RS: You're back home, a professionally trained umpire, but with no job.

Chad: Yeah, and for the first time, I'm feeling the disappointment. Even though I keep reminding myself that I didn't go to become a pro, it's hard to forget how close I came. I started to lose my confidence a little.

RS: So how did you get it back, get behind the plate?

Chad: Well, I hate to sound like a broken record, but it was my three mentors again: Tim Shumaker, John Stoughton, and Tom Burton. They helped me put everything in perspective and instead of being done with me after getting me to go to pro school, they jumped back in and started working with me some more.

RS: Kind of like your own "umpire development," eh?

Chad: Exactly. Then one day I got really lucky.

Continued...