Notes from the Training Staff – June 2018

We will continue to have monthly tests during the college “off-season” (see the paragraph below). The June 2018 test is now posted in the Training Courses section of our Locker Room.  Hint – perhaps you did not have time during the season to thoroughly review the new NCAA Case Book.  The next few monthly tests will be taking plays directly from that Case Book.  We will start with some questions on rules 10 and 11.  Have the Case Book handy when you take the tests and you will find the correct answer.  The purpose of these tests is to get you into the Case Book and review some interesting plays and rulings.
The official “off-season” has started for college softball.  However, as you know our CCSUA philosophy is – successful college softball umpires train year-round.  We do not have to spend as much time training now as we do during the spring season, but we do need to keep in touch with the rules, mechanics, game management practices, and taking the monthly tests.
Here is a suggestion – each week spend at least 30 minutes reviewing either the 2018-2019 Rule Book, the CCA Manual, the NCAA Softball Case Book, or accessing our Locker Room to read some articles and/or watch some instructional video clips.  There are two excellent articles on our Locker Room which give you a roadmap for how to accomplish your year-round training.  From the Dashboard, scroll down and select the Training Information button.  The articles are titled: Tips for Studying the Rule Book and Tips for Studying the CCA Manual.
Now is also the time we can do our “what ifs“ or ask the training staff questions about plays which happened in one of your games or something you watched in a TV game.  We will try to answer your inquiries in a timely manner regarding out of the ordinary plays, both rules and mechanics.  We can start an open discussion on our Locker Room – send John Bennett your questions and we can post them.  We can then have an open discussion on the issue.