So with two classroom sessions in the bag and a day of field training I thought I would try to umpire Linus' practice game.

The league guys were great. They helped me suit up: knee pads, chest protector, mask, cup (okay, they didn't help me with that). I will say that you feel pretty invincible with all the armor on your body. I was a stud!

The first thing I noticed when I started calling pitches was that it wasn't any easier to call a ball or strike from behind the plate than it is on TV or from the stands. It is a huge judgment call. I can completely understand how umpires develop a style and a zone for their calls and how it can vary between umpires.

Linus plays in AAA which is the lowest kid-pitch league (our league has a modified kid-pitch rule, but it's mostly kid-pitch). The pitches were all over the place and I kept trying to avoid the ball when the catcher wasn't going to catch it. This is not conducive to making good calls. One time I called a ball after the batter swung at the pitch.

We learned in class to make a fist pounding motion for strikes and to simply call a ball without moving. I forgot a couple instructions and was calling and motioning swinging strikes which really only require the motion. I also found that by holding the clicker/indicator in my right hand (the motion hand) I would forget to make the motion a lot of the time because I was trying to advance the count with that hand and my brain is not very good at multitasking.

We only played three innings, but we went through a lot of pitches. Sometime in the second I was feeling pretty weary and remembered some of the field training when they would talk about the fatigue you get in the 4th or 5th inning and start to lose track of things. I think it helps to make sure you move between pitches so you keep the blood flowing and maintain a little alertness.

I was fortunate one of the UICs (Umpire in Chief) was there to watch me and he provided some great feedback. He corrected my called swinging strikes. He also reinforced the need for me to stay put and not move in order to make the right calls. You have to trust your armor. Everything is protected and you just have to let the balls bounce off you. You almost become a part of the field at that point and have the catcher move around you to fetch the ball.

One other tip was not to wear your knee-pads outside your pants. It makes you look like a rookie.