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[animal]

Ian, by now it's all over. So how did it go? BTW Welcome, another umpire is always welcome.

ANIMAL

[Diligent]

You're jumping the gun a bit Animal. It's only 8am in Britain & Ireland.

But yes, please let us know how it went when you get home this evening Ian.

[Ian Rich]

Great Fun its was nice to be close to the action and see what was going on instead of on the touch line. 
Really enjoyed it and look forward to next week. 
The forum is great.
One learning point was a could have blown twice in the other umpires half instead of just indicating for him but he never looked.

[aussieump]

Ian

you may need to have a read on areas of control and these posts Over Ruling your Co-Umpire

[Paul Watts]

nothing wrong with blowing in your colleagues half, just never in his D and not under his nose. Your pre-match chat should help with this

[redumpire]

And don't signal in your colleague's area of control unless (a) he looks to you for help or (b) you're going to blow.

Working together with your colleague is the hardest part of umpiring when you start out.  It takes practice, trust and a certain degree of 'bravery' just to let him get on with it.  Try and get along to watch some of the top guys in action if you get a chance to see how they work things out together.  You'll be surprised how much you pick up.

[justin]

I  couldn't agree more....'analytical observation' of others in action is really useful (in many areas of life!).

I think that only signalling when assistance is asked-for is one of the hardest skills to learn.

[zippytime]

And don't signal in your colleague's area of control unless (a) he looks to you for help or (b) you're going to blow.

Working together with your colleague is the hardest part of umpiring when you start out.  It takes practice, trust and a certain degree of 'bravery' just to let him get on with it.  Try and get along to watch some of the top guys in action if you get a chance to see how they work things out together.  You'll be surprised how much you pick up.

This advice is priceless. When I first started out I was struggling how to do things properly, being unable to find any top guys to watch  I settled on redumpires offer to watch him on a Sunday and from then on I started to improve and with the help of a lot of other people(some of those on here) some would say I have improved since those early days.
 

[Ballingdon]

And don't signal in your colleague's area of control unless (a) he looks to you for help or (b) you're going to blow.

Quite right - and I think there is a further point. 

If you are signalling advantage from the supporting umpire position, perhaps following the play down your side of the pitch, both you and your partner must know who is going to blow !  It seems so simple, until you know it has just gone wrong ! Eg you signal advantage, you think advantage has been gained , put your arm down, only to hear your partner's whistle - and  he is pointing back to you, explaining to the players that he was blowing 'for you' !
(Conversely,  neither of you blow, when it was needed!)