OAOA State Baseball Committee Meeting Summary

Date:  09-06-06

Location:  OSAA Offices and Local Locations

 

Projected Attendees:

 

Sax Stone (Salem), Tim Christensen (Portland), , Mike Kyles (Blue Mountain), Dale Andrews (NE OR Sat.), Todd Wagner (Lane County), Terry Fischer (SRI), Steve Rei (OAOA Board Liaison), Mac Heitzhausen (Central Oregon) Eric Fisk (Mid Valley), Jack Folliard (OAOA), Clark Sanders (OAOA), Tom Welter (OSAA)

 

 

Rather than listing old and new business this meeting we have listed items that we need to bottom out on and come to some type completion:

 

Line up Cards:

 

We need to bottom out on the new line-up card as designed by Terry Fischer. I the OSAA going to get them printed and sponsored? Is the OSAA going to distribute these cards to all schools with a “must use” command? Are we going to demand that all umpires in the State learn and require coaches to use the card correctly?

 

09.06.06

 

Fischer and Christensen are to develop and post by 10/7/06 the new line-up card.  The card is to be a template so that schools can print their logo and other information on to NCR multi-copy paper. For the card to be utilized this spring it must be introduced to the coaches at their meeting on November 7, 2006.

 

Umpire Hall of Fame:

 

We handed out the criteria and form of the UHoF.

 

Tim Christensen distributed a process and criteria for the formulation of the Oregon Baseball High School Umpire Hall of Fame.  The document was for members to review and comment.

 

Folliard intoned that he thought that a strict criteria should be established so that only the “cream” of umpires are selected for the “Hall.”

 

Sax Stone was requested by the committee to continue on developing the concept of the “Hall” using the “Christensen Document” as a starting point. Stone was also requested to contact Mac Heitzhausen (Central Oregon) to see if he had an interest in becoming the “Custodian of the Oregon High School Baseball Umpire Hall-of Fame.”

 

We need to bottom out and decide if this HOF is going forward and if it is get it started.

 

 

09.06.06

 

The Hall-of-Fame was tabled and it was noted by the group that Mac Heitzhausen had declined the invitation to be curator of the Hall.  Steve Rei was requested to contact the Oregon State Athletic Hall-of-Fame in Portland to see if there is a space available for a “Oregon High School Officials Hall-of-Fame.” This HOF would be for all sports officiated in Oregon High Schools.

 

Umpire Training Manual. 

 

Working Draft can be presented to the group.  There is only one copy as of this date and it is incomplete.

 

Tim Christensen reported to the committee that the development of the manual was continuing.  Christensen brought to the committee’s attention that certain things need to be established by the committee rather than a single author.

 

Terry Fischer noted and distributed to the committee the schedule and philosophy of training as view by the Salem Baseball Umpires Association.  Where the Christensen manual is fine for the details of how we want umpires to operate Fischer’s document showed how to break that information into teaching session so that all umpires are covered during a selected period of time.

 

Sax Stone was directed to continue his project of developing an “area training program” with regional trainers.

 

Christensen was directed to get the manual as currently formulated to Jack Folliard so it can be distributed to the members of the committee. Which was not done.

 

09.06.06

 

Christensen produced and passed to Clark Sanders a copy of an unfinished version of the manual.  The OAOA will distribute to the committee members for review and comment.  Christensen will then take those ideas, complete the manual and re-distribute for final comments.

 

ASEP Certification:

 

We need to bottom out on a process that certifies local clinics and training programs in place of formal ASEP certification.  The Fischer Camp was discussed in an informal manner and we voted that it was an “acceptable alternate” but what does the OSAA need to accept that training.  Our client needs to give us expectations so that Portland, or Eugene or The Salem Clinic know exactly what is needed and how to measure the outcome and document for each umpire the certification.

 

Does each camp need to teach for the OAOA Baseball Umpire Training Manual?

 

 

 

 

 

09.06.06

 

Jack Folliard walked the group through the processes that area happening statewide. The OAOA executive committee is developing an alternative to the “Principles” portion of the OCEP/ASEP training and testing.  The program should be available by spring.

 

The group then began initial discussions concerning the combination of the Training Manual and state certification of clinicians.  It was noted by the group that the first goal should be to train all high school umpires in the state in a common system of two man mechanics.  The manual and trainers should satisfy this requirement.

 

All clinics will be titled: “An OAOA certified clinic sponsored by (insert local group name).”

 

Folliard asked for three locations to host this springs roll-out clinics.  Central Oregon, Lane County and Portland all offered their associations for ALPHA and BETA testing.  Folliard also requested that a calendar be developed so that he can announce the locations and dates for future clinics that allows availability for clinics in all geographic areas of the state.

 

The clinics that are an alternative to ASEP are not local clinics they are state clinics.

 

State Training for umpires and selection of state tournament officials:

 

Along with the ASEP/Alternative Certification we need to come to an agreement on the next step of requiring consistent training for all high school umpires in the state.  We begin to see the training differences when umpires show up for the State Championship Triple Header.

 

Terry Fischer reported on the three umpire crews that worked during the day at the 2006 State Championship Triple header.  Fischer’s comments were directed to\wards the need, as seen by the State Rules Interpreter, that there needs to be added qualifications for umpires that are selected for the final series of games.

 

Fischer referred to past years when some umpires were over whelmed by the experience.

 

The committee recognized that it is a great accomplishment for any umpire to be selected for the championship series but that there needs to be a system involved that qualifies the umpires for the selection.

 

The group felt that by tying the selection to the new umpire training manual was a few years away but that every association in the state needed to be consistent in training and each selected umpire to be tied to that training.

 

09.06.06

 

With direction from the committee Todd Wagner (Lane County) was named sub-committee chair to develop a process for the offering of certified clinics that can be held in different locations statewide.  One residual of attending these clinics is that it is one of the qualifications an umpire must fulfill in order to be considered for state playoff baseball.

 

Wagner request that Christensen assist to make sure the certified clinics are in line with the new State Umpire Training Manual.

 

Wagner was tasked to have a process documented and distributed by 09.27.06 for review by the State Umpire Committee (SUC).

 

Respectfully submitted 10.03.06.

 

Tim Christensen

Secretary

Oregon Athletic Officials Association

State Baseball Umpire Committee

 

 

 

 

 

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