09/28/2026
Understand the need for Camps!!!!
A lot of people don't understand the use of the need for Umpire camps. There is this belief that the job is so simple that anyone can do it!
I agree, ANYONE can do it, once you have been trained. Umpiring is like any other profession. Anyone can paint, work on a car or even build a house, but you become a lot better at it when you have been trained, and it minimizes the mistakes.
We are in an era where Officials/Umpires numbers are way down, for a multitude of reasons. Parents and coaches screaming, and yelling at umpires, at the youth and high school levels of baseball being the #1 reason.
I won't say some criticism is warranted, but to say it's gotten out of hand is an understatement. So how do we fix that???
Well as Umpires we need to control what we can control! How we train ourselves, is how we will umpire. Practice makes permanent, is what we should all strive for. Rule knowledge mechanical perfection and communication is the key to Umpiring from a position of strength.
You have to attend Instructional Camps to learn the proper movements, verbiage, mechanics, and rules. You go to Evaluation Camps after the instructional camp to see what your flaws are, and how to apply everything from the instructional camp into real games...Both types of camps are critical in the development of an umpire.
At our UmpSmart camps, we focus on the instructional portion. Yes we add games into our curriculum to allow us to evaluate and correct mistakes in an environment where we can protect and teach you all at the same time. But we want you to do things over and over in that instructional environment, because as we have learned Practice makes Permanent!
Understand what type of a camp you're going to. If you are still at the level of an umpire that needs instruction, which is MOST umpires at the youth level, then an Evaluation Camp isn't beneficial. And if you're seeking to be evaluated, an instructional type camp isn't beneficial as there is less opportunity to work games, to work on what you have already learned.
Understand what type of a camp you're going to, and prepare yourself for that camp. Challenge yourself, ask the hard questions that further your knowledge of the trade. But get to camps, control what you can control, so that you can be the best that you can be, and in return what's best for the game!
The #1 job of an umpire isn't to be invisible (myth of being a good umpire), it isn't to the players, coaches, parents or even the assignor. The #1 job is to keep the integrity of the game, through the rules adopted through the association and level in which you're working! If you manage all that, you will hear the parents quiet down, the assignor's paying more money, and the Game growing and becoming better and better!
The choice is yours, but get to camp. Take pride in wearing that uniform. Control what you can, so you can work towards being the best, instead of being content with being ok.
