ARIZONA UMPIRING ACADEMY
JANUARY 26-29, 2006 CLASS
The first night of the clinic was a classroom session that covered mechanics, signals, and plate work criteria. Pizza, drinks, and other snacks were provide during the session.
Students had the opportunity during the classroom breaks to purchase quality umpire apparel from Gerry Davis Sports.
The Arizona Umpiring Academy instructors include former and present major league and minor league umpires and also, top NCAA umpires. The AZUA instructors have over 80 years of professional umpiring school teaching experience. The teaching techniques and instructional tools used are top of the line. The instructors are all highly qualified in instructing, assessing and intervention for recognizing and correcting all the facets of umpiring.
The classroom provides in-depth comprehension on umpiring by using the AZUA Fundamentals of Umpiring CD and other techniques. During the use of the CD, the instructors also demonstrate live techniques.
Bright and early each day the instructors, along with the students, start with instruction over working the plate. Each student gets about 15 different cage appearances during the 3 1/2 day clinic. No other amateur umpiring clinic can compare to that statistic. At the end of the clinic numerous students had "cage fever".
After 4 hours in the working on plate work in the cage, the class is taken to the field to work on a vast variety of drills.
Edward Damon was awarded the John Woods Award. Edward's termination and willingness to succeed as an umpire epitomized the characteristic of John Woods as an umpire on and off the field. John Woods was an instructor at Jim Evans Academy of Porfessional Umpiring, Minor League Umpire and instructor at the Arizona Umpiring Academy.
Bottom middle left picutre is a picture of Edward Damon (left) and John Woods (right).
