NCOA Umpire Development Meeting

1st instruction meeting info: Our instruction program will begin this Monday, January 7. Please plan on being there by 6:15pm if you can. (It won’t be the end of the world if you are a little later than that.) I’ll try to be there early enough to have things rolling by then. If things get started later than that, then I could probably use some help so feel free to pitch in if you can. It’s always appreciated – honestly!

First Instruction Meeting:
Date: Monday, 01/07/2008
Time: 6:15pm (approx.)
Place: Rio Tierra Junior High School, 3201 Northstead Dr, Sacramento CA 95833

ONLINE SIGNUP - If you haven't signed up on line, PLEASE DO SO ASAP!!! I need to create classroom assignments for instruction. Your cooperation is appreciated ... Thanks

Schedule for the night: We’ll work on a fairly flexible schedule during the entire night. I can give you guidelines on time lines, but there are a lot procedural events to get through during the entire night as well as instruction material.

There are several items that need attention during that evening.

Check your registration detail info & status: When you arrive, check in with the registration station in the school library and review your submitted info for accuracy and dues payment status. If you haven’t signed up, then you will need to do so at that time. Also, check your payment status and see if your prepayment has been recorded properly or pay your association dues at that time if needed.

There is a lot of clerical work involved in that end of the operation, so if there is a problem, be professional and patient – it will get worked out. Remember, each of our reputations is made of how we act and carry ourselves – even in stressful periods.

Get your classroom assignment & report there: Next, check for your classroom assignments on the west entrance of the cafeteria window area. Please go to your classroom a.s.a.p. Instruction will begin promptly (or at least as promptly as we have control over.)

Gym workshop: Sometime during your classroom instruction, your class will proceed to the gym and we will “shoot” (guess we have to be careful of how we use the language on a school campus – we don’t want the s.w.a.t. team helping our instruction) some control sample video so you can compare it to some in the future (or even to last year’s images) and see how your plate mechanics have improved.

There will also be a few other stations for you to complete some additional observations and record them for future reference.

I would also like to create a station for taking photos for uploading on your arbiter account page. Let’s play that by ear for now. I will try to remember my digital camera …

Continue instruction: When your classroom completes its activities in the gym, you will return with your instructors to your classroom for the remainder of your instruction.

Mentor matching: Either this meeting or next (01/21), we will work on matching “newer” members up with mentors. Mentors will be an essential part of the instruction process now and in the future. They will bring the one-on-one component to instruction.

General meeting: For this first night, we’ll go ahead and stay in the classrooms until the general meeting at about 8:15 to 8:30pm.

Conclusion of activities: Finally, when the short general meeting is over, we will release for the night by 9:00pm.

“Bumps in the road”: As with any developing instruction program, we will have our bumps in the road. I hope you will think of this endeavor as your local convenience store that has a sign up saying, “we are open during construction.”

Work through it with us: Please be understanding and work through it with us. Our instruction will continue to evolve over the next several years. There are many changes down the road for our program as time permits us to develop & implement new instruction ideas, techniques and concepts.

Goals: Our primary goal is to become the area’s leading instruction group for all levels of baseball. Where no matter how much experience developing umpires come into our instruction program with, they can begin learning our “craft” in a positive and productive manner.

“Collaborative” format learning materials: We will be working on many on-line instruction materials that will probably be worked around a “wiki” format. For those of you who aren’t familiar with that term, it means we will have material that starts with a base document and grows from there with your input and comments. It works on the premise that many minds are better than one. It really will make our instruction material a group effort. It may take a little time, but this is the direction our instruction program will be headed.

Build a “support” and “contribute” network: We want this group to be a group you are proud to bring your friends or acquaintances to for umpire training. We want it to be a support group for you during your formative years in learning to umpire. A group where members remember their “roots” – (no that doesn’t mean you stand in your hula-hoop for positioning). It means you remember the programs you started and participate in and contribute back in various ways.

Allow non-NCOA members attend classroom training activities: What if we opened our training to many of the groups our members lead instruction efforts in. What if our instruction became the backbone from the littlest to the oldest baseball programs in the area? When you learned to umpire, did you learn a lot of bad habits to start from well-meaning but unknowledgeable people? How far a long could you have been with better quality training? This is where we can all make a big impact on our area’s baseball programs.

Please note the additional events through out the season & year …

Rules Clinics:
All are open to the public – feel free to bring anyone desiring to learn about baseball rules
All are 8am – 4pm

01/26/08 Location: Grant JUHSD Adult Education Building, 3222 Winona Way NH CA 95660
02/09/08 Location: Grant JUHSD Adult Education Building, 3222 Winona Way NH CA 95660
02/23/08 Location:T.B.A. – Auburn or Rocklin vicinity)

Mechanics Clinics:
All are open to the public – feel free to bring anyone desiring to learn about umpire positioning

02/16, 02/17 & 02/18/08 – Presidents’ weekend clinic 9am – 4pm daily)
09/05, 09/06 & 09/07/08 – 3-Day Section 4 Mechanics Clinic (Tentative – TBA)
11/07, 11/08 & 11/09/08 – 3-Day Section 4 Mechanics Clinic (Tentative – TBA)

On-Field Scrimmage work & analysis:
From 09/08 to 10/30/08 (on Mon, Tues, Wed & Thurs) – There is supervised instruction of high school level club teams at Sacramento City College from 5:15pm to 7:45pm. 32 different nights are available to choose from …