Softball
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...
Dead or Live?
Imagine that you’re working the plate in a two-umpire system. There’s a runner on second with one out. The batter hits a towering fly...
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...
Fear of Abandonment
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.”...
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...
Southpaw Catcher Surprise
As you arrive at the diamond for a day of calling balls and strikes, nothing seems unusual. You go through pregame rituals, put the...
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...
Thinking Outside the Box
The NCAA Softball Rules Committee and the Playing Rules Oversight Panel recently approved a significant amount of rule changes for the upcoming 2022 and...
Trouble Area
The last half of the distance from home plate to first base is one of the biggest trouble areas in softball. To stay on...
Like a Boss
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fellow brother in blue, who passed away much too soon, had a mantra he used both in life and on the field. That mantra...
Keep it Between Us
Some unseen things that go on before, during and after a softball game would really surprise the casual or even rabid fan.
First is the...
Lineup Logistics
During the course of a game, and a season, a lot of things can go wrong when it comes to lineup cards. One of...
Injured Player? Stop Right There
At times a game needs to be stopped because of an injury. When an injury occurs during a live ball as shown in the...
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,...
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...
Conference Calls
Conferences occur in every game. It is extremely important for umpires to understand the rule differences between the codes to know what is and...
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,...
Softball Crew Chief Responsibilities and How to Prepare
If you are reading this and you are not a crew chief but have that as one of your goals, congratulations. You are taking...
Slot Machine
The most important job in a game, and often the most difficult, is calling an accurate strike zone. In order to be accurate, you...
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...
The Difference Between Preventive Umpiring and Coaching
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here tends to be a debate among umpires regarding what should and should not be brought to the attention of coaches when it comes...
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...
Check This Out
The NFHS Softball Rules Committee approved a handful of rules changes for the 2017-18 school year, but two in particular — allowing intentional walks...
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...
