Touching All Bases. NCOA Softball 2016 Newsletter Vol 4, Issue 3 Jan. 15, Let s Play Ball!! On Deck. Welcome Softball Umpires!

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1 NCOA Softball 2016 Newsletter Vol 4, Issue 3 Jan. 15, 2016 Touching All Bases Let s Play Ball!! Welcome Softball Umpires! Well the holidays have come and gone, so now is the time to turn your focus on the upcoming NCOA softball season. Can you think of a better way to kick off the season, then to hear what our Group Leadership has in store for us. The one and only NCOA North Softball General Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, January 19, 2016 at Jesuit High School in Sacramento. Please arrive early to pick up books so we can start the meeting promptly at 6:00pm. New entrance to Jesuit: One can no longer enter from Gordon Lane the new entrance is at the traffic light on Fair Oaks Boulevard opposite from the entrance to Arden Hills Resort Club and Spa). It shows as O Donnell Drive. It looks like you can follow O Donnell Drive around to the back parking lot. The Student Center is located on the NE side of campus. file-attachments/campusmap.jpg On Deck Registration: The registration process has begun as of December 1 st and will close in January. When you finish the registration process you will be entered into the NFHS Arbiter Group. Initial update can take about 10 days for access, however most of the time, it is much less. Those doing other sports this year already have access to the rule book, case book, umpire manual, and videos online. You will get a hard copy of the rule book at our first meeting on January 19th at Jesuit High School. All umpires are urged to make this first meeting to finalize registration, pick-up Rule Books, and sign-up for Study Groups. Pick-up/check-in begins at 5:15pm, the meeting begins at 6 pm and ends at 8 pm. Register today if you have not done so! Meeting Dates and Locations: One and only General Meeting will be on Tuesday, January 19 th at Jesuit High School, 1300 Gordon Lane in Carmichael in the Student Center.

2 Boot Camp: The final NCOA/GSSA Boot Camp is scheduled to be held on Thursday, February 4 th from 6-9 pm at the Rusch Park gym located at 7801 Auburn Blvd. in Citrus Heights. Sign-ups are done through Arbiter, so if you re not registered, you might not get the information. Participation is limited to the first 30 officials that sign up. Certification Test: Is now open on the NFHS Tier 2 location (Group ID: ) on Arbiter. Once there, click on the TESTING tab, find softball in the Open Tests section and have at it! The official closing date is April 1, 2016, however you must successfully pass this exam (80%) before you will receive any game assignments (by February 29th)! A score of 90% is required to be considered for postseason play. Group Leadership Corner Nominations will be taken at the General Meeting on January 19 th for the open elected position of Ombudsman and 2 elected positions on the Evaluation/Rating Committee. a. Ombudsman: There shall be one (1) Ombudsman. The Ombudsman shall be selected by election of the Group. The Ombudsman will work in collaboration with Leadership to resolve issues brought to the Ombudsman by members. The RATING COMMITTEE shall consist of the following: CHAIRPERSON: 1 elected RATING COMMITTEE Members: 3 elected and 3 appointed (Total number of members is at the discretion of Group Leader/s and RATING COMMITTEE Chairperson) The Chairperson shall report to the Group Leader/s. RATING COMMITTEE Members will report to the RATING COMMITTEE Chairperson. RATING COMMITTEE members shall: maintain member in good standing status; be professional; attend required scheduled meeting(s); provide verbal and/or written evaluation/feedback; attend RATING COMMITTEE events/scrimmages/clinics; manage/evaluate assigned sub-group of subvarsity and varsity officials; evaluate officials as directed from other sub groups; attend subvarsity and varsity games to evaluate subvarsity and varsity officials; submit evaluations on all officials; review evaluations; recommend varsity officials to the chairperson for playoff consideration; recommend officials for ranking movement (up/down); vote on officials for ranking movement (up/down). Once nominations are closed, voting will take place on-line through Survey Monkey. Successful nominees will take office for the 2017 season. b. Rating Committee: This committee shall be referred to as the RATING COMMITTEE. The overall goal of RATING COMMITTEE is to evaluate, mentor, provide feedback to officials for skills improvement and recommend ranking movement.

3 Short Rules Quiz Each newsletter issue will have a short rules quiz. This is you your use and is not required to be taken and submitted. Per your request, answers are included in the same issue! Good luck! All questions are True/False. 1. It is an illegal pitch if F1 steps with the stride foot completely outside the 24-inch periphery of the pitcher s plate. 2. Materials inside the bat or treatments/devices used to alter the bat specifications and/or enhance performance are prohibited and render the bat illegal. 3. A bat that has holes in the taper are permitted. 4. A distance of 185 to 235 feet is required from home plate to the nearest obstruction on fair ground for interscholastic softball contests. 5. The use of electronic devices by team personnel in the dugout/bench area to transmit or record information pertaining to a player or team's performance is legal. 6. Tinted eye shields may be worn on the batting helmet but must be constructed of a rigid material. 7. The infield, outfield and foul lines are in fair ground. 8. All bats are required to meet the 2004 ASA Bat Performance Standard. 9. All batting helmets must be equipped with a NOCSAE-approved face protector. 10. Devices, attachments or wrappings are permitted on the bat provided they don't cause the handle to become flush with the knob. (Answers at the end of this issue) Important Information Training is necessary to be certified to work CIF High School games. The Training program is a number of different activities and events that have begun in December with the first Boot Camp. You must complete 18 hours of documented training for us to certify you to the CIF Assignors for assigning games. Get it together and get your training planned so you don t get left out. Training Options Expanded. We heard from our college umpires who are attending more mandatory training this year. We have included a credit of 2 hours of training time for documented, non-paid, and actual training (not just scrimmages) to meet the CIF requirement. ASA training hour options are also available for those in multiple organizations. See details in this Newsletter for the Training Hour options for It is your responsibility to communicate to us of your training hours IN ADVANCE. Regional Study Groups Facilitated Study Groups will meet again regionally for six weeks in Jan.-Feb. Mechanics are being added to the study materials. Location information will be available at the meeting on January 19 th. Sessions start the week of January 25 th. Evaluation/Mentor Scrimmages Evaluation/Mentoring Scrimmages are new this year to provide opportunities to develop your umpiring with video feedback and mentoring. Umpires will rotate on a 2 hour assignment with a veteran member of NCOA assigned to provide suggestions along with video so you can see yourself on the field.

