Captains to Host Independent Baseball Umpire Camp

Published on March 21, 2011 under American Association (AA)
Shreveport-Bossier Captains News Release


SHREVEPORT, La. - This week, the Shreveport-Bossier Captains and Fair Grounds Field will host the Independent Minor League Baseball Umpire Camp, where 63 prospective umpires will get a chance to learn and improve their skills, before ultimately getting a chance to work this season in the American Association or Can-Am League, along with several collegiate wood bat leagues.

The camp, which begins Tuesday morning, is being run by veteran American Association umpire Lance Schoenwald. He will be aided by several fellow professional umpires, as well as the umpire supervisors from the respective leagues involved.

After several years in Florida, the camp comes to northwest Louisiana in 2011, with the primary focus this year being on teaching the three-man umpire system (used in the American Association and Can-Am League) to the rookie umpires, who are all recent graduates of umpire schools - where the two-man system is taught.

"I just love the location," Schoenwald said. "The people here are great- they accommodate all the needs we have."

Tuesday and Wednesday, the umpires will work 12-hour days, with both drills and classroom instruction. Then, Schoenwald and the staff will hone in on areas where they find a need for improvement on Thursday, before the campers get to umpire the USSSA National Qualifier Tournament that is being held at Fair Grounds Field on Friday and Saturday.

In the past few years, the American Association and Can-Am League have hired approximately 35 umpires out of this camp, according to Kevin Winn, who is the Director of Umpires for both leagues, and who will be in attendance this week.

Winn anticipates hiring four to five umpires in each league for this season.

"We're very pleased to welcome the staff and campers to Fair Grounds Field this week," Captains VP/General Manager Craig Brasfield said. "I'm happy that we could accommodate the umpires and I'm looking forward to a fantastic camp."

The 2010 American Association Champion Shreveport-Bossier Captains thank all of the people who made the 2010 regular season such a success. Check back at the team's official Web site www.sbcaptains.com for any off-season news as develops. For information on 2011 tickets, promotions, advertising, and other opportunities with the Captains, check out the Web site as well, or call the Fair Grounds Field office at (318) 636-5555.

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