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

CCSUA Test results

We continue to post our monthly tests and overall the results have been good.  We are averaging more than 140 people taking the tests each month through the February test.  There has been a significant drop-off to only 82 test-takers for our March test.  This is the time of the year, during the middle of the season, for all umpires to be studying the rule book on an almost daily basis.  There is no better way to test your knowledge of the rules than to take these monthly tests.  If you have not yet taken the March test, please do so by the end of the month.

Our Qualification test was taken by 116 people, putting themselves on the list for consideration for the Community College post-season games.  Many of our umpires took the SUP test instead of the CCSUA Qualification test as their way of qualifying for post-season play.  And a special tip-of-the-hat to those of you who took both.  This shows the assignors and training staff the umpires who are very serious about improving their games and preparing themselves for the next level of their umpire career.

Video training

Have you watched any of the training presentations and videos on our Locker Room?  Here are some excerpts from Barry Mano, NASO president and publisher of Referee Magazine, during his speech at the recent NASO summit:

“My, there is such a clamor for video, video for use in training officials…  Beyond the pros and major-college entities useful video is still scarce.  The demands and costs of real-time editing will not abate.  They will continue to be the major limiting factor in video fulfilling the promise all of us believe it has.”

Our Locker Room website is ahead of all other college softball websites with our video training.  We have a treasure of short clips – presentations and instructional videos with voiceovers,  These videos have been edited so you do not have to watch 3 minutes of video to see the play which shows specific mechanics, rules or game management instruction.

We will continue to add more instructional presentations and videos to our Locker Room.  Keep using this valuable website as an opportunity to advance as far as you can as a college softball umpire.  If you are not participating in video instruction, you are hurting your chances for advancement.