Each new step

[Aging_Arbiter]

I think I'm safe in saying that MOST people do get nerves when they reach a new benchmark, be it moving up in a level of play, tournaments, finals, etc.  But (being one of those and) in reading many of these posts, many of us don't realize it ahead of time.  It's still the same game.  I believe that most would agree, your nerves went away after the 1st or 2nd pitch.  You saw a couple of fast balls, and your training kicked in.  You didn't think about the nerves again until reminiscing after the game about how you felt beforehand. Find a good mentor, find a good partner (when you can) and the game will take care of itself.

 

Congrats to all who had firsts this year!

[umpstu]

I have some nerves just about every pitch at every level.  It's natural.  I just take a deep breath when the pitcher starts his motion.  And as you get higher up the level of ball should be better.  I say should be.

[RichMSN]

My avatar is me working the plate on ESPN a few years ago.  I should change it, but I haven't gotten a really good picture since then.

I had all kinds of butterflies before the game.  During the anthem, I was so nervous I actually got a bit emotional thinking about my parents back home and my family and friends watching me work in a few minutes.  

I called the first pitch a strike and I wasn't nervous the rest of the game.  Seriously, it was like flipping a switch.  I did remind myself to SLOW DOWN the entire afternoon, though.  As critical as I am of my work, I was really happy with the result that day.

Since then, I've called 2 HS state plates and I was a bit nervous for the first one.  This year, I felt no nerves at all at the experience.  I'd been there before.  Going 9 innings was probably not part of the plan, though.

Later this week we'll start our LL tournament and some younger umpires will be feeling those nerves as they work a District and eventually a State final.  I actually enjoy sharing the field with those umpires -- it reminds me of those times years ago when I had those experiences myself.