et's put a big part of the real message right up front: The jump from high school to college baseball umpiring is dramatic — and that's an understatement.

OK, I know. Certain parts of the country have very good high school baseball. If you're in Florida, California, Arizona, or a few specific major cities you may be working high school games involving a lot of seniors genuinely ready to step onto a Division I field. You already see breaking balls with real pop, slick fielding, and runners who go first to third any time a ground ball takes a bad hop.

Problem is, if you're working high school games in those areas the college ball nearby is similarly off the charts. If you're working high school games where the catchers can't, well, it's easy to understand why you want to step up.

Before you do it's imperative you prepare. Not just by working hard, learning the rules, knowing your mechanics, and making a great impression on an assignor. Those things are givens. Unless you live in one of those areas where all it takes to umpire is a heartbeat and a phone number, no one will offer a college game until you master those basics. My assignment in this column is to consider my fellow umpires who have slaved away, trying to break into college umpiring, and "tell what to expect when they get there."

Continued...