1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:14,440 What's up everybody? 2 00:00:14,440 --> 00:00:17,880 Welcome to Blue Crew Diaries and Umpire Podcast. 3 00:00:17,880 --> 00:00:22,520 My name is Daryl and I will be your host as we take a look behind the mask so to speak, 4 00:00:22,520 --> 00:00:27,640 sharing stories, insights and experiences from the unique perspective of the baseball 5 00:00:27,640 --> 00:00:28,640 umpire. 6 00:00:28,640 --> 00:00:33,560 In this episode we're going to take a look at your first game, what you need to bring, 7 00:00:33,560 --> 00:00:36,800 what to expect and how to have fun out there. 8 00:00:36,800 --> 00:00:49,920 So if you're ready, grab your indicator and plate brush and let's hit the field. 9 00:00:49,920 --> 00:00:53,840 Alright everybody, welcome back to another episode of the Blue Crew Diaries and Umpire 10 00:00:53,840 --> 00:00:55,280 Podcast. 11 00:00:55,280 --> 00:01:01,680 In this episode we're going to start off with a little bit of news for you little league 12 00:01:01,680 --> 00:01:03,720 umpires out there. 13 00:01:03,720 --> 00:01:10,120 And if you listen to your first episode podcast you would know that this podcast is more geared 14 00:01:10,120 --> 00:01:14,560 towards little league umpires than anything else. 15 00:01:14,560 --> 00:01:22,000 So big news out of Little League International a couple of days ago on February 8th. 16 00:01:22,000 --> 00:01:29,040 Stu Hartenstein, or Hartenstein I'm sorry, if I completely butchered that I do apologize 17 00:01:29,040 --> 00:01:31,160 Stu. 18 00:01:31,160 --> 00:01:37,780 He has been named the Little League Director of Umpire Development and Operations beginning 19 00:01:37,780 --> 00:01:43,040 February 24th of 2024. 20 00:01:43,040 --> 00:01:47,600 So looking forward to seeing what Stu can do. 21 00:01:47,600 --> 00:01:52,960 If you'll forgive the rhyme I'm not Dr. Seuss. 22 00:01:52,960 --> 00:02:01,560 With regards to Umpire Development I think it'll be a little bit of a change of pace. 23 00:02:01,560 --> 00:02:06,960 They haven't said anything about Tom Rawlings and what may be going on there whether he's 24 00:02:06,960 --> 00:02:13,920 retiring or he's taking another position in within Little League International. 25 00:02:13,920 --> 00:02:17,440 They haven't said anything about it. 26 00:02:17,440 --> 00:02:23,960 So just looking forward to seeing what Stu has in store. 27 00:02:23,960 --> 00:02:28,200 And yeah, we'll go from there. 28 00:02:28,200 --> 00:02:32,700 So with that out of the way this episode I want to talk a little bit about your very 29 00:02:32,700 --> 00:02:39,720 first game and some tips to get you ready for it. 30 00:02:39,720 --> 00:02:51,880 Now whether you've been umpiring at any level for one season or 50 every single one of us 31 00:02:51,880 --> 00:02:55,700 had a first day. 32 00:02:55,700 --> 00:03:02,540 We all had that very first time we walked out onto the baseball field in our uniform 33 00:03:02,540 --> 00:03:05,680 ready to umpire. 34 00:03:05,680 --> 00:03:08,160 It can be it can be kind of nerve racking. 35 00:03:08,160 --> 00:03:10,560 I'm not going to lie to you. 36 00:03:10,560 --> 00:03:16,960 My first day was a little over a little less than a year ago now. 37 00:03:16,960 --> 00:03:23,240 I'm going into my second season here this summer and yeah it was I was nervous. 38 00:03:23,240 --> 00:03:30,040 I really was especially when I was texting back and forth with my umpire in chief and 39 00:03:30,040 --> 00:03:37,680 he told me that my first game the first game he had me on schedule for was a plate a plate 40 00:03:37,680 --> 00:03:38,680 job. 41 00:03:38,680 --> 00:03:42,880 It's like okay great. 42 00:03:42,880 --> 00:03:48,760 I've literally never done anything like this before. 43 00:03:48,760 --> 00:03:55,120 And now I'm going to be standing behind the plate for my very first game. 44 00:03:55,120 --> 00:04:03,060 Luckily the night before that I went down to the field and I got into this in the last 45 00:04:03,060 --> 00:04:08,920 episode went down to the field talked to the plate umpire and he really kind of took me 46 00:04:08,920 --> 00:04:15,120 under his wing and kind of mentored me honestly throughout the entire season. 