcome!

Just a couple of thoughts for you....depending on what you want to get out of umpiring, set some goals for yourself--realistic, yet challenging. Maybe move up to varsity in a couple of years, attend some clinics, get a mentor, pro school, etc.

Work any game that you can get your hands on (SWMBO of course)....and don't dump a "lower" game to chase a "higher" level--honor your assignments. Those higher games will come. And always go for working the plate. Yes, take breaks from working the plate when needed, but a considerable majority of umpiring skill is learned @ the dish.

Read the rule book. Games are not won/lost on balls/strikes, safe/out, catch/no catch. Yes it's important to have these skills, but often it's the misapplication of the rules. Even 1 hour a day to memorize and also comprehend goes a long way.

Good luck and good baseball to you!!


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