Baseball Umpire Training
The responsibilities of a baseball umpire far exceed just calling balls and strikes. Umpires must maintain order on the field, learn to deal with confrontational managers and players, and maintain adequate fitness levels to position themselves for the best possible angle to make a call. An effective way to begin training for a career as an umpire is to attend an umpire training school. For those approaching umpiring as a hobby or second job, umpire camps provide a more casual approach to learning how to call a game.
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Major League Baseball Umpire Camp
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Major League Baseball Umpire Camp is not a certification program for becoming a professional umpire. Instead, it serves as a weeklong camp to improve umpire skills, focus on nutrition and physical improvements, and prepare for umpire training school. Instructed by major league umpires, camp attendees are given a chance to learn from the best. In some cases, the best performers at Major League Baseball Umpire Camp receive scholarships to attend training school for a chance to become a professional umpire.
Professional Umpire Career Path
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Like baseball players, major league umpires progress through the ranks of the minor leagues. In general, umpires are not even considered for major league positions until they have six to seven years' experience in minor league baseball. The first step to getting noticed is to attend one of the two official major league baseball umpire training schools. From there, approximately the top 16 percent from each class get evaluated for professional positions. Evaluators then contact low-level minor league baseball classes with recommendations for hiring. Each year, umpires are evaluated based on performance and may receive promotions to higher minor league levels. A lucky few get called to the major league level, but most professional umpires never advance beyond the minor leagues.
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Harry Wendelstedt Umpire School
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The Harry Wendelstedt Umpire School is located in Ormond Beach, Florida. Students must be at least 18 years old to attend the five-week intensive training course. The school convenes six times per week, meeting for conditioning in the mornings and instruction throughout the day. Topics covered in the school include proper positioning, dispute resolution, voice projection and game management. After the first 10 days of fundamental training, students are given a chance to practice their umpire skills at local high school and college games.
Jim Evans Academy of Professional Umpiring
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Located in Kissimmee, Florida, the Jim Evans Academy of Professional Umpiring is run by a 28-year veteran of major league baseball, Jim Evans himself. Evans makes himself available to students during both classroom and on-field instruction. His five-week course focuses on preparing umpires for professional baseball careers through personal instruction and drills. Every session is recorded on video for students to study habits and conduct self-performance reviews. Since the 1990s, the Jim Evans Academy of Professional Umpiring has sent more umpires to major and minor league baseball than any other professional umpiring school.
Prerequisites
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Both the Harry Wendelstedt and Jim Evans professional umpire programs do not require prior umpiring experience. In fact, both schools assume that students have not umpired a game at any level prior to the first day of class. As a result, the instruction topics over both five-week courses include everything from the very basics to the finer details of nutrition and personal health. Both schools also boast high placement rates in professional baseball, including alumni who have reached the pinnacle of baseball umpiring: making the World Series crew.
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References
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