47 00:04:15,120 --> 00:04:22,120 There was there was one game I just had it was it was a double header. 48 00:04:22,120 --> 00:04:28,120 They did two foreign in games back to back and I just I mean I got hit a couple of times 49 00:04:28,120 --> 00:04:35,120 literally took a couple of couple of pitches just off the chest protector one in the gut 50 00:04:35,120 --> 00:04:37,680 and one in the left arm. 51 00:04:37,680 --> 00:04:45,320 So yeah those hurt but my my strike zone was a little tighter than everybody would have 52 00:04:45,320 --> 00:04:52,840 liked so everybody started to complain and it was just a bad night. 53 00:04:52,840 --> 00:05:01,280 It really was especially when my UIC comes down after a couple innings in the first game 54 00:05:01,280 --> 00:05:10,080 and tells me hey just so you know the league president is getting text messages from parents 55 00:05:10,080 --> 00:05:15,440 threatening to pull their kids off the field because your strike zone is just too damn 56 00:05:15,440 --> 00:05:18,120 tight. 57 00:05:18,120 --> 00:05:24,460 But that's a topic for another another episode on the podcast. 58 00:05:24,460 --> 00:05:33,800 So I took a few days off after that event really thought about just just quitting and 59 00:05:33,800 --> 00:05:41,360 then this same umpire Darren that I worked my very first game with he got a hold of the 60 00:05:41,360 --> 00:05:52,840 UIC and said hey I need a base umpire for this game on Monday and I want Darryl. 61 00:05:52,840 --> 00:05:55,480 Do you think he's available? 62 00:05:55,480 --> 00:06:01,880 So that that's the kind of guy that that Darren is real great guy I love working with him. 63 00:06:01,880 --> 00:06:08,340 If if I had the opportunity to work with him every game I absolutely would. 64 00:06:08,340 --> 00:06:15,360 So he kind of took me under his wing that first game told me hey go out work third base. 65 00:06:15,360 --> 00:06:20,840 I got the plate we already got a first base umpire go work third so that your very first 66 00:06:20,840 --> 00:06:25,160 game is not standing behind the plate. 67 00:06:25,160 --> 00:06:30,920 That that was that was really cool of him to do that. 68 00:06:30,920 --> 00:06:38,160 But yeah you're there's going to be anxiety it's going to be butterflies jitters it doesn't 69 00:06:38,160 --> 00:06:46,160 matter how prepared you are it's it's like the first day at a new job it literally is. 70 00:06:46,160 --> 00:06:55,640 So hopefully by the end of this episode you'll you'll at least get to thinking about the 71 00:06:55,640 --> 00:07:04,920 first game and then hopefully it won't be as intimidating to you as it was to me. 72 00:07:04,920 --> 00:07:12,320 So the first thing that you you need to have to be an umpire is at least some knowledge 73 00:07:12,320 --> 00:07:14,400 of the rules. 74 00:07:14,400 --> 00:07:22,640 Now you can get rules knowledge a number of ways for little league umpires or perspective 75 00:07:22,640 --> 00:07:28,260 little league umpires download the little league rulebook app. 76 00:07:28,260 --> 00:07:38,000 It is literally it's available on Google play and the apple app store and it's literally 77 00:07:38,000 --> 00:07:42,160 the entire little league rulebook right there in the app. 78 00:07:42,160 --> 00:07:50,780 It's free to download it's updated every year or sometimes mid-year if something changes 79 00:07:50,780 --> 00:07:56,600 and you always have that available to you right on your phone tablet whatever. 