Tips?

[HokieUmp 387]

Someone earlier mentioned being put out for softball, being told "it's just like baseball. No sweat." I know that's bad of the assignor, but here's the thing:

It's about to happen to me.

As I mentioned in another post, I'm looking at my baseball career coming to a screeching halt. There's just not that much baseball as part of the US bases here, and the local Japanese leagues don't seem interested in a gaijin umpire. So I told the assignor - who does both - that if he needed the bodies, I was willing to help.

Well, he needs the bodies. And it turns out, for the weekend tournament at this base, he's putting 3 guys on the field.

Here's the thing: I've done about three games in my career with 3-man mechanics. And they were all in baseball.

So. Anyone out there that would like to point me to a website that might show softball 3-man mechanics - that I can learn IN FOUR DAYS!!?!? - I'd really appreciate it.

Thanks.

[mstaylor 1,511]

I will check but I can't imagine three man softball is all that different than baseball except you are outside the infield. C is a little wierd, it is further over toward third. I would go with baseball three man, key off your partners and play plug a hole.

[LMSANS 541]

checkout www.softball.org It is the ASA site. I haven't had time to search, but there should be mechanics information and there used to be something about "military umpires".

[MT_Blue 12]

LMSans points to the ASA site, and they really do have a great series of tools for mechanics, i think its actually up to something like 6 dvd's now that is soley based upon mechanics. in reality that is where i learned most of my 3 man mechanics... but there are also other resources such as power points etc that come from that site. Also (and this really goes without saying) read through their rules, i know for me i do both ASA and HS FP during the same general time frame so its good to know the difference between the two should some truely strange situation come up....

anyway thats my thoughts

Happy Hunting,

Ken

[HokieUmp 387]

checkout www.softball.org It is the ASA site. I haven't had time to search, but there should be mechanics information and there used to be something about "military umpires".

I did that, and it was all about what the fees where for being ASA certified if you were a military umpire. I had better luck just running regular Google searches.

[sdix00 682]

Post what you find.

I am sure there are several of us who occasionally trip and fall in to a softball game every now and then.

[MT_Blue 12]

this is the link to their 'training' tab but from there, there are videos etc...http://www.officialgear.com/shop.asp?t=c&id=c3444&pid=UMP~680

[HokieUmp 387]

Post what you find.

I am sure there are several of us who occasionally trip and fall in to a softball game every now and then.

Ran the query again (using "fast pitch softball umpire mechanics" on the Google machine). TOP link:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/25378728/2010-Girls-Fastpitch-Softball-Umpires-Manual

also used:

http://www.azsoftball.org/misc/2006/Misc/05.softball.umpire.rulebook.pdf (Old book, but there was a mechanics section waaaaaaay down at the bottom of this file.

After I found some of those things, I basically stopped: the tournament was in about 2 days, as it was, and I knew if I had too much to look at, I'd probably get overwhelmed. So I mostly just went out there and umpired like a baseball guy. Worked out okay.