Softball
Tips for Working With Catchers
One of the attributes of a successful plate umpire is the ability to work with catchers. The catcher is a major factor in a...
They’re Counting on It
One of the most important jobs for softball umpires is game management. And one of the most overlooked aspects of game management is giving...
The Eight-Minute Pregame
Arriving to the three-umpire system at various upper levels is the culmination of hard work, preparation and demonstration of the knowledge and skills necessary...
Talk the Talk
F
or umpires, one of the most important skills is game management. And perhaps the most important skill when it comes to being a good...
When Two Umpires Converge on the Same Base
Many of us who have been umpiring for a number of years have seen the situation in which one umpire is dutifully making his...
Tips On Staying Present
As an umpire, even we get nervous once and a while or you start to focus on a previous play. Maybe as the field umpire, your mind...
Know When to Use the ‘Sell’
As novice or veteran umpires, we all look forward to the exciting catch, tag or play at the plate that has us standing in...
Step On the Field and Handle Your Business Like a Boss
A
fellow brother in blue, who passed away much too soon, had a mantra he used both in life and on the field. That mantra...
It’s in the Bag
Is your softball bag or automobile trunk of gear packed for the season ahead? If so, are items easy to locate? It can be...
Does Your Partner Get the ‘Point’?
We often think we are communicating well with our partners, when we really aren’t. Good communication is the key for a successful umpiring team.
The...
Preventing Umpire Interference
The umpiring crew must be sure the playing field and other conditions are safe to start the game and all conditions remain safe throughout...
6 Tips to Improve Your Plate Performance
Everyone wants to be known as a good plate umpire. When coaches think about preferred and non-preferred lists of umpires for postseason playoffs, they...
Step-By-Step Focus
The pause, read and react technique has been used for many years. Some associations call that process, wait, interpret, choose. Others coin it, read,...
Be Careful Using Other Sports to Explain Softball Rules
No-calls are common to officiating in all sports. Sometimes it’s advantageous to use examples from other sports to explain softball rules and plays. Unfortunately,...
Rules Take Many Arguments Out of the Game
There’s a nationwide shortage of officials. It’s gotten harder in all sports to get and keep officials, and softball is no exception. Criticism from...
First Base Barricade
Obstruction is a common occurrence in softball. It happens most often at home plate as catchers try to prevent a runner from scoring. However,...
The “No Nonsense” Umpire
Am I a good umpire?”
Umpires should ask themselves that question (and answer it honestly) every so often. I like to think my long umpiring...
Catch to Dropped Ball
Fielders can often appear to make excellent diving catches, but the calling umpire for the play must have patience in that situation before declaring...
Making Amends After a Blown Call
It’s a terrible feeling. You’ve blown a call. You know it. Your partner may or may not know it. What’s worse, the blown call...
Going Out in Style?
More than half of the time while working the bases in fast pitch, you’ll be setting up in position A down the right-field foul...
Digging Out of a Slump at the Plate
Even the best ballplayers go into slumps. A hard-hitting batter is suddenly “popping them up.” A dominant pitcher “loses the strike zone.” An ace...
Strike First With Slow-Pitch Pitchers
One topic that garners a lot of discussion among baseball umpires is whether or not you should describe pitches for pitchers. That discussion also depends a great deal...
Keep Watch on Baserunners Abandoning Their Base
Webster’s defines abandonment as “to leave or forsake completely; to give up possession or control of or to give up, discontinue or withdraw from.”...
Handling Tough Situations on Difficult Pitches
One of the toughest jobs for a softball umpire is ruling on inside pitches. There is a lot happening at once and there are a lot of moving...
