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Good Day All - Really enjoying this site ladies and gentlemen. Two questions: 1. What recommendations would you have for possible training programs or online training for someone new and umpiring only softball? I see a few out there but unsure what is considered some of the better ones. Should I consider some of the baseball umpire training programs and then ensure I know the differences between baseball and softball? There doesn't seem to be many that are softball specific. Or are the thousands of videos on Youtube a good enough resource for most topics - although I worry about the quality control - does the person really know what they are talking about and is it NFHS compliant as I need? I am very much a hands on/visual learner so reading the NFHS manuals is quite painful and labor intensive for me, although I still am pushing through reading them several times to ensure understanding. 2. Why do plate umpires keep their arms in front of their bodies rather than behind? Assuming there is a good reason for it, why would you not wear any sort of forearm protection or hand protection? I was watching a video of a MLB umpire and he was saying, keep your fingers loose, so if/when you get hit in the hand you will have a less chance of breaking fingers/bones in your hand...hmmm, why wouldn't we just wear some form or protection to this exposed area? I spent 12 years in the service (Go Army!) and sometimes we'd do things just because that's the way it's always been done or simply because we didn't want to look like a wimp, is any of this in play here? Thanks in advance, Pete Necedah, WI

Guys: I thought it appropriate to introduce myself. I've been reading this forum for the past year or so but have only posted a couple of times. I started umpiring when I was a kid a long time ago. I grew up on Cape Cod in a multi-generational baseball family. After undergrad I started coaching baseball and other sports at the youth level. I umpired a few games here and there, mostly when there was no one else to do it, but didn't do much umpiring for about 25 years while I was coaching. My son and his club ball teammates are in college or have graduated so I started working again 18 months ago. I worked 106 games in 2013 and should do about twice that many in 2014. I'm working very hard to be the best umpire possible, studying daily and this forum is a big part of my education. Thank you to everyone that has already helped me get things right and keep games moving smoothly. I look forward to continuing to learn from everyone.