Pitch Softball Bat
There is nothing worse for the father of a daughter on a fastpitch softball team than to be asked to Umpire the game. The double hit to the gut is to umpire behind the plate when your daughter is pitching.
You would think that the parents of the opposing team would have a problem with it, but when you are dealing with Little League and everyone is a volunteer, and you didn’t point at them and ask them trust me they have no problem with you until the game gets started.
The first time you make a call that is close, then they have the problem!
The game of fastpitch softball, or baseball for that matter, is a game of inches. A pitch that you feel hit the outside or inside corner of the plate, they feel was about three feet out of the strike zone!
Then you start hearing the comments from the crowd, like “You didn’t want to swing at that pitch away!” Or maybe something not as in your face like, “Are you kidding me! Did he call that a strike?”
Doesn’t matter if you were sitting with them in church last Sunday, they still make the comments like you were their arch enemy.
Those same parents before the game gets started are all in their cars waiting for some fool like me to arrive to the field only to be asked to umpire. You can almost see all the fathers tucked down into their seat under the dash board waiting for me to arrive. Some arrive late for that very reason.
They all become experts of fastpitch softball after the game gets started. Of course they can see much better from thirty feet away and off to one side or the other. I’m not sure why they even require the umpire to be behind the plate when you can make better calls from the bleachers.
There are some advantages to being behind the plate other than making good friends with all the parents of the players. You get to see up close what softball bats the girls are using. Their stances and the mechanics of their swings!
You can really tell which players are taught and which players are just allowed to go up there when you see the way they hold their softball bats. Some of them way behind their heads. Others too low. Some of them have a softball bat that is way too big or small for them.
I am a strong believer that the bat should come up to around their hip and they should be able to hold it out with their weak arm for between five and ten seconds without it dropping down.
The other item I always bring with me to every game since I know that I will be asked to umpire. After all the other fathers have worn camouflage to blend in with their cares so no one will ask them to umpire. I always bring my own mask.
I go real tired of having to wear the mask they provided. Most of the time it stunk of sweat and the person wearing it must have had a head the size of Texas, because the elastic band that holds it on your head was so stretched out beyond belief.
Make sure you get one that protects your throat. I purchased the guard that attaches to the mask that covers my throat.
One of the things I learned over the years of umpiring, nine years, is that you don’t flinch behind the plate. If you duck by looking down you expose the top of your head. If you turn to one side of the other you expose the side of your face. Don’t flinch!
If you haven’t been hit square in the face with a fastpitch softball or a fowl off the softball bat, then you just haven’t lived. Well maybe you have, but it sure wakes you up or puts you to sleep.
I love the game of fastpitch softball and I love the view from behind the plate when I see a strike coming from the pitcher and the crack of the softball bats when the girls swing and connect. There is just no better view of the game.
I also know that if I am umpiring that I will be fair and consistent no matter if the crowd agrees or not.
Thank you and May God Bless you!
About the Author:
You can visit my blog where I talk about my daughters softball">http://www.playingsoftball.blogspot.com/”">softball career.
You can visit my blog where I talk about being">http://www.leadershipskillsforlife.blogspot.com/”">being a parent and all the struggle we as parents go through. My wife and I have four children and have been married for over 25 years, so we have some experiences to share.
Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - Umpiring Fastpitch Softball is a Thankless Job!
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