80 00:07:56,600 --> 00:08:03,280 You can also purchase the physical rulebook from little league international that is not 81 00:08:03,280 --> 00:08:12,760 the 2024 edition is not out yet for purchase but when it is you'll you know you can go 82 00:08:12,760 --> 00:08:19,880 right on to the little league website and purchase that. 83 00:08:19,880 --> 00:08:28,080 Just YouTube to be to be perfectly honest if you go to YouTube and you look up California 84 00:08:28,080 --> 00:08:39,080 district for little league they have a lot of great live video or not live but video 85 00:08:39,080 --> 00:08:50,120 presentations usually an hour to two hours literally going over rules for umpires rules 86 00:08:50,120 --> 00:08:58,040 for district administrators and just all sorts of really really great content they really 87 00:08:58,040 --> 00:09:06,800 break break the rulebook down into its most basic components and teach it. 88 00:09:06,800 --> 00:09:19,760 They've already got one out bring it up here they just released it a couple of weeks ago. 89 00:09:19,760 --> 00:09:27,880 Anyway yeah check that out California district for I live in Maine I don't live in California 90 00:09:27,880 --> 00:09:36,640 but I like what California does you can also get on their website and register for these 91 00:09:36,640 --> 00:09:43,520 these rules clinics if you will and watch them in real time or if you can't watch them 92 00:09:43,520 --> 00:09:48,880 in real time and actually participate in the discussions you can always watch them on YouTube 93 00:09:48,880 --> 00:09:53,120 usually a week or so afterwards they get them up on there. 94 00:09:53,120 --> 00:10:03,320 So just have at least some basic knowledge of the rules now part of the rulebook has 95 00:10:03,320 --> 00:10:12,200 to do with league administration and where you know where a league can pull kids from 96 00:10:12,200 --> 00:10:20,360 and all that as an umpire you don't need to know that stuff there's there's a few specific 97 00:10:20,360 --> 00:10:27,400 sections of the rulebook that have absolutely nothing to do with you read through them if 98 00:10:27,400 --> 00:10:36,400 you want to learn the material if you want but you don't need to know it but obviously 99 00:10:36,400 --> 00:10:43,220 there are a lot of things in the rulebook that you that you need to know and a lot more 100 00:10:43,220 --> 00:10:47,320 things in the rulebook that you probably should know. 101 00:10:47,320 --> 00:10:59,640 So the second tip I have is attend an umpire clinic if you can most districts provide some 102 00:10:59,640 --> 00:11:08,520 sort of umpire clinic I took one last year before I started umpiring it was literally 103 00:11:08,520 --> 00:11:17,240 the bare basic beginner umpire clinic it lasted about a little less than two hours and literally 104 00:11:17,240 --> 00:11:24,160 the first hour was here's how you determine that a pitch is a strike here's how you determine 105 00:11:24,160 --> 00:11:34,120 a pitch is a ball you know here's you know fair ball versus foul ball out versus safe 106 00:11:34,120 --> 00:11:42,720 what is obstruction what is what constitutes interference just very very basic beginner 107 00:11:42,720 --> 00:11:52,520 stuff but it's all stuff that every umpire should know and should know very very well. 108 00:11:52,520 --> 00:12:01,360 So if you have the opportunity to attend an umpire clinic please do so even if it's not 109 00:12:01,360 --> 00:12:09,880 your first time umpiring if if you know main district three offers one this year I'm going 110 00:12:09,880 --> 00:12:15,120 to be there even though it's probably going to be the exact same program that they ran 111 00:12:15,120 --> 00:12:23,160 last year I'm still going to be there because you never know you may learn something new 112 00:12:23,160 --> 00:12:27,640 that you didn't know from last year. 113 00:12:27,640 --> 00:12:35,360 So do that if you have the the ability if you don't see that your area or your district 114 00:12:35,360 --> 00:12:41,160 is doing a rules clinic reach out to them reach out to the district administrator reach 115 00:12:41,160 --> 00:12:49,640 out to the district umpire in chief and ask them you know are you are we doing a clinic 116 00:12:49,640 --> 00:12:56,920 this year if they say no they may be able to point you in the direction of another district 117 00:12:56,920 --> 00:13:04,640 in your in your state that is doing an umpire clinic that you can get in on so highly highly 118 00:13:04,640 --> 00:13:09,800 highly recommend attending a clinic if possible. 