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A Message from the
Director of Training & Umpire Development

Baseball is our National Pastime. As such, we all own it, play it and mold it to fit our needs in whatever space that we plop down our base props to form a make-shift baseball diamond. Early rules knowledge is often formed by bouts of “ah-ha”, “na-ah. Whatever is decided one time may very well change the next. As a result, we seldom learn the real rules.

Many graduate from sandlot ball and play the game in a more organized setting. Some of us move on to high school ball (NFHS rules), American Legion ball (ALB rules), college ball (NCAA rules) or perhaps even some level of pro ball. Each brand of baseball has it's own variation of the rules. Some play softball, which introduces still other rule versions (USSSA, ASA, NSA, NFHS, NCAA and others) that influence our knowledge of the rules. These experiences form a very personal blend that I refer to as the rules we grew up with.

When our children decide they want to play baseball, we as parents try to assure a good experience and volunteer to help. We assume there are experienced managers in the program who will guide and orchestrate our efforts but we soon find out, they are us. Baseball programs supply the facilities and structure but rely on parents to volunteer and lead the activities. Many of us are willing but the diverse baseball experience we bring to the field sometimes leads to confusion. We never felt compelled to really know baseball but now we are given the responsibility to teach it to our children. All of a sudden, getting to understand the rules becomes a bit more compelling.

I've been there, done that. I know the feeling, all the feelings. I experienced them during my early years and then, as league chairperson and on to program commissioner, I witnessed the same thing year after year. As an umpire, I continue to see it year after year, program after program. For the last twenty-plus years I have been helping baseball programs improve their game quality by ending much of the diversity among their umpires, managers and coaches. I have seen programs blossom through better understanding. Yes, umpires will still blow judgment calls from time to time but at least, everyone is playing by the same set of rules.                          

 For those of you thinking about umpiring, I offer this — no one gets to view the game the way we do. Fans do not see the subtle details an umpire looks for. It's been said that umpiring is the best seat in the house — except you have to stand. If you go on to umpiring, it is likely you will never view the game as a fan again. It's kinda like switching to HDTV.

Whatever your goal in recreation baseball, I hope that this site and/or the training I offer, will help you get there.

Mark Swiss
Central Maryland Umpires
Director of Training and Umpire Development

Training for you
I conduct training and certification for local area baseball programs. In the early 1990's. I coined the name Umpire Survival Training. The training requires only 12 hours, a small fraction of the commitment made by high school and college umpire applicants. My training is not designed to make you an authority but to provide a firm foundation and a good, safe umpiring experience — in a word, survive. Then you will be equipped to build on your knowledge. There is plenty of training for advanced umpires (high school and higher) but the volunteer or recreational umpire has always been on their own to try to read and interpret the rule book. If you ever tried it, you know that doesn't work very well.

Umpire Survival Training consists of two separate workshops, a Rules Workshop and an Umpiring Workshop:

The Rules Workshop begins with an in-depth look at foundation rules, the rules on which other rules are built. These are the ones you absolutely have to know and understand before you take the field. With the foundation set, we begin to build an understanding of the rules that come into play most often.— the one you are most likely to encounter on the field. Designed for umpires, this workshop has become very popular with managers and coaches who want to understand what umpires know (or are supposed to know.)

The Umpiring Workshop covers aspects of personal & field safety, game control, philosophy, mechanics and positioning. We include aspects of volunteer umpiring and considerations for umpiring for pay. Weather permitting, we conclude the final session with a scrimmage game. This allows each applicant to get their first plate experience in a friendly, controlled environment with on-field instruction and personal critique. After the scrimmage, we teach the pitching rules for umpiring applicants and players who took part in the scrimmage.

Feedback on the training is very positive. As I end the live workshops, I ask attendees (both new and experienced managers, coaches and umpires) to complete a brief anonymous critique form with their honest feedback. I believe the responses to two key questions are most noteworthy. When asked (on a scale of 1 [poor] to 10 [best-it-could-be]):

1. How much did your baseball knowledge benefit from the workshop?
            Their averaged response was 9.2

2. How strongly would you recommend the workshop to a baseball friend?
            Their averaged response was 9.8

That ain't shabby.

The Move to DVD
When I began to get requests to conduct workshops beyond an easy traveling distance, I decided to film a workshop and put it on DVD. We began with the Rules Workshop in what was thought to be a controlled setting. However, we found that the questions and extraneous conversations (that can't be helped when your talkin' baseball) created some problems and gaps that required heavy editing. It is still a very popular DVD and it has helped many remote viewers. However, after attempting to tape the Umpiring Workshop video, it became apparent that while the live workshop was great for the live participants, it is not the most efficient setting for creating a training DVD.

We have now taken the instruction segments in studio. We experimented and tweaked the process until we developed an efficient method that allows us to present the information effectively, without a need for heavy editing and visual breaks. Unfortunately, the advancements have pushed our scheduled Spring 2010 release back. We would rather present a great product a little late than a mediocre product on time. The new Umpire Survival Training DVDs will likely not be available for release until the Fall of 2010.

This presents a saving opportunity for the current Rules Workshop DVDs. Since they will be phased out, we reduced the price 25%, from $39.95 to $29.95. Those who purchase the current Rules Workshop (workbook & DVDs) will be notified when the full Umpire Survival Training products are available and will be offered an additional upgrade discount at that time.

We have been testing our method/technology with a shorter DVD release entitled"The Most Misunderstood Rules of Baseball" which should be available by April, 2010. This will give you a preview of the new presentation mode that will be applied to the upcoming Umpire Survival Training release. I encourage you to check back here for updates later in March. Those on our e-mail list will receive an e-mail notification when the products are available.

Your Training Needs
You apparently have an interest in some training or you wouldn't be here. Is the training for yourself or for a group? Is your interest to just brush-up on the rules or learn more about umpiring? If umpiring, what level interests you; recreation, high school, college, professional baseball? There are many directions and variables.

I am happy to help people find their way to officiating. I have handled many inquiries and have compiled the answers for the majority of the questions or concerns that people have. Chances are the help you seek is located on the following page(s). To find out, please go to the appropriate area:.

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