Tuesday, February 8, 2011

It's Time!

By Rich Johnson
President

It is that time of year again. It is time to begin conditioning our minds and bodies for the 2011 baseball season. For NBUA, the season started with the General Meeting on Jan. 24 at the Mercer Island Community Center. More than 100 members attended the meeting this year and were provided an overview of the Association's financial condition, committee reports, and important organizational issues and decisions to be made for the 2011 season. Since the General Meeting the Board of Directors voted unanimously to utilize the Arbiter assigning program for 2011. Informational and training sessions on the Arbiter assigning software will be incorporated into our training and meeting agendas.

It's time to start training. The first training class for new members was January 27 at the Mercer Island Community Center. The Training Staff has been working hard to prepare. We are committed to make the best use of your time in training. This year the Board of Directors has established and published minimum training attendance for each tier. See the training article published on January 21, 2011 for the specific requirements for your tier. In addition, we have established a hard deadline for accepting the MSA and completing the High School Test, Clinic, and Concussion Clinic. All must be completed by March 1, 2011 in order to be eligible to receive High School game assignments.

In order to be successful each of you must do your part. If you haven't already, start getting in shape now. Run, jog, walk, jumping jacks, knee-bends, stretching...being in good physical condition is a requirement of sports officials. You must also get your mind in shape as well. Start reading your rule book tonight! Read 5 or 10 pages a night and you will be way ahead. We intend on providing session outlines or subject matter in advance. You should prepare for each training session by reading the appropriate sections in the rules prior to attending training. Do it now and you will have a better season.

Finally, it is time to have some fun! If you are not a member of this association because you really enjoy being on the baseball field, ignore all of the above. It won't do any good. If you want to umpire for NBUA you must have passion for the game and youth baseball. Without it, you will not meet our standards for performance or the expectations of our valuable customers.

It is time to PLAY BALL!