26 Season Two Episodes are in the books (counting this one), a 30% increase from Season One! ;)

In this short update, I talk about when we'll be back, what we have planned, and how much we appreciate our listeners!

As always, if you want to weigh in with your opinions, you can email us at [email protected], leave a comment at UmpiringFastpitchSoftball.com, or comment on this episode on Facebook - just search for Umpiring Fastpitch Softball.

In this episode, we dig in and talk to Victor about how he got started, what sports and levels he officiates at, and what stories and advice that he has for newer umpires.

Some of the topics we cover are Handling Conflicts on the Field, How to Know if Your Strike Zone Sucks (or your 3rd Strike Call, iykyk), a Day (Year?) in the Life of a D1 Umpire, Perspective, and much, much more.

Much thanks to Victor for taking time out of his busy schedule to talk to us, we hope you enjoy it even half as much as we did!

If you want to weigh in with your opinions, you can email us at [email protected], leave a comment at UmpiringFastpitchSoftball.com, or comment on this episode on Facebook - just search for Umpiring Fastpitch Softball.

This week, we tackle some of those myths that seem to never die, things like Hands are Part of the Bat, You Have to Slide, The Batter has a Right to the Box, and many more.

Take a listen and let us know if we missed any that we can cover in a future episode or if you think we got any wrong.

If you want to weigh in with your opinions, you can email us at [email protected], leave a comment at UmpiringFastpitchSoftball.com, or comment on this episode on Facebook - just search for Umpiring Fastpitch Softball.

As we transition from school ball to summer ball, we decided to take a look at some of the rule differences between NFHS and one of the major sanctions. In many ways, the NFHS rules (and mechanics) echo USA ball, but there are some big differences that always come up when we transition into summer. We examine those to help prepare you as you start to work rec leagues and tournaments.

A link to the spreadsheet we were consulting can be found on this episode's page on UmpiringFastpitchSoftball.com.

If you want to weigh in with your opinions, you can email us at [email protected], leave a comment at UmpiringFastpitchSoftball.com, or comment on this episode on Facebook - just search for Umpiring Fastpitch Softball.

In this episode, we continue our overview of the NFHS Three Umpire System. We use the manual and a handy spreadsheet that David created to discuss movement of U1 and U3 as well as the Plate Umpire's responsibility in the entire system.

We have published an image of David's spreadsheet in the comments for this episode on our site so that it can be a reference for others.

If you want to weigh in with your opinions, you can email us at [email protected], leave a comment at UmpiringFastpitchSoftball.com, or comment on this episode on Facebook - just search for Umpiring Fastpitch Softball.

In this episode, we take a listener suggestion and begin our overview of the NFHS Three Umpire System. Using Part 8 of the new 2024 and 2025 NFHS Softball Umpires Manual and David's experiences with playoff softball, we talk through U1 and U3's responsibilities in this system.

We cover The Basics, Guides, Starting Positions, Rotation, and Fly Ball Coverage Responsibilities. This episode spans most of U1's and U3's responsibilities from Part 8 through Part 8.8 of the manual. Next week, we'll tackle the Plate Umpire and some tips and tricks to help get this all down.

We also published a table for Leaving Too Soon and Tag-Up Responsibilities in the comments for this episode that was too complicated to read on air.

If you want to weigh in with your opinions, you can email us at [email protected], leave a comment at UmpiringFastpitchSoftball.com, or comment on this episode on Facebook - just search for Umpiring Fastpitch Softball.

Between playoff softball, work, families, and the holidays, we didn't record an episode for this week. Instead of leaving you in the lurch, we decided to reair an older episode from a year ago that many of you may not have heard. Stay tuned for more fresh content soon!

In this episode, we talk about some times where we were guilty of some bad umpiring. We're not just talking bad judgement, but instead where we fell down in executing our mechanics well with some in-game consequences. How did we deal with it and what did we learn?

If you want to weigh in with your opinions, you can email us at [email protected], leave a comment at UmpiringFastpitchSoftball.com, or comment on this episode on Facebook - just search for Umpiring Fastpitch Softball.

You know the rulebook governs what rules you're supposed to enforce on the diamond. You know the mechanics manual covers how you're supposed to do it. But, did you know that the rulebook actually has a rule that expressly gives an umpire the power to be the one (or ones) to do it?

In this episode, we dive into NFHS Rule 10 - Umpiring and talk about what authority that we've been entrusted with and talk through the scenarios we've been given to understand it better.

If you want to weigh in with your opinions, you can email us at [email protected], leave a comment at UmpiringFastpitchSoftball.com, or comment on this episode on Facebook - just search for Umpiring Fastpitch Softball.

In this episode, we address the umpires who want to get better and talk over all of the various ways they should do that. This is applicable for anyone wanting to grow, regardless of if their ultimate goal is Varsity HS ball, Travel Ball Nationals (regardless of sanction), or to work NCAA championships.

If you want to weigh in with your opinions, you can email us at [email protected], leave a comment at UmpiringFastpitchSoftball.com, or comment on this episode on Facebook - just search for Umpiring Fastpitch Softball.

In this episode, we turn on the mics and David surprises Pete with a topic to capture raw thoughts and have an organic dialog about the difference in pay when working a Varsity vs a Junior Varsity game.

Join us as we explore why we think it happens, whether it should happen, and what - if anything - should or could be done about it.

If you want to weigh in with your opinions, you can email us at [email protected], leave a comment at UmpiringFastpitchSoftball.com, or comment on this episode on Facebook - just search for Umpiring Fastpitch Softball.