Wednesday, January 14, 2004

Mentor Program designed to retain rookies

By Mike Brancheau
Contributing Editor

New for 2004 will be a revamped and revitalized NBUA Mentor Program. The program will need several good men to volunteer to be sworn in as Mentors, but more on that later. Here is the program in a nutshell:

Retention of our newly trained umpires is important, and the Mentor Program is designed to increase our rookie retention. Every new umpire to our program will be assigned a Mentor, whether he is a raw rookie, Little League veteran, other Association defector, or big dog from Kansas.

Instantly, our new umpires have a pal. The Mentor will be a source of information and clarification during training, and will work 1 or 2 "buddy" games with the new umpire post training. Any questions or problems the new umpire has can be addressed during the season via a phone call or email to his Mentor.

Mentors will also be responsible for following the progress of their rookie, and "encourage" them to get out there and do games. Certainly getting some buddy games will get the Rookie started, and after that some gentle persuasion.

Applications for Mentors are now being accepted. To qualify, you must be a B tier or higher, 4 years of NBUA experience, and willing to do the work; be a game working pal with your Rookie. You should regularly work or be prepared to work JV, Kofax, Colt, and the other games that our new umpires work. Most Mentors will be assigned to two new umpires.

To apply, send an email to Mike Brancheau, Mentor Program Facilitator.