Softball
All Ball
The NFHS Softball Rules Committee approved a change in the penalty for an illegal pitch starting with the 2018-19 school year. An illegal pitch...
50 Percent Better in 45 Minutes
Do you want to be a 50 percent better umpire in 45 minutes? It’s all right here and my unique techniques are easy to...
Real Appeal
In a televised NCAA game last May, a player was so excited about hitting an out-of-the-park home run that she jumped over home plate...
No Hedge on the Wedge
As today’s players become quicker, faster and stronger, and as rules adapt, so must umpire mechanics. One of the major mechanic changes in NCAA...
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...
Location Notation
While watching MLB’s World Series last fall, I heard the plate umpire, who was wearing a microphone, call, “Ball, outside” after a pitch was...
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,...
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...
Infield Fly Factors
An infield fly situation includes many variables for umpires to take into consideration. The wind or sun affects the calling of the infield fly....
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...
Game-Time Decisions
By Rick Woelfel
Watching an NCAA Division I crew at work is akin to attending an umpiring seminar. I was afforded that opportunity in late...