119 00:13:09,800 --> 00:13:17,320 There are also umpire clinics that little league themselves put on those may be accessible 120 00:13:17,320 --> 00:13:23,640 to you those may not be the closest one to me is down at the east region headquarters 121 00:13:23,640 --> 00:13:31,800 in Bristol Connecticut not really going to be able to get down there and do that as far 122 00:13:31,800 --> 00:13:39,560 as for me but for you you may live you might live in Williamsport Pennsylvania and they 123 00:13:39,560 --> 00:13:50,920 do umpire academies and clinics in Williamsport as well so highly recommend it if possible. 124 00:13:50,920 --> 00:14:03,360 Having that YouTube can also be your friend here and I'm not trying to talk bad about 125 00:14:03,360 --> 00:14:13,120 main district three or or anything like that but like I said I attended that umpire clinic 126 00:14:13,120 --> 00:14:24,120 I honestly learned more about umpiring even at the little league level via YouTube than 127 00:14:24,120 --> 00:14:27,040 I learned at that umpire clinic. 128 00:14:27,040 --> 00:14:33,400 I still learn some stuff at the actual clinic the in-person clinic but I learned a hell 129 00:14:33,400 --> 00:14:41,240 of a lot more watching either clinics on YouTube like the California district four stuff there's 130 00:14:41,240 --> 00:14:51,240 another one I forget where it was a few years ago they actually had a little league umpire 131 00:14:51,240 --> 00:14:57,840 come out and do an on field clinic talking about positioning and strike zone and stuff 132 00:14:57,840 --> 00:15:05,960 like that you can find that on YouTube as well they recorded that great information 133 00:15:05,960 --> 00:15:13,160 you know if you're looking for rules clinics on YouTube make sure they're they're at least 134 00:15:13,160 --> 00:15:20,200 somewhat recent like I say California district four does them every year so it's always and 135 00:15:20,200 --> 00:15:25,280 they and they always seem to go through the changes from year to year as far as what has 136 00:15:25,280 --> 00:15:32,780 changed in the rule book so YouTube can definitely be your friend some of the stuff you do want 137 00:15:32,780 --> 00:15:36,320 to take with a little bit of a grain of salt because it might not be a hundred percent 138 00:15:36,320 --> 00:15:47,840 accurate information but inaccurate information is better than none as far as your first game 139 00:15:47,840 --> 00:15:54,520 or your first few games one of the things that you want to try to do is what I would 140 00:15:54,520 --> 00:16:08,480 term dress to impress and that is don't show up to your very first umpiring game with ball 141 00:16:08,480 --> 00:16:20,400 cap on backwards wearing a t shirt blue jeans and Nikes just regular you know regular shoes 142 00:16:20,400 --> 00:16:29,080 myself I went out when I knew I was gonna at least attempt to umpire I went a little 143 00:16:29,080 --> 00:16:37,800 overboard I went to Jerry Davis calm I bought all my own plate gear I bought all my own 144 00:16:37,800 --> 00:16:44,200 uniforms I bought you know an actual set of plate pants I bought a couple of different 145 00:16:44,200 --> 00:16:52,560 shirts with the little league logo on them and little league embroidered on it if you 146 00:16:52,560 --> 00:16:59,200 if you didn't know Jerry Davis calm is the official uniform partner of little league 147 00:16:59,200 --> 00:17:07,120 so they can do all that stuff right there in house so I had all that stuff before I 148 00:17:07,120 --> 00:17:13,240 even went to the field for the first time I had all my own gear all my own uniforms 149 00:17:13,240 --> 00:17:20,960 and my very first plate job I got done with the game and I was talking to my umpire in 150 00:17:20,960 --> 00:17:29,200 chief about how the game went and if he saw anything that you know that I need to change 151 00:17:29,200 --> 00:17:35,520 or I need to do differently and that's another point I have a little bit later on this episode 152 00:17:35,520 --> 00:17:43,960 and one of the things he told me was you know you you did good for your first game he says 153 00:17:43,960 --> 00:17:49,440 you definitely look the part he says you you definitely look like you know what you're 154 00:17:49,440 --> 00:17:57,200 doing and that's half the battle if you look like you are like look like you know what 155 00:17:57,200 --> 00:18:04,880 you're doing you're dressed appropriately you look like an umpire a lot of people are 156 00:18:04,880 --> 00:18:13,680 they're not necessarily gonna back off and not give you any crap but they're they're 157 00:18:13,680 --> 00:18:20,320 gonna they're gonna pull it back a little bit because you look like you know what you're 158 00:18:20,320 --> 00:18:28,440 doing so okay they'll cut you a little bit of slack so definitely try to do that you 159 00:18:28,440 --> 00:18:37,960 don't have to go nearly as far as I did you can get umpiring shirts really anywhere on 160 00:18:37,960 --> 00:18:47,320 the internet umpire.com Jerry Davis there's a bunch of them bunch of different manufacturers 161 00:18:47,320 --> 00:18:52,080 you know one thing that you do want to do is make sure that your shirt color matches 162 00:18:52,080 --> 00:19:02,040 your partner shirt color a lot of times you'll you know you'll wear black for baseball but 163 00:19:02,040 --> 00:19:08,200 sometimes you know you'll wear the light blue just just make sure you match make sure you 164 00:19:08,200 --> 00:19:19,560 you at least look like an umpire. After you get all dressed up and everything try as hard 165 00:19:19,560 --> 00:19:28,200 as you can to arrive at the field at least a half an hour early and I noticed I said 166 00:19:28,200 --> 00:19:37,480 at least a half hour early some districts or some leagues might ask that you arrive 167 00:19:37,480 --> 00:19:46,080 45 minutes before game time or an hour before game time and the way I look at it the earlier 168 00:19:46,080 --> 00:19:54,600 you get to the field the more time you have to do what you need to do obviously you'll 169 00:19:54,600 --> 00:20:01,280 need to look over the field make sure that it's it's game ready you know it doesn't hurt 170 00:20:01,280 --> 00:20:07,160 to take a walk out around the outfield fence looking for anything caps or holes in the 171 00:20:07,160 --> 00:20:12,880 fence that a ball might be able to slip through stuff like that you got to do equipment checks 172 00:20:12,880 --> 00:20:20,880 for both teams every game yes every game it doesn't matter if you've already seen this 173 00:20:20,880 --> 00:20:32,280 team 14 times in the last three weeks you still need to check their stuff every game. 174 00:20:32,280 --> 00:20:38,920 So the earlier the better I I try to arrive at least a half an hour early that that is 175 00:20:38,920 --> 00:20:47,480 their minimum sometimes I'll be there 45 minutes early that's perfectly fine but just make 176 00:20:47,480 --> 00:20:53,500 sure that you're not rushing around trying to do stuff before the game the umpires that 177 00:20:53,500 --> 00:21:02,040 show up five minutes before the game they're the ones that kind of piss me off it's like 178 00:21:02,040 --> 00:21:07,280 okay tell me you don't want to be here without telling me you don't want to be here you know 179 00:21:07,280 --> 00:21:13,840 I was here 45 minutes early and now I'm I'm calling coaches over for the plate meeting 180 00:21:13,840 --> 00:21:22,320 and I see you rolling in the parking lot now I get it sometimes it's unavoidable but when 181 00:21:22,320 --> 00:21:31,200 it's every game that you work with that particular person that's that's no bueno for me so after 182 00:21:31,200 --> 00:21:37,080 you arrive at the field preferably 30 minutes early at least you want to meet we end up 183 00:21:37,080 --> 00:21:43,200 with your partner sometimes your partner will already be there sometimes you'll get there 184 00:21:43,200 --> 