As we approach the cold season and the end of the year, it is a good time to reflect & review on the past year.
For me, I find a parallel in doing this just as I would for my career work. In sales, every month is a "reset".
Constantly reviewing what worked, what did not work, and what can I do to separate myself from my competition. It truly is an effort of "Continuous Improvement".
As you embark upon your self-analysis of your umpiring performance, I'd encourage you to not over-complicate the process. Don't get caught up in the weeds - at least not yet!
A suggestion might be to pick (3) simple categories and focus on these. For most of us, we have an internal sense of where we are lacking and we will, likely, gravitate toward these areas - and we should.
For me, I intend to focus on "Appearance/Image", "Inter-personal Communications", and "Rule Book". Now what?
Well, it's easy to suggest that we can all simply say "do better" for each category we pick, but while that is true, it does not work if we fail to address the habitual characteristics that will reside within us moving forward.
For example, "Rule Book". While I m very comfortable in my rules knowledge, I have found myself, at times, not doing a good job of explaining the rules application. So my focus will be to absorb more case book study into my daily regimen of study. By having a deeper well to pull from, I increase my confidence level and, likely, my "Inter-personal communication" with coaches.
The key is to not sell yourself short. We ALL can improve and should seek out ways to enhance ourselves. Be humble and find your area of continuous improvement, it not only helps you but it brings up the collective group as well.