Angle Is Primary; Distance Is Secondary; Closer Is Better, up to a Point

PROPER POSITIONING

“Angle is Primary; distance is secondary; closer is better, up to a point

While no sentence can summarize everything you need to know about positioning, that one comes close. When you understand how angle, distance and proximity work together, you understand how your on field position affects your opportunity to rule correctly on a given play. Let’s consider each element.

ANGLE. Your line of sight must provide you with an opportunity to view an important, instantaneous activity (on a tag play) or combination of two activities (on a force play). To get the right line of sight, you have to establish the correct angle.

Ever since I can remember, veteran umpires have preached to rookies to establish a 90 degree angle. That’s a great starting point, if you understand what 90 degrees you are trying to get.

For example, on a tag play you would like to be looking at the space between the fielder’s hand or glove and the runner’s body. Assume for a moment that the fielder has the ball and is waiting with his glove extended to tag the runner. As the runner slides, his movement establishes his line of action. Your standard “90 degree angle” would place your line of sight perpendicular to the runner’s slide – a good starting point. You may have to adjust your angle to see over, under or around the fielder’s body or the runner’s body.

DISTANCE.In theory, once you establish the proper angle, you have a reasonable opportunity to accurately view the action, regardless of the distance between your position and the play. The theory holds as long as you do not have to adjust your angle.

In reality, the final moments of virtually every play require some amount of adjustment. The greater your distance from the play, the more difficult it will be to make that adjustment, but if you have not first established the proper angle your ability to adjust is inconsequential.

PROXIMITY. How close you want to be to a developing play depends on several variables, including the type of play, your mobility, and your peripheral vision. Begin by moving to a position 8 to 10 feet from a tag play; 15 to 18 feet from a force play.

The more you practice, the easier the angle and distance equation will become. It is quite acceptable to adjust distances to fit you own ability.