00:21:49,320 before your partner but you want to meet up with your partner and if it is your first 185 00:21:49,320 --> 00:21:57,400 game tell them that okay a lot of people will say don't tell anybody it's your first game 186 00:21:57,400 --> 00:22:03,680 it'll it'll ruin your credibility and every time you make a call somebody's going to question 187 00:22:03,680 --> 00:22:14,360 it because they know it's your first time that can be the case with some parents managers 188 00:22:14,360 --> 00:22:24,040 coaches honestly if if an umpire if I'm a coach or I'm a manager and an umpire comes 189 00:22:24,040 --> 00:22:29,760 up to me and says hey just so you know it's my very first game I'm gonna kill I'm gonna 190 00:22:29,760 --> 00:22:34,880 cut that person a little bit of slack again just like the dress to impress thing if I 191 00:22:34,880 --> 00:22:39,960 know it's their first game but they're trying to look like they're you know they know what 192 00:22:39,960 --> 00:22:49,160 they're doing I'm gonna cut them some slack some people won't do that but at least let 193 00:22:49,160 --> 00:22:58,560 your partner know that it is your first game and they if they're a good umpire a good leader 194 00:22:58,560 --> 00:23:07,560 they'll they'll kind of keep an eye on things as far as as you're concerned any plays that 195 00:23:07,560 --> 00:23:14,440 you that you have you know they'll they'll kind of keep an eye on it make sure you didn't 196 00:23:14,440 --> 00:23:24,720 completely blow a call or something like that and and along with that even if it's not your 197 00:23:24,720 --> 00:23:33,360 first game I mean even I mean I I'd probably worked about 15 games by the time I worked 198 00:23:33,360 --> 00:23:42,280 my first junior game and that junior game uh junior little league obviously I had a 199 00:23:42,280 --> 00:23:50,720 pitch it came in I was working the plate and when the pitch got almost to the batter it 200 00:23:50,720 --> 00:23:57,640 was right almost eye level it was kind of a big arc coming down at that point the pitch 201 00:23:57,640 --> 00:24:05,960 was almost eye level as it reached the batter but then as it came across the plate it touched 202 00:24:05,960 --> 00:24:16,760 in my opinion the top of the very back of the strike zone as it was coming down it kind 203 00:24:16,760 --> 00:24:23,760 of dropped through the top of the zone as it crossed the plate the batter didn't like 204 00:24:23,760 --> 00:24:30,200 it I called it strike three it was legally caught by the catcher so it wasn't a third 205 00:24:30,200 --> 00:24:37,080 strike not caught deal I come I come up I call strike three and as the batter is turning 206 00:24:37,080 --> 00:24:45,080 around to walk back to the dugout I hear him say that pitch was right at my eyes and then 207 00:24:45,080 --> 00:24:52,840 he just walked away now in that situation I didn't I didn't have to say anything to 208 00:24:52,840 --> 00:25:02,600 him I heard him obviously he wasn't too happy with the call you know whatever he walked 209 00:25:02,600 --> 00:25:09,600 back to the dugout I didn't say a word and neither did he after that that that was all 210 00:25:09,600 --> 00:25:16,880 he said so my partner who just happened to meet my UIC for that my he was my partner 211 00:25:16,880 --> 00:25:22,560 for that game he comes in because it was the end of the ending and I simply asked him what 212 00:25:22,560 --> 00:25:28,040 did you have on that last pitch he says well it looked like it dropped into the back of 213 00:25:28,040 --> 00:25:36,320 the zone to me and he was he was standing over in the B position over by second base 214 00:25:36,320 --> 00:25:40,040 and he said it looked like it dropped into the bottom of the dropped into the back of 215 00:25:40,040 --> 00:25:47,000 the top of the strike zone okay yeah that that's what I had to that's why I called it 216 00:25:47,000 --> 00:25:55,080 I said batter didn't like it but I said that's I just wanted to make sure I didn't you know 217 00:25:55,080 --> 00:26:09,080 I didn't