Play Ball, Help the Kids
By Gordon McFarlane Arguably the year’s best season, spring brings gardens to life, March Madness, NBA and NHL teams competing for those...
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Kent Walker
- Mar 24
- 3 min
Life at the Top
You made it! You've worked hard and now you're top of the heap, the "Big Dog." You get the plate in the Big Game, and you work at the...
476 views0 comments
Kent Walker
- Feb 1
- 4 min
Shining your shoes isn't just about shining your shoes
Generally speaking, I can tell from the moment I see an umpire on the field whether he is a top-shelf or lower-shelf umpire. No, I don't...
2,140 views0 comments
Kent Walker
- Oct 21, 2022
- 4 min
SCORING GOALS
When you have a game to umpire, although you may do it subconsciously, you plan a way to get there, and you plan what time you'd like to...
92 views0 comments
Kent Walker
- Oct 6, 2022
- 3 min
THE CONFIDENCE GAME (Part 3)
It's easy to say "I have lots of self-confidence." But is it true? To find out if you actually are confident or not, here's a series of...
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Kent Walker
- Sep 22, 2022
- 4 min
THE CONFIDENCE GAME (Part 2)
Last time we talked about steps to boost your confidence. Hopefully, that will help umpires who lack confidence when on the field. But...
163 views0 comments
Kent Walker
- Aug 17, 2022
- 5 min
THE CONFIDENCE GAME (Part 1)
To be honest, almost every game I umpire, supervise or mentor, I'm scared to death. And I think that's a good thing. To be clear, I have...
169 views0 comments
Kent Walker
- Jul 15, 2022
- 7 min
Now You're a Supervisor (part 3): What to say, how to say it, and where to say it
You've watched the game, you've taken copious notes, videos and photos. Now the game is over and it's actually time to begin your...
177 views0 comments
Kent Walker
- Jun 24, 2022
- 5 min
Now You're a Supervisor (part 2): What to Look for
You're all set to do your supervision. Great. Now what do you do? Above all, you're looking for things that need improvement, that you...
280 views0 comments
Kent Walker
- Jun 16, 2022
- 5 min
Now You're a Supervisor
There are different reasons experienced, high-level umpires sit in the stands and watch other umpires work games. For example, you could...
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Kent Walker
- Jun 3, 2022
- 5 min
Words are Important
When I was 10 and in my first year of organized baseball, our pitcher asked the rest of the team if anyone wanted to be the catcher that...
518 views0 comments
Kent Walker
- May 27, 2022
- 4 min
Leaders Should Be Readers - Part 3
If you've been reading along, you've probably found lots of books not commonly related to umpiring that can help you improve your game....
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Kent Walker
- May 12, 2022
- 5 min
Leaders Should Be Readers - Part 2
As we demonstrated with last week's listing of six books that should be read by umpires in leadership roles, there's a lot more to...
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Kent Walker
- May 3, 2022
- 6 min
Leaders Should Be Readers
Perhaps when you first started umpiring, there should have been a notice that said "Warning: the job of umpiring requires extensive...
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Kent Walker
- Apr 15, 2022
- 3 min
REMEMBER: YOU'RE ALWAYS BEING WATCHED
The headline sounds spooky, doesn't it? But no, this article isn't about Big Brother watching you. It's about young, impressionable...
600 views0 comments
Kent Walker
- Mar 25, 2022
- 7 min
THE JOYS OF GAME MANAGEMENT
Right off the top, let's point out that there's no way to cover in detail all the aspects of game management in one article. It's a...
246 views0 comments
Kent Walker
- Oct 2, 2020
- 7 min
Finding Umpires Who Are Ready To Move Up
Last time we looked at umpires who indicate they're not ready yet to move up (see APPEARANCE, TIMING AND FOUL CALLS: INDICATIONS TO LOOK...
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Kent Walker
- Sep 11, 2020
- 5 min
APPEARANCE, TIMING AND FOUL CALLS: INDICATIONS TO LOOK FOR WHEN EVALUATING
You're evaluating an umpire who is either fairly new to the job or hasn't received much instruction or feedback. You'll probably see a...
98 views0 comments
Kent Walker
- Aug 26, 2020
- 5 min
Practice makes you better
Allen Iverson didn't have it right. It's not only practice. Practice is important. Practice makes perfect, they say, but how do you...
67 views0 comments
Kent Walker
- Aug 18, 2020
- 7 min
Getting the Most From Your Clinics
So you're putting on an umpire clinic. Good for you, and good luck. Now, assuming it's a clinic for beginning umpires and umpires with...
44 views0 comments
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