Commitment

The last and most important part of being a successful official — new or old — is having a commitment to officiating, a commitment to getting better and a commitment to excellence. Officials committed to their pastime never stop trying to learn; training is a never ending proposition year after year, season through season. “Clearly there’s the technical part,” says Fish. “You have to be proficient with rules and policies.” Knowing the rulebook — from the intricacies of a balk to the proper form for calling timeouts — can prevent a lot of problems before they happen. But there’s more to commitment than training. Carter says before he jumped behind the plate, he did something all officials should do: He watched how other officials handle games. “I went to games just to watch umpires,” says Carter. “I wasn’t watching for what they did that was right, more for what was wrong.” And you know what he saw? He saw that most officials were appreciated and treated with respect. The ones who weren’t were usually the ones who didn’t know the rules, didn’t hustle or didn’t care. Those are officials who never bothered to explore the seven Cs and probably never will. It would benefit every new official to set out onto those seven Cs, but it’s the responsibility of every veteran to show them the way. (David Birkett is a freelance writer from Warren, Mich. He has officiated baseball, basketball and softball.)

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