mess something up there so so obviously ask questions before the game during the game 218 00:26:09,080 --> 00:26:15,080 you know in between innings if you have a question about you know something like that 219 00:26:15,080 --> 00:26:23,520 so you know play that just occurred or something like that just just ask questions it's it's 220 00:26:23,520 --> 00:26:34,640 very simple after the game ask your partner for input what did I you know what do you 221 00:26:34,640 --> 00:26:44,000 think I did right where is there anything you think I I kind of FUBAR you know what 222 00:26:44,000 --> 00:26:50,840 were some things that you saw that you liked that I did and what are some ways that you 223 00:26:50,840 --> 00:27:01,720 think I can improve my umpire every experienced partner out there will you know they'll they'll 224 00:27:01,720 --> 00:27:08,400 kind of kiss your ass and tell you oh you did a great job but that's not what I want 225 00:27:08,400 --> 00:27:13,480 to hear I want to hear you know if I if I screwed something up I want to know about 226 00:27:13,480 --> 00:27:23,480 it so that I can do better next time I can learn from that that mess up and that experience 227 00:27:23,480 --> 00:27:30,360 and if there are ways that you think I can improve as an umpire tell me because I want 228 00:27:30,360 --> 00:27:41,360 that information so that I can improve umpiring is just like almost anything else you never 229 00:27:41,360 --> 00:27:51,360 stop learning there are umpires that have been umpiring for 50 years and they still 230 00:27:51,360 --> 00:27:58,960 they still want to learn more I look at it as I'm a big fan of the band Rush and their 231 00:27:58,960 --> 00:28:06,980 drummer Neil Peart who unfortunately has passed on is regarded as one of the greatest rock 232 00:28:06,980 --> 00:28:19,880 drummers ever and yet in the early mid 2000s he realized that hey I've been playing the 233 00:28:19,880 --> 00:28:29,760 exact same way for 30 years at this point and you know he just he wanted to to learn 234 00:28:29,760 --> 00:28:38,920 new things learn new ways of drumming so he did he took a about a year and went and just 235 00:28:38,920 --> 00:28:47,120 started to learn new new techniques and tried to free up this rigidity that he had you know 236 00:28:47,120 --> 00:28:53,240 and it's just amazing to me you know someone that's regarded as one of the greatest rock 237 00:28:53,240 --> 00:29:00,320 drummers in the world still wants to learn more and still wants to strive to be even 238 00:29:00,320 --> 00:29:10,000 better and that's the same the same idea with umpiring we should always be trying to improve 239 00:29:10,000 --> 00:29:22,120 and be better at our job the last bullet point I have on my list here is simply be confident 240 00:29:22,120 --> 00:29:35,200 but confidence will get you a long ways if you walk out on the field and you look like 241 00:29:35,200 --> 00:29:44,800 a scared little poodle walking out there like oh I don't know if I can do this no you're 242 00:29:44,800 --> 00:29:49,500 not going to it's not that you're trying to impress people but you're not going to impress 243 00:29:49,500 --> 00:29:57,300 anybody with that attitude be confident say look it's my first game but you know what 244 00:29:57,300 --> 00:30:05,520 I can do this I've got the basic knowledge of the rules I know my mechanics you know 245 00:30:05,520 --> 00:30:14,400 I got this I got a partner that I know is going to back me up and help me out but I 246 00:30:14,400 --> 00:30:22,680 try to rely on them as little as I can because I wanted I want to do this for myself and 247 00:30:22,680 --> 00:30:34,800 I want to be the best umpire I can be that that's it confidence is huge especially when 248 00:30:34,800 --> 00:30:39,080 you're dealing with other you know you're dealing with other umpires you're dealing 249 00:30:39,080 --> 00:30:44,480 with managers you know if a manager walks up to the plate meeting and you're sitting 250 00:30:44,480 --> 00:30:51,920 there shaking in your plate shoes