Notes from the Training Staff – October 2016

Dates for the 2017 CCSUA/Assignors meetings have been determined: January 8 – CCSUA SOUTH annual meeting.  Site and time to be determined. January 14 – CCSUA NORTH annual meeting.  Hayward Japanese Gardens, 9am-3pm. Hawaii February (TBD) The monthly test has been posted for October.  Make sure you read the October Newsletter and the new articles posted to our Locker Room

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Notes from the Training Staff – September 2016

Debbi Lauderback has resigned as the assigner for the Community College playoffs.  Joanne Venditto and Rich Kollen are working with the Community College coaches association to better define the selection process for playoffs. This is a good time to take an inventory of your uniform and equipment.  Check your equipment to see if repairs or replacements are needed. Check your uniforms for proper color and size.

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Notes from the Training Staff – August 2016

Fall Ball is approaching.  The next two monthly tests – August and September – will have questions regarding the Nonchampionship Segment of NCAA softball.  We call it Fall Ball but it covers from the end of the regular season in 2016 to the beginning of the 2017 season. Make sure you study page 15 of the 2016-2017 NCAA Softball Rule

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College Camps – Prepare for 2019

The Assignors, your SUP Advisor, and the CCSUA Training staff bring to your attention that many college camps are being held from June through October. The Assignors for the top NCAA softball conferences expect umpires to attend a college camp The SUP staff recommends to umpires who want to be considered for post-season to attend a camp The CCSUA Training staff supports our

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Notes from the Training Staff – June 2016 (Updated)

Another great resource. Are you capitalizing on another great resource available to CCSUA umpires – watching the umpiring at top-level games on TV? If you watched any of the D1 postseason you saw a lot of good training material.  Here are some musings on these postseason games, with additional details and comments. Announcers still struggle to accurately cite rules and

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Notes from the Training Staff – May 2016

We are at the end of the regular season and now the post-season starts.  Congratulations for those who have received assignments.  Many of you deserve to work post-season but there are limited spots.  Do not be discouraged if you have not been selected.  Keep improving your game by using all the resources in our Locker Room. DP reentry interpretation We have

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Notes from the Training Staff – April 2016

A lot has been happening in college softball in our areas as the season heats up and teams are vying for possible post-season selection.  We have had many umpire/coach discussions, unusual plays, and questions about rules.   To assist our umpires to make the right calls and be in the correct positions to make those calls, we have a valuable

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Notes from the Training Staff – March 2016

SUP Update The NCAA SUP website has added a new section on their Main page at the very top of the middle column – ERAs (Essential Rules Awareness).  The March ERAs have been posted.  Be sure you read these important clarifications on: Projected substitutions Questioning the strike zone and other judgment calls Scouting information and electronic equipment use Backstop padding

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Notes from the Training Staff – February 2016

The college softball season is well on its journey toward May and the post-season.  We hope your season is going well so far.  We would like to start collecting interesting plays or experiences at your games.  Please send John Bennett an email if you would like to share something unusual or something which could lead to an educational discussion about

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List of Conferences and Assignors in CCSUA Area

California Community College Conferences 2023 Assignor’s name is listed for each Conference Bay Valley (Tanihana) Big 8 (Tanihana) Central Valley (Barker) Coast (Llewellyn) Golden Valley (Deel) Inland Empire Athletic Conference (Helsing) Orange Empire (Venditto) Pacific Coast (Helsing) South Coast (Venditto) Western State (Venditto) NCAA DI Conferences (Venditto) Pac-12 Big West West Coast NCAA DII Conferences (Venditto) California Collegiate Athletic Association

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Notes from the Training Staff – January 2016

We hope everybody had a wonderful Holiday Season and you are off to a great New Year.  December and January were very busy months for the CCSUA Training Staff as we: Prepared and delivered, with your Assignors, two Annual Meetings with informative PowerPoints, instructional videos, and interesting discussions. Devleoped and published the CCSUA 2016 Qualification Test Assisted the SUP in developing the 2016

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CCSUA/Assignors Meeting – North

Meeting information January 16, 2016.  9am to 3pm. Hayward Japanese Garden 22373 N 3rd Dt, Castro Valley, Ca 94546. Dress is business casual. Conference meetings will be held after the main meeting Contact Oscar Segura for the North Clinic if you plan to attenc this meeting.  

