Orientation Experience
by Troy on 05/06/18
I just returned from the orientation in Williamsport. We had 4 very full days of meetings, mechanics, ground rules and even games on both fields (Lamade and Volunteer).
A few things that stick in my mind are: 1. The fields have many ground rules - many are in place because of ESPN televising the games. 2. While watching the games on TV, the fields look totally flat (especially behind the plate). That is not the case. 3. While standing on the field at Lamade, the sensation that I felt was 'Oh my god'. It was very quiet when we first went on the field, but to stand there and imaging 20,000+ people around you is hard to do.
I also met the other 15 umpires from around the US, Canada, Japan and Columbia. These are guys are all great and the group seemed to hit it off right away. We got to learn about each other, work together and became the "Third Team" on the field, or as the staff called us - "the 17th team". Everyone is a great umpire and we are here to support each other during our work.
I am posting pictures below, with explanations of what was going on.
The complex and fields are amazing!! Both of the main fields are game ready (so are the practice fields), and they stay that way all summer. There will be very few games played on them this summer (only special permission from LL), but we had the opportunity to work on Lamade and Volunteer all day on Saturday. There were many local teams invited to play here, in exchange for our guys working the games. It was a great experience, and should help us be more relaxed and confident in August.
We all stayed in the Grove. This is where the teams stay during the tournament, and no one is allowed in there other than the kids/coaches during the WS.
We will be reporting on August 14th, and guess what one of the first tasks for us? Another meeting. We have a tentative schedule of what we will be doing when we first get there, and just because there are no games on the field - it doesn't mean the umpires won't already be busy. Looks like 2 busy days for us, even before the 1st pitch.
More soon.