Preparing for the upcoming season

It is March and baseball season (at least in Indiana) is less than 1 month away! My season starts on March 25th and I have been thinking to myself (and now out loud) what do I need to do to get ready for the season? After doing a little bit of research and drawing from my past couple years of umpiring, I have come up with a few ideas that will help you get ready for the upcoming season:

1. Attending local association meetings: I feel that this is one of the most important things an amatuer umpire can do before the season starts. Attending local association meeting will do a couple of things for you as an umpire: 1) It will connect (or reconnect) you with other local umpires. 2) You will learn about the new rule changes, points of emphasis, and rules interpretations for the season. 3) You will be able to brush up on the rules and refresh your memory. 4) You will be brought up to speed on all of the things you will need to know for the upcoming season.

2. Watching games: Believe it or not, they are playing baseball in some parts of the country and most colleges have started their seasons already. One thing I have done the last couple of years is go to a college game (especially convienient when I was in college) and just watch the action unfold. I liked to watch the umpires, how they acted, their mechanics, just to get the feel of a baseball game back in my mind. It helped me but you will need to find what helps you.

3. Attend Clinics: There are (were) a lot of great clinics for amatuer umpires that were offered during the winter and some that will be offered that are really high quality camps. There are camps out there that range from sponsored by the State Association to camps and clinics hosted by MLB umpires.

4. Work a scrimmage: If you can't get a scrimmage, contact a coach and ask if you can come over and get a few good looks at some pitcher pitching the ball. This always made me feel more comfortable behind the plate when the action was for real.

Those are some of the tips I could come up with. Are their any tips that anyone may have about getting ready for the season? I would really like to read what you all do to get ready for the season!