New Guy from Central NJ looking to break into College/Independent Leagues

[Rover125]

Hi all,

I wanted to become a pro umpire years ago but decided against it. I am in another industry but want to get back into umpiring. My goal is to umpire at the college level or even some of the independent leagues. Only had some LL experience years ago when I was much younger. Thinking of attending the Wendelstedt School this January if I can arrange all that time off.

I am 29 years old, so I am not interested in going to the MiLB (probably too old at this point anyway). I can usually get most weekdays off, so I can be available for a lot of games. Live in Central NJ but would be willing to travel some.

What would you guys recommend as a viable path to get to the college level or independent baseball from where I am now? Should I go to the pro school and then come back and find local clinics to network? Do I start at the HS level and go up from there, putting pro school on hold? I am reading up on the rule book and PBUC manual/mechanics.

Appreciate any input and advice.

Austin

[JonnyCat]

Hi Austin. Welcome to UE. You'll probably get multiple pieces of advice on how to advance, but here's my 2 cents worth.

A lot of it is where you are located. In my area of SoCal, it's pretty competitive to break in to D1. There are a lot of opportunities for JUCO here, however. It takes a little while to advance up the college ladder here.

Depending on your area, I would suggest starting to work HS and look for some HS and college clinics to attend. The more training and exposure you have, the better.

You can do the pro school route, and that certainly does help breaking into the higher ranks. Pro schools have independent league "scouts" stop by and look for those not making the pro cut that want to get more experience at higher levels. So that is an option, too.

However, as a pro school graduate (MiLB class of 2015, Wendelstedt abbreviated course 2013), I would recommend anyone wanting to attend a pro school to get more experience and training before they attend. You will learn a lot, but for the novice umpire, it can be overwhelming. Those that have a good grasp of rules and mechanics seemed to fare better than those without, in my experience.

I would start by working games, studying rules and mechanics, and attending any clinics I could. Some members on here that are local to NJ, can probably recommend some good camps and clinics near you.

BTW, you are not too old to get a job in MiLB. At least 3 of my classmates in 2015 were a little older when they got hired. 2 of them are already MLB call ups, and one is in Triple A. The one in Triple A was 32 years old when he got hired.

Hope that helps.

[Rover125]

10 hours ago, JonnyCat said:

Hi Austin. Welcome to UE. You'll probably get multiple pieces of advice on how to advance, but here's my 2 cents worth.

A lot of it is where you are located. In my area of SoCal, it's pretty competitive to break in to D1. There are a lot of opportunities for JUCO here, however. It takes a little while to advance up the college ladder here.

Depending on your area, I would suggest starting to work HS and look for some HS and college clinics to attend. The more training and exposure you have, the better.

You can do the pro school route, and that certainly does help breaking into the higher ranks. Pro schools have independent league "scouts" stop by and look for those not making the pro cut that want to get more experience at higher levels. So that is an option, too.

However, as a pro school graduate (MiLB class of 2015, Wendelstedt abbreviated course 2013), I would recommend anyone wanting to attend a pro school to get more experience and training before they attend. You will learn a lot, but for the novice umpire, it can be overwhelming. Those that have a good grasp of rules and mechanics seemed to fare better than those without, in my experience.

I would start by working games, studying rules and mechanics, and attending any clinics I could. Some members on here that are local to NJ, can probably recommend some good camps and clinics near you.

BTW, you are not too old to get a job in MiLB. At least 3 of my classmates in 2015 were a little older when they got hired. 2 of them are already MLB call ups, and one is in Triple A. The one in Triple A was 32 years old when he got hired.

Hope that helps.

Hey, thank you for the reply. Very helpful. Nice to hear I'm not "too old" to possibly get a shot at the pros. I do like my career and I'd like to think it would be smarter for me to do continue it while building up my umpire career. 

I know the game and rules pretty well. I've also studied the 2-man system, so I think I should be able to keep up at pro school. Of course, I will hustle my butt off and be a sponge with all the information.

I see that Wendelstedt offers a basic and advanced abbreviated course in January. Would you recommend that as opposed to the full month pro course for someone starting out? I wonder if that would be enough to get a head start in umpiring at higher ranks. 

In the meantime, I'll look into some local associations and clinics that do HS/college in my area. Hopefully I'd get it squared away so that I can start working this coming spring. 

[JonnyCat]

56 minutes ago, Rover125 said:

I see that Wendelstedt offers a basic and advanced abbreviated course in January. Would you recommend that as opposed to the full month pro course for someone starting out?

I would not recommend the abbreviated course. If you're going to make the commitment to go down there, stay for the entire course.

The abbreviated courses are not specifically designed for the shorter time period. You're in the same class as the 5 week guys, you just leave early for the abbreviated course, and arrive later for the advanced one.

You will miss a lot of important instruction by taking the shorter courses. It's not like they take the 5 week curriculum and condense it into the 2.5 weeks you are there. While I learned a lot at the abbreviated course, I missed most of the cage work, a lot of situational drills, and all the camp games. I wish it would have been a proper 2.5 week course, rather than just show up with the full class and then leave early.

Not worth it IMO. Take the full course if you're going to do it. With that being said, the MiLB school was far superior to Wendelstedt. Too bad they don't offer it any more.

