The March Notes from the Training Staff are a bit longer than the normal monthly Notes. The season in is in full swing, a lot is happening on the field, and we want to keep all CCSUA umpires up to date on all that is going on in college softball.
Explanation on the monthly tests
Due to unforeseen circumstances, we have not been able to publish the February monthly test until today. Please take a few minutes to complete this test in the next few days. It is only 10 questions, all are True/False. As the assigners have stated previously, the grade is not as important as the fact that you take the time to continually educate yourself and take each monthly test. We will be publishing the March test by March 25. The February 2018 Test can be found in the Training Courses tab on the Locker Room dashboard page.
Location of Bat and Incident reports on the Locker Room
Despite a detailed email in February on how to submit these reports, we are still getting a few of them submitted incorrectly. As a reminder, here is what the February email stated:
Removed Bats – If a bat is removed from a Community College or NAIA game, complete the On-line CCCAA and NAIA Removed Bat Report, which can be found in the Links section of our Locker Room.
Incidents/Ejections – for Community College and NAIA games, you can go to either Arbiter Forms or Locker Room Links to find the CCCAA and NAIA Incident Report.
Additions to Locker Room
There have been significant additions to the Locker Room in the past 2 months. Have you taken advantage of this informative instructional material? As a reminder, when you sign into our Locker Room, the most recent additions will be listed on the left side of the Dashboard page. Here are some of them:
Rules Corner – Rule updates from NCAA March 2, 2018
Rules Corner – Do You Protect the Batter or Catcher?
Training Information – Most Missed Questions on the 2018 NCAA Softball Rules & Mechanics Test.
Game Management/General – Body Language Handshakes and Gesturing
Game Management/General Defensive Changes and Reporting Them
Be looking for additional videos being posted, similar to the videos that have been posted on the NCAA SUP Home Plate website.
Ricochet – interference or not?
There is one rule which covers the contact by the runner on a ricocheted ball (12.17.2.6.3) and another which covers the contact by the runner on any fielder,(12.17.2.1.5.5) attempting to make a play on a ricocheted ball (including the pitcher first contacting the batted ball). There is also a good Case Book play (A.R 12-61, page 100) which covers both of these situations. Please discuss this situation and these rules with them. It is a great learning experience, as these situations do not happen often but we must be ready for them.