Greetings MAC/NVBUA Umpires,
…and welcome back my friends! To the show that never ends! We’re so glad you could attend! Come inside, come inside! (…our house band this week is the prog-rock firm of Emerson, Lake and Palmer.)
I’d like to begin by thanking all of you who visited the re-launch of the Blue Crew News over the past two weeks. And an extra special thank you to all of those that reached out with your overwhelmingly positive feedback to all of us here on the staff of Blue Crew News. This publication and the work that all of us do here is in service to all of you. As always, if there are aspects of our craft, the umpire’s craft, that you’d like to know more about…that you’d like to read and see more about, our diligent mail room is always on duty. Please contact us directly anytime with feedback and article requests at: [email protected].
I would also like to add a special call for photos of association members at clinics, in classrooms, on fields, in the cage, etc. Please be sure to identify anyone in your submitted photos and attach a note in your email providing us with some context of your images. BCN is creating a photo gallery which we hope will provide a place to archive those moments in time of our umpires at work and going deeper into the fellowship of umpiring.
As always Dave Maher, our board president, puts the proverbial ball in play of our February 3rd edition with his President’s Message. Find out all the latest on the VA and MD exam dates and procedures as well as association standards for exam scores and there’s even some excellent personal tips from Dave on how to maximize your score on the exam! Read President’s Message
Association rules interpreter Greg McAvoy returns in this edition as well with a vital piece entitled “A Graduated Approach To Managing Unacceptable Behavior”. Game management can be a challenging aspect of umpiring. Greg lays out an excellent foundation of how to manage and respond in those moments of a game when coaches or players have crossed the line of acceptable behavior and conduct. Read Rules Article
The ubiquitous but never unctuous umpire, Gary Reals is dark this edition however, we do have a special message from Gary that just came in on the shortwave teletype service employed by BCN.
Although we are still finding our way here at BCN, we continually strive to span the globe to bring you the constant variety of enhancing umpire content (like Jim McKay!). In this edition our mechanics article comes to you from parts unknown by an anonymous yet fully scrutinized source. Don’t miss this insightful article entitled, “The Mechanics Of Umpire Communication”!
Next up, BCN co-editor Tim Strutzel sets aside his newsroom visor and dons his writer’s cap. BCN brings you an informative article on the association’s ratings program and committee. What are ratings? How are ratings calculated? Why are ratings important to umpires in our association? It’s all there and more in Tim’s piece, “Ratings Explained!”
Above I mentioned our need for photos in order to begin to fill the BCN Photo Gallery. In this edition we have a revealing photo essay of sorts giving you an inside look and description at how our cage sessions can best help you prepare for the upcoming season.
So there you have it…another edition of the Blue Crew News awaits. Thank you again for your support and please keep the letters and photos coming!
Best Regards,
Robert Fobian
Editor, Blue Crew News