Any umpire who claims he has never missed a play is, well...an umpire.
-RON LUCIANO, Umpire

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28 umpires from 3 states attended the 1999 clinic

It rained overnight and the staff spent time making the fields usable before we started the 2nd day of field training.

My day started with a session in the batting cage, seeing real pitches. Many good tips for me here, including seeing the ball better and solid improvements in my called strike three mechanic.


Working on basic field positioning

The rest of the morning was spent working pick offs and steals drills and covering the outfield. Once again the staff stressed hustle, timing and good positioning before making a call.



LUNCH
The afternoon sessions included covering pop ups at the A position, working the C position and practicing pivots from the A position.

The second day on the field ended with line drills. It was time to go to the IBUA annual dinner.


Watching the Outfield
Dinner was at the Port Lookout Fire House. It was a time where we could discuss war stories and ask questions of the training staff. The dinner concluded with a panel discussion moderated by Frank Laparik on the philosophy of umpiring.

Day 2 was over with many things to remember.


Frank Laparik moderates panel discussion

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Gentlemen, he was out...
because I said he was out!
-BILL KLEM, Umpire
BACK-- NEXT

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