From Player to Umpire: Ed Williamson’s Unique Perspective on Governor Mifflin Baseball

March 21, 2025

Governor Mifflin Baseball continued their annual trip to Myrtle Beach for spring training and the season opener. It’s a trip where players have a unique opportunity to focus solely on baseball and have a great bonding experience to prepare for the upcoming season. While in Myrtle Beach we caught up with Ed Williamson, a former Governor Mifflin player and coach, and now an umpire, to discuss his remarkable journey and observations from behind the plate.

A Full-Circle Moment: Umpiring His Former Team

Ed’s journey through Governor Mifflin baseball, from player to coach and now umpire, culminated in a truly special occasion: stepping onto the field as an umpire for his former team. Ed described it as “a unique experience,” highlighting the excitement he felt after umpiring twenty-five college games leading up to his final game in Myrtle Beach for the season, a chance to call a game with Governor Mifflin. The excitement he felt wasn’t just about umpiring another game, Ed was really looking forward to seeing his hometown team from an unbiased point of view. As he