CCSUA/Assignors Meeting – South

Meeting information January 10, 2016.  9am to 2pm.  Cerritos College 11110 Alondra Blvd, Norwalk.  Dress is business casual.  Conference meetings will be held after the main meeting Directions/parking Enter Cerritos College from Studebaker Street on either Falcon Way or New Falcon Way. The meeting will be in the Health Science (HS) building, room 102, which is on the north end

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Notes from the Training Staff – November 2015

Welcome to our website!!  Thanks for using this resource to improve your umpiring skills.  We just posted the November test so make sure you take it. The Assignors have asked us to put together a CCSUA Qualification test to be taken by our members who do not sign up for the NCAA Softball Umpire Program (SUP) in 2016.  The Assignor

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Notes from the Training Staff – October 2015

With Fall Ball season well under way most of us are working games and staying in shape.  But don’t forget your uniform and equipment need to stay in shape as well.  Now is the time to do your Annual Uniform Checkup.  You can get good prices on softball uniforms and equipment now from most vendors, which are not available if

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About the CCSUA

The California Collegiate Softball Umpires Association… In 2004 the California Collegiate Softball Umpires Association (CCSUA) was formed with the objective of providing a high quality instructional program for the development, training, and continual improvement of collegiate softball umpires and to work with the college softball assigners in that role. To have an effective collegiate program, all facets must be working

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Training Staff

Scott Tomlinosn. Chairperson Education and Training Vince Price. Assistant Education and Training Warren Okinaka. Training Assistant Hawaii   CCSUA South Dave Long, Training Logistics and Instructor Tony Cooper, Fall Clinic and Fall Ball Hal Van Ryswyk, Fall Clinic Jim Sanderson, Training Staff Advisor Observers/Instructors: John Bennett Les Carr Rick Cowan Chris Drumm Paul Edds Anthony Garcia Rick Hausvik Laura Head

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Notes from the Training Staff – September 2015

With September and Fall, come the Fall Ball Games.   And Remember for September…Fall Ball games are called the Nonchampionship Segment in the Rule Book.  Several administrative playing rules can be set aside or modified.  All other conduct rules may not be altered.  Certain rule exceptions may be used and must be agreed upon and communicated to the umpire crew

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Notes from the Training Staff – August 2015

For those of you who have read the August Newsletter… Thanks for using the resources available to you to keep up with what is going on in the college softball world. The following will be “old news” so you can stop reading now and go back to reading the rule book.  For all others,  click on the heading above to

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Notes from the Training Staff – July 2015

Many of our CCSUA umpires are attending Camps this summer and working high-level travel ball tournaments.  What are you doing to keep up with the fast-moving game of college softball?  Working a few rec league games every few weeks will not do it. Whether you are working a lot of “summer ball”  or not, you should be reviewing the CCA

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Notes from the Training Staff – June 2015

We hope that all of you are having a fun yet instructive summer.  Many of you continue to umpire softball games at high levels – travel ball, big tournaments, even “friendlies” with highly-skilled teams and athletes. And a trend is developing in these areas which may seem familliar to your college experience – somebody (a UIC, a fellow-umpire, etc) may

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Announcement of new Chairperson for CCSUA

We are proud to announce that Jim Sanderson has accepted the position as the Chairperson for the California Collegiate Softball Umpires Association. He has proven himself as a leader in multiple umpire associations in the past.  His professional and dedication to the umpire vocation will be a great attribute to our organization.  We are looking forward to his leadership.

Notes from the Training Staff May 2015

The news of our Chairman’s untimely death has been widely distributed.  Words cannot express how much the CCSUA will miss Greg Schmidt.  Please honor Greg in your own way, and remember him as a person who strived to make everybody a better umpire. As our 2015 college softball season fades away, now is the time to give yourself a serious

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Notes from the Training Staff April 2015

As we get closer to the end of the season, and with the playoffs nearing for all levels, it is time for all umpires to sharpen their skills.  The competition will be more intense and we must rise to the occasion. Review the rule book and/or the CCA Manual every day  Check out the article on our Main page at

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Notes from the Training Staff March 2015

The season is progessing and we have had a lot of positive feedback, both from coaches and observers.  Keep up the good work! However, there have been a few issues, both with mechanics and rule knowledge, which have caused some problems during games.  Our training staff has always been dedicated to the philosophy that we are all in this together, we

