Continental Baseball: Umpire Corner

Umpire
Sunday, October 28
Letter from the Chief Umpire

 

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Continental Little League Umpire Corps


Ed Newbegin
Chief Umpire
Dear Little League Families,
My name is Ed Newbegin, and I am beginning my third season as Chief Umpire for Continental Little League. I attended the Western Region Little League School in San Bernardino, the Amateur Softball Association National School, and many clinics dealing with baseball and softball officiating. I was also Chief Umpire for Dublin Little League before moving to Concord in 2000.
I’ve seen many successful Little League programs over the past 17 years since I started officiating and the common denominator for each one has been volunteer participation. Helping setup fields, working the snack bar, scorekeeping, coaching and officiating are all driven by the enthusiasm of our parents. Over the past two seasons we have built a training program and recruited a good group of people to umpire games.

Other leagues have opted to hire paid umpires, but I can tell you that is not the answer.A trained, qualified umpire will ask $45-$60 per game, and any umpire who accepts pay will NOT be allowed to represent our League during the post season. The answer, and the stated policy of Little League, INC is to encourage the community to provide volunteers for all positions and build a stronger sense of community.
To that end, I will be holding two umpire clinics for all interested parents and coaches for the 2008 season. They will be held at the Major division fields on the second and fourth Saturdays in February. Members of the Continental Umpire Corps, who are League parents just like you, will be conducting drills and classes to assist you in learning our craft. If you are as committed to improving the League as I am, please join us at these free clinics. Especially you managers and coaches.
There might be some of you who are saying: ”I could never do that.” I said that too, until I learned the most valuable assets are confidence and knowledge of the rules. The final ingredient is support, all the way from the Board of Directors to your fellow parents in the stands. We all benefit when our efforts combine to create a fun and educational experience for the players. Building a good umpire program takes time, and I have made a commitment to District 4 and Continental Little League to get that program going. If you see me at registration or out on the field, please voice any concerns or comments that you think might help, as well as emailing me through the League website. Come back to this page during the season for updates and tips on improving your game.
Most of all, please get out there and help! Two or three games over a twenty-game season will ensure full participation. Who knows, you might even learn to love it. That’s what happened to me!

Lastly, I would like to introduce my new Deputy Chief Umpire, Cory Dolph. Cory has been with Continental Little League for 4 years, and he attended the week-long Western Region Little League Umpire School in January 2007. Feel free to ask him about how YOU can join us, too.


Thursday, January 24
2008 Parent Umpire Clinics
Dear Continental Little League Parents,

Hard to believe, but here comes baseball season! I'd like to extend a warm welcome to our new families and a great thanks to you returning players and parents. As a volunteer organization, Little League depends on its membership to pitch in each season to keep the games fun and fairly played for our kids. For those of you who would like to try your hand at officiating some games, we will be holding some umpiring clinics during the preseason to give you the confidence and knowledge to do the job well. If you have been to a previous clinic, we urge you to come out again for a refresher. If you're a new parent and you ask one of our veteran members, they'll tell you these are really a lot of fun.

Here are the dates:

When: Saturday, March 1
Where: Alameda LL - Field TBA
Time: 8:00 AM - 4PM
 This is the District 4 Little League Rules and Mechanics Clinic. If you can't get to our two sessions, this one is fantastic! Free lunch and great instructors. (Myself included)

When: Saturday, March 8
Where: Ygnacio Valley Elementary - Majors/Minors Fields
Time: 1:30PM - 5PM
 The first weekend of games for Continental Little League feature scrimmage games on the Majors and Minors fields. Our own CLL instructors will be right there to observe you during game situations and help you be your best. It's all in fun this time!

As you can see, there are lots of opportunities to learn how to be a good volunteer umpire. They're all free! The staff here at Continental is composed of League parents just like you and we're here to help. Please email me if you are interested in attending any of these clinics. See you on the field.

Ed Newbegin
Chief Umpire, District 4 Instructor

Cory Dolph
Deputy Chief Umpire

Mike Sullivan
District 4 Instructor



Monday, February 11
Great Links for Parent Umpires!

Here are some links that will give you some information and insight into umpiring at all levels:

 

Little League International Umpire Page

 

What Should Umpires Think About?

 

 

UmpNews...Great Stories and Tips

 

 

Honig's Whistle Stop...Umpire Equipment

 



Monday, February 18
Rules Answer from Parent Clinic

Hey Parents,

 

During Sunday's rules discussion an interesting question was posed. One parent asked about the penalty for leaving base early. He wanted to know what would happen if a runner leaving first base early kept a middle infielder from getting an out at second, delaying his throw to first which resulted in no outs. After poring over the rule book and taking responses from umpires all over Western Region, there seems to be no penalty. We would caution the coach to keep his runner on base since it could cost him a run later, but unfortunately there is no codified penalty for this action.

Keep asking those tough questions! 

 

 

 

 



Wednesday, June 18
Tournament Time!

Congratulations to our 2008 Tournament Umpires! They will be representing Continental Little League at fields all over District 4 during the Tournament of Champions and All-Star play. Our lucky blues are:

 

Cory Dolph

Shaun Broughton

Dave Abele

Alan Bunday

Ed Newbegin

 

Next year, maybe YOUR name will be on this list.