they're going to look at you and go okay this this 251 00:30:51,920 --> 00:31:03,240 guy's nervous or this this girl's nervous why do they not know what they're doing you 252 00:31:03,240 --> 00:31:09,040 know then then that's when they start to question every call you make and whatnot so 253 00:31:09,040 --> 00:31:20,600 just simply be confident so I know I'm rambling on as usual that's just my thing so running 254 00:31:20,600 --> 00:31:26,400 back down through the points very quickly have at least some knowledge of the rules 255 00:31:26,400 --> 00:31:31,320 whether you get them from the rule book on the little league app you purchase the physical 256 00:31:31,320 --> 00:31:41,480 rule book you you know watch YouTube stuff like that have it have some basic knowledge 257 00:31:41,480 --> 00:31:47,880 of of the rules that you absolutely need to know second attendant beginner umpire clinic 258 00:31:47,880 --> 00:31:58,040 if possible that may not always be practical for you but at least try if not YouTube again 259 00:31:58,040 --> 00:32:05,940 is your friend you can virtually attend an umpire clinic a lot of times on YouTube they 260 00:32:05,940 --> 00:32:12,080 will record a clinic and you can you can go on there and watch it there are a couple of 261 00:32:12,080 --> 00:32:18,040 of YouTube recorded clinics that I've watched three or four times now and I always seem 262 00:32:18,040 --> 00:32:25,540 to pick something up out of every time I watch the next thing is dressed to impress look 263 00:32:25,540 --> 00:32:36,320 like an umpire it it's going to give you a little bit more leniency with the the managers 264 00:32:36,320 --> 00:32:41,000 and the parents and even the players they're going to probably touch a little bit more 265 00:32:41,000 --> 00:32:45,960 slack because you at least look like you know what you're doing arrive at the field at least 266 00:32:45,960 --> 00:32:53,760 30 minutes early minimum 30 minutes if you can get there 45 minutes an hour early even 267 00:32:53,760 --> 00:33:01,760 better meet up with your partner if it's your first game tell them that if it's your first 268 00:33:01,760 --> 00:33:08,360 plate job tell them that if it's your first base you know your first base game tell them 269 00:33:08,360 --> 00:33:18,880 that you know they can help you ask questions before the game during the game and especially 270 00:33:18,880 --> 00:33:25,800 after the game ask your partner questions about your performance on the field if you 271 00:33:25,800 --> 00:33:34,240 have questions on any rules or situations that may come up ask those questions it'll 272 00:33:34,240 --> 00:33:41,120 make you a better umpire help you understand more ask your umpire in chief a lot of times 273 00:33:41,120 --> 00:33:48,840 your umpire in chief may be at the field watching you work the game ask them what they saw ask 274 00:33:48,840 --> 00:33:58,120 them and lastly just be confident guys confidence is it's it's just like dressing the part it 275 00:33:58,120 --> 00:34:06,440 can be huge for you it's also going to make you feel even better at the end of the game 276 00:34:06,440 --> 00:34:15,100 when you walk off the field with your partner damn i can do this you know at the beginning 277 00:34:15,100 --> 00:34:22,360 of the game i didn't know if i could but you know what i can that that makes that makes 278 00:34:22,360 --> 00:34:29,160 a person feel good it really does so that is it for this episode thank you all so much 279 00:34:29,160 --> 00:34:39,040 for listening if you have any questions thoughts for future episodes you know as far as ideas 280 00:34:39,040 --> 00:34:46,680 or anything shoot me an email just get the email set up there about a week ago blue crew 281 00:34:46,680 --> 00:34:55,520 diaries at gmail.com that's blue crew diaries at gmail.com send me an email tell me what 282 00:34:55,520 --> 00:35:02,800 you think idea for a future episode let me know about it again thank you all for listening 283 00:35:02,800 --> 00:35:21,120 and I will catch you on the field