Softball

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...

Step On It

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...

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...

Five Steps Toward Being Truly Great

Let’s assume you are a good umpire, even an exceptional umpire. You do well on association exams and know your mechanics. Nevertheless, do you...

In the ‘Try Right Zone’

The plate umpire in fast-pitch softball faces the demanding task of making split-second rulings hundreds of times each game, regardless of the competition level....

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,...