n the old days, which are relative to whoever is doing the reminiscing; working on one's umpiring skills was often a lonely exercise. Sure, we did two and three man games and had association meetings occasionally. Some of us even went to the rarely held, in comparison to today, clinic or camp. But most of the time those who wanted to improve and move-up did much of their skill building and mental exercising alone.

Such was life for the amateur umpire in the sixties and seventies. You might have known an umpire who went to a pro-school, but odds are, it wasn't you. If you wanted to understand the rules better, you studied alone. If you wanted to work on mechanics, you watched some higher level umps work and then practiced alone. If your plate stance needed steadying, you went out in the back yard and experimented. Again, alone.

Continued...