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Assignors Announcement – Important

ALL UMPIRES: Check your information in Arbiter and update any items which need updating. Update your Arbiter calendar dates – make sure you block every date for which you are not available for each Arbiter group.  As soon as you accept an assignment in one group, block those dates in all other groups.  We have not received all the schedules yet but are

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CCSUA Announces Associate Status

The CCSUA has announced the availability of registering as a CCSUA Associate.  This Associate status will allow umpires who are not in the CCSUA to have access to the CCSUA Locker Room (Central Hub) for the cost of $40. The Locker Room is a great source of umpire training.  It features announcements, monthly newsletters, monthly tests, rule interpretations and clarifications, action

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Assignors’ Announcement for 2015 Season

The Assignors have announced the dates for the annual College Softball Umpires Association meetings.  They recommend that you register now, get it done, and then it will not conflict with budgets you have set aside for holiday parties and gifts. The Registration Form is on this Locker Room in the left panel under the CCSUA Forms heading. Attire is polo shirt and “docker”-type pants,

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CCU North and CCSUA Announce Merger

The CCU-North President Dimas Resendez and CCSUA Chaiman Greg Schmidt have announced the merger of these two organizations. Click on the links below to see the two announcement letters. CCU-North announcment letter CCSUA announcement letter

Tips For Studying the Rule Book

It is a requirement for college umpires to study the NCAA Softball Rules Book and CCA Manual on a regular basis, not just throughout the season. This should be done year-round with special emphasis on the few months before a new season starts – November, December, early January. Have you been doing this? The umpires who keep moving their careers

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Tips for Studying the CCA Manual

It is a requirement for college umpires to read the Rule Book and CCA Manual on a regular basis throughout the year.  Have you been doing this?  The umpires who keep moving their careers to higher levels do this. And they do not just “read” these important and vital softball reference books, they study and absorb them.  Notice that throughout this

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CCSUA TRAINING PROGRAM

Training Elements… The CCSUA training program will consist of these major elements: Locker Room web site Monthly postings in the News & Notes section Tests Annual training cycle A program of education in the four major areas of umpiring: Rules, mechanics, game management, and protocols In addition, the CCSUA training program will include these additional items: Training sessions at the

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CCSUA Mentor Program

The California Collegiate Softball Umpires Association’s Mentor Program, with the help of the college softball Assignors, teams up experienced umpires (mentors) with newer umpires or selected veterans (mentees) for game assignments for the purpose of training and feedback.  This program is vitally important to the CCSUA because our newer umpires need that extra help in their development as a college

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Requirements for Working College Softball

Umpires who want to be considered for college softball umpiring… Typical minimum requirements include: At least 7 years of softball umpiring experience At least 5 years working at the highest level of high school and travel ball Recommendation from a respected college softball umpire PLEASE NOTE: 1st and 2nd year umpires will work mostly Community College games. You must be

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Hard work leads to high rewards

Here is a list of CCSUA umpires who have reached high levels of softball umpiring in NCAA. NAIA, and Community College .  Congratulations to them; we hope all our members strive to these levels: NCAA College World Series Umpires: Chris Drumm, Paul Edds, Katrina Kershaw, Debbi Lauderback, Dennis Wren NCAA National Championship Umpires: John Bennett (D2), Tony Cooper (D2), Dan Cowan (D2), Dave

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Contact Information

Contact information… Rich Kollen, Chairperson, dayofgame@me.com  Jim Sanderson, SUP Regional Advisor, tinyjimsanderson@gmail.com John Bennett, Chairperson Education and Training, bennettjoh@sbcglobal.net,  714-267-5831. Kelie Sturgis, Finance Officer Vince Price, Assistant Training and Education North. Warren Okinaka, Assistant Training Hawaii. Ed Cooper, Observations Coordinator North. Mark Korras, Newsletter Editor. Joel Hessing, Special Events South Oscar Segura, Special Events North. Dave Long, Logistics South. Martin Vandenburg, Logistics

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Action photos

Out at the plate Close call at 2b Moving to the play Play at plate…you make the call Safe at 3b “You ain’t nothin’ till I call it” – quote from famous MLB umpire – a long time ago. Good timing You’re out and I mean it! Safe at the plate No tag!