[umpstu]

15 hours ago, JonnyCat said:

I would not recommend the abbreviated course. If you're going to make the commitment to go down there, stay for the entire course.

The abbreviated courses are not specifically designed for the shorter time period. You're in the same class as the 5 week guys, you just leave early for the abbreviated course, and arrive later for the advanced one.

You will miss a lot of important instruction by taking the shorter courses. It's not like they take the 5 week curriculum and condense it into the 2.5 weeks you are there. While I learned a lot at the abbreviated course, I missed most of the cage work, a lot of situational drills, and all the camp games. I wish it would have been a proper 2.5 week course, rather than just show up with the full class and then leave early.

Not worth it IMO. Take the full course if you're going to do it. With that being said, the MiLB school was far superior to Wendelstedt. Too bad they don't offer it any more.

From your description the short course is not a good deal at all.

[JonnyCat]

10 hours ago, umpstu said:

From your description the short course is not a good deal at all.

IMO, no. I did learn a number of things, but you're just in there with the 5 week students, and you end up missing out on a lot of instruction. 

At the time, they weren't real forthcoming about the curriculum for the abbreviated courses. Don't know if that has changed. They didn't make it clear how the course was going to work. They made it sound like it was a condensed 2.5 week clinic. Far from it. Show up with everyone else, and then leave early.

If you're going to go, make the full commitment. Honestly, I was not impressed by the school back then. I wrote about it on here back in 2103. Not sure if my posts on it are still around.

[Rover125]

2 hours ago, JonnyCat said:

IMO, no. I did learn a number of things, but you're just in there with the 5 week students, and you end up missing out on a lot of instruction. 

At the time, they weren't real forthcoming about the curriculum for the abbreviated courses. Don't know if that has changed. They didn't make it clear how the course was going to work. They made it sound like it was a condensed 2.5 week clinic. Far from it. Show up with everyone else, and then leave early.

If you're going to go, make the full commitment. Honestly, I was not impressed by the school back then. I wrote about it on here back in 2103. Not sure if my posts on it are still around.

I'll choose the full program, no doubt. Just trying to get the time off. I see the only other option to get to the MiLB is the new MLB camps. Dates TBD for 2024. Part of me does want to try the pros if I was selected, but I am more than happy to go and come back with a lot of knowledge that I could use to work up to college ball. I am looking forward to it.

[JonnyCat]

2 hours ago, Rover125 said:

I'll choose the full program, no doubt. Just trying to get the time off. I see the only other option to get to the MiLB is the new MLB camps. Dates TBD for 2024. Part of me does want to try the pros if I was selected, but I am more than happy to go and come back with a lot of knowledge that I could use to work up to college ball. I am looking forward to it.

Yeah, if you can get selected from one of the MLB camps, then you go to the full school, which is essentially the same school as I went to. You just have to be selected, you can't just pay your own way anymore. IMO, that's the better school to attend if you can. Otherwise Wendelstedt is good too, and is really the only option for most people.

[Rover125]

1 hour ago, JonnyCat said:

Yeah, if you can get selected from one of the MLB camps, then you go to the full school, which is essentially the same school as I went to. You just have to be selected, you can't just pay your own way anymore. IMO, that's the better school to attend if you can. Otherwise Wendelstedt is good too, and is really the only option for most people.

Just checking, but there are no changes with Wendelstedt sending a number of prospects to the MiLB right? This was just a change with the MLB taking over the Minor League Academy? I get that the MLB run one is free, but either one can get you to pro route?
 

I’m still learning the finer points, appreciate the info. 

[JonnyCat]

1 hour ago, Rover125 said:

Just checking, but there are no changes with Wendelstedt sending a number of prospects to the MiLB right?

As far as I know, they still send. According to this article below, Wendelstedt does some students to be evaluated for jobs in MiLB. I don't know if they will change that. Before signing up to attend Wendelstedt, I would ask them some hard questions about that.

https://www.mlb.com/news/major-league-baseball-umpire-selection-process

 

[Richvee]

@LMSANS 

maybe you can help out Austin with high school contacts. He’s in the Shore conference area. 

[BRUMP]

On 9/22/2023 at 8:32 PM, Rover125 said:

Hi all,

I wanted to become a pro umpire years ago but decided against it. I am in another industry but want to get back into umpiring. My goal is to umpire at the college level or even some of the independent leagues. Only had some LL experience years ago when I was much younger. Thinking of attending the Wendelstedt School this January if I can arrange all that time off.

I am 29 years old, so I am not interested in going to the MiLB (probably too old at this point anyway). I can usually get most weekdays off, so I can be available for a lot of games. Live in Central NJ but would be willing to travel some.

What would you guys recommend as a viable path to get to the college level or independent baseball from where I am now? Should I go to the pro school and then come back and find local clinics to network? Do I start at the HS level and go up from there, putting pro school on hold? I am reading up on the rule book and PBUC manual/mechanics.

Appreciate any input and advice.

Austin

@Rover125 Im a College and HS guy in Central NJ. PM me

[LMSANS]

On 9/26/2023 at 9:52 AM, Richvee said:

@LMSANS 

maybe you can help out Austin with high school contacts. He’s in the Shore conference area. 

sent him a PM...to reach out to me.