Rookie Ump

[poppyfor3]

First game of the year coming up. I will have a teenager as partner who will be doing his first game. LL minors. He has read the rule book and attended 1 local mechanics clinic. Any advice would be greatly appreciated Jack

[scobes7]

My advise as one who trains kids also....in between innings..work with him on stuff that you had gone over in your pre-game. Position and timing. Make sure he stays focused on the game and not his friends that are yelling to him. Preach hustle and make it fun for him...if he shows a great attitude, encourage him and have an end of the game sitdown with him for 15 minutes...don't let him leave right after the game. Take a notepad from your truck and right down good points and also things that need to be worked on. If he has it it writing it will stick more. Then if you work another game with him. ask him to bring that exact same paper...ask if he has worked on his game and then re-evaluate it at the end of the new game.

[Umpire in Chief]

Welcome back Poppy, it's been too long...

Scobes has it absolutely right. While umpiring isn't for everybody I think some guys who have potential are pushed off by some of the crotchety veterans so keep them interested in umpiring and encourage them. Their umpires so you don't have to blow smoke up their backside, give them honest feedback and at the end try to give them a plan of action. Like 'you did well and being new there are obviously a few areas which need to be worked on, but lets start with timing. Everything around the plate and the bases is about timing. Lets get that settled down, then some of the other things will fall into place on their own and others we can take care of later.'

It will also make the rookie feel like he has an ally.

I am going to try and post my first evaluation ever. Now it was my first day ever as an umpire and I just left a field doing 3 10 y/o games and got a call that they needed an umpire nearby for 2 more games. It ended up being the semi-final and championship game for a AAU 14 tournament with a bid to a bigger tournament on the line. I was in over my head to say the least. But my partner had about 3 pages of negative things to say to me at the car after the games and I was worried that umpiring was not for me. But he gave me encouragement, because he saw I was trying to learn and took my criticism well and asked questions. I ended up having about 10 games with this evaluator and by the end of the year he commented about just how far I'd gone over that season.

Last year we worked 1 game together and said he could see in me from that first game as bad as I was I was going to be able to learn and develop.

[poppyfor3]

Thank you both. Since I don't have a truck, I'll have to get my note pad from my car. As far as an ally, that I believe will go a LONG way to create an atmosphere for success. Thanks for that. As far as not posting, I am always here (and I mean everyday). I'm much more the student than the teacher. Having said that, I think that I have learned enough to get this teen started in the right direction. And one of the things I'll point out to him is this forum. Grounded in civility and honest dialogue. No smoke, just fact. Jack

[jjb]

I do about 40 evals per year. I've found that if you "sandwich" your Negative comments with your Positive comments, they are more well perceived.

For instance: "Your positioning is great: you're hustling to the right angle. You should think about stopping your feet, before you make your call. Calling on the run will cause you to rush it. But you're selling it very well".

See what I mean? Sometimes you have to really think to find positive comments, ("you really don't sweat much for a fat kid"), but it results in a positive experience for them, rather than a negative one, (which usually causes them to quit)

On the field, I'll talk to them between innings, and focus on one thing at a time. ("OK, next inning I want you to focus on slowing down your calls") Then, when he's got the idea, move to something else. This prevents overload, and causes him to throw a mental breaker and forget everything.

Good luck: it's a great thing to watch them improve, and have fun doing it.

[someoneinca]

I train kids as well and agree with everything jjb said.

I have found that they need the most instruction on selling the call because they will usually just mumble it on their first few times. The other thing I have noticed is that they tend to be stationary.

[scobes7]

Thank you both. Since I don't have a truck, I'll have to get my note pad from my car. As far as an ally, that I believe will go a LONG way to create an atmosphere for success. Thanks for that. As far as not posting, I am always here (and I mean everyday). I'm much more the student than the teacher. Having said that, I think that I have learned enough to get this teen started in the right direction. And one of the things I'll point out to him is this forum. Grounded in civility and honest dialogue. No smoke, just fact. Jack

You don't own a truck...that is un-American...go out and buy one right now to stimulate the economy...:)

[mstaylor]

Try not to give him too many things at once, it will confuse him. After the game you can do a more detailed discussion.

[kylejt]

First game of the year coming up. I will have a teenager as partner who will be doing his first game. LL minors. He has read the rule book and attended 1 local mechanics clinic. Any advice would be greatly appreciated Jack

I've got 11-12 year olds on the bases, and usually a 13-14 on the dish for my minor games (9 to 11 year olds). I like to work from the sidelines, and give instructions from the bullpens. I hate instructing as the PU, because it looks like we're not equals, and that I might overrule him during the game.

I'd work with him AFTER the game, and not during, if you're the PU. It just looks better not to have conferences during the game.

Kyle