Experienced Official Relocating...Here's a Few Tips and Suggestions

Considering Relocation?

Plan Ahead to Make theTransition Easier

By Tom Ryan

A year ago, faced with lackof employment and mounting financial hardship, I decided to relocate from theEast Coast to .Having already spent ample time in ,I was aware of the abundance of opportunities to officiate, as well as theincreased odds of finding full time employment.

This was not the first time Ihad uprooted myself and moved away. Some 10 years ago, I spent a short periodof time in .Using that experience as a reference, I compiled a list of things to do, aswell as not to do, as a guide.

Research ahead of time

The internet has made findingcontacts far easier than in the past. Virtually all High School AthleticAssociations can be found on the web. Often, they include registrationinformation, and forms can be downloaded and emailed back. By registering bythe proper deadlines, and attending clinics and mechanics classes, an officialcan be eligible to work immediately.

Email the appropriate people.If you know where you’re going to live, they might in turn be able to put youin contact with assignors in your area. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, eventhe smallest things. It shows your interest level, and will be a positive partof getting established.

Get a letter of recommendation from your past board

Along with my registrationpapers, I was asked to provide a letter of recommendation from each of my official’sboards.

 I’ve never seen mine, but the message has beenrelayed that I must be pretty good. I can’t imagine what they wrote.

What your new group will wantto see is years of experience, highest levels worked, commitment to assignmentsand game management. This letter is just a foundation though, it is not a makeor break part of the process. The bottom line that is at some point, you’regoing to have to prove yourself all over again.

Most officials relish thisopportunity. In my case, I still felt like I had something to prove, so I waseven more motivated.

Be prepared to take a step back

Regardless of where you aremoving from, or the level of play you have worked, others have done the same.As I learned here, they’ve done more.

The first softball meeting Iattended in ,some 30 other transfer officials were asked to introduce themselves and give anaccount of their experience. After 15 or 20 officials stepped forward and extolledon their experience, I realized that I was just a small fish in what is a verybig pond. Boasting wasn’t going to make an impression at all. I steppedforward, told the group I’d been umpiring awhile, longer than most coaches backeast had wanted, and that I was looking forward to doing ballgames 10 months ofthe year instead of six weeks.

I think it worked. Everybodystarted laughing.

Lose the attitude

Field clinic….Rulessessions….for many experienced umps…those are dreaded words. More so, they’reconsidered a waste of time.

‘‘I’m a college ump…I get a100 on the test every year…I haven’t done a jayvee game in 15 years’’.

I’ve heard those comments azillion times since I first put the gear on.  Those thoughts have danced in my head as well.It’s hard to ignore them sometimes.

I’ve learned that I  was wrong feeling that way. Very wrong.  Transfer umps, regardless of whether they’vedone one game or 100, are expected to run that imaginary line, work on safe/outcalls and doing countless button hooks. Simple mechanics in are far cry from the way things are done in . I had to make the adjustments.

Each state might handletransfers differently. In ,each transfer is a Level Four in his first year. In many ways, they are treatedas if they are a first year umpire.

I think it’s understandabletoo. Past experience is a plus, but an individual can just assume they’re goingto step right to the big time the minute they unpack the bags. I’ve metnumerous officials here who retired after working in other states. They won’tjoin the AIA because they’re not willing to do lower level games anymore. Ihave hard time buying into that philosophy.

At the end of the season, officialsare re-evaluated based on several factors, including three or four evaluations.My entire schedule this year was jayvee, but that was fine. I just wanted towork, and I’m confident enough that in time, my ability will dictate myschedule.

One of my goals is to work astate tournament within the next few years. I’m told that’s realistic. Insoftball, the state tournament crews rotate every year.  My goals are long term, not short. I’drecommend that all transfer officials.

Learn the seasons

Mother Nature dictated thescholastic seasons back home. Soccer in the fall, basketball winter, baseballand softball in the spring.

One of the toughest decisionsI had to make when I relocated was what sports I was going to work, and when.

The AIA recommends thatumpires choose either baseball or softball. Since the games are head on thesame days, the chances of doing a reasonable amount of both is not a guarantee.I chose softball because I am working plenty of baseball on weekends in thetravel leagues.

If I had one word of adviceto relocating officials..it would be this. Leave the attitude, if you have one,behind. Be confident and assertive on the field, but don’t go overboard. Inother words, stay humble and do what’s expected of you, but not anymore orless.

Tom Ryan is a baseball, softball, soccer andvolleyball official who worked in for 25 years before moving to in December of 2008. He also worked softball in the state of New Mexico.