4 The Rating Committee will be observing all umpires and using the scrimmages to solidify their evaluation of newer umpires or umpires without recent review reports. A copy of their written comments will be forwarded to each umpire working. Uniform: Buy the right uniform for softball. It is different from baseball. The official uniform for NCOA Softball is: Powder Blue (no logos) or Navy Shirt (color must match) (short or long sleeves); Heather Gray Slacks; Plain Navy Jacket (No stripes or piping); NCOA Hat; Heather Gray or Navy Ball Bag. For uniform and equipment needs you can contact Bernard Walker at (916) or him at bmwump@yahoo.com. Other News We are continuing a Used Equipment Collection for exchange to help newer umpires get started. If you have equipment you are changing out, please join the program! We were able to help equip 4 umpires this past season. John Silva Memorial Scholarship Fund A John Silva Memorial Scholarship Fund has been set up as an option for those interested to support John s grandchildren in their future educational endeavors. John s sports officiating brothers and sisters heard many stories about his family from a proud husband, father and grandpa. In this spirit, we hope to help continue the memory of our friend and officiating partner for his family s benefit. The Fund has been set up through the Greater Sacramento Softball Association. Donations should be to: GSSA; Attn: Silva Memorial Scholarship Fund; 6380 Tupelo, Drive, Suite 3; Citrus Heights, CA Any questions should be routed to Carl Clark, GSSA Co-assignor and NCOA Softball Co- Group Leader at (530) or faircrc@yahoo.com. GSSA is a 501(c) (3) organization. Donations may be tax deductible. Contact your tax professional for specific advice.

5 Answers to rules quiz: 1. ANS: T REF: 6-1-2c 2. ANS: T REF: 1-5-1c 3. ANS: F REF: 1-5-2c 4. ANS: F REF: 1-1-3a 5. ANS: T REF: ANS: F REF: ANS: T REF: ANS: T REF: 1-5-1d 9. ANS: T REF: ANS: F REF: 1-5-2a

6 Softball Sacramento 2016 Training Options (Updated 1/12/16) Training Options (18 hours required by CIF/SJS) # Hrs. Total All Umpires Required Credit Req. Hrs. Study Groups 4 of ea 8 Classification Exam Webinar sessions 4 of ea 4 New Umpires On-Field Evaluation/Mentoring Scrimmage 1 2ea 2 Basic Skills Boot Camp 1 3ea 3 Optional Training Hours Organizational Meetings 2 Vet. Scrimmages (verified)(2 max.) 2 ea Evaluation/Mentoring Scrimmage 4 Boot Camp 3 ea Study Guide (80% +) 2 GSSA Clinic 2 ASA National School 4 ASA National Fast Pitch School 8 NCAA Clinic (verified) (non-paid) 2 NOTE: Required sessions can be made up with approval of the Group Leaders on a case-by-case basis with an agreed upon training plan. It is the responsibility of the umpire to submit an request for an alternate training plan.

7 2016 ACTIVITIES SCHEDULE Date Day Time Session Location Jan 14, 2016 Thursday 6pm NCOA/GSSA Boot Camp Rusch Park Gym Jan 19 Tuesday 6pm NCOA General Meeting Jesuit High School Jan Feb MTWTh 6-8pm NCOA Study Group sessions Various TBA Jan Friday-Sunday ASA National Umpire School Tustin, CA Feb 4 Thursday 6pm NCOA/GSSA Boot Camp Rusch Park Gym Feb 6 Saturday 9am-2pm GSSA Clinic Davis Veterans Memorial Feb 20 Saturday Evaluation/Mentor Antelope, Vanden HS 2 hr sessions TBA scrimmages Feb 27 Saturday Evaluation/Mentor Oak Ridge HS, Freedom Park 2 hr sessions TBA scrimmages Feb 29 Monday Classification Exam due!! Sunrise Recreation & Park District Rusch Park Gym 7801 Auburn Blvd. Citrus Heights, CA Antelope High School 7801 Titan Drive Antelope, CA Davis Veterans Memorial Center 203 E. 14 th Street Davis, CA Jesuit High School 1300 Gordon Lane Carmichael, CA Vanden High School 2951 Markley Lane Fairfield, CA Freedom Park 2802 Perrin Avenue McClelland, CA Oak Ridge High School 1120 Harvard Way El Dorado Hills, CA 95762