New from the Houston area

[Hemibee]

Just getting started umpiring again after a 28 year lay-off. Last time I called a game was at the age of 21 and had only done a couple or four dozen games when work kept me from staying active. Coached my oldest son up to when he started High School ball. Now he has gone on to college and I'm not ready to give up baseball. Youngest son not interested in playing so I decided to try and do an imitation of an ump. Got the chance to attend a local leagues summer training, calling a few fall league games and watching the seasoned umps to try and learn and improve my game. I might not post much but will be doing a bunch of reading of new and previous postings.

[Umpire in Chief]

Welcome aboard! Were glad to have you. You'll probably have a few bad habits from coaching you'll need to break , but I'm sure you'll have a blast umpiring and staying involved in the game. Keep us posted how things go for you and we'll be here to help answer questions, explain situations, or even give a smart ass comment or two.

[mstaylor]

Welcome to the board. Feel free to jump in and ask for anything that confuses you. I have found even when you understand a new concept, it's still good to ask. Sometimes you will miss a nuance here and there. What level are you going to try? We have several on here that are trainers of umps and others that are excellent students of the rules. You won't have to worry about getting your chops busted for a question, there are no flames here.

[Stan W.]

Welcome!.........MS Taylor and I have always commented to each other that we wished we would have had this sort of resource when we starting out....You can get such a head start by reading and having the abilty to ask questions knowing you have experienced umpires of all levels (youth through pro) and multi years of experience ready to help...

[littleleagueump]

You can learn a lot from the guys that are regulars on here. The best part of this site is the situations and the comes the feedbacks from many amature umpires. It's great.

I wish you the best of luck. It will be difficult not talking (coaching) to players while officiating a game. I coached a couple of years and it is hard for me. Sometimes I catch myself talking to pitchers telling them how to and what to do in situations where they are struggling. Good luck behind the dish. Take your lumps for the bad calls you will never make, you probably have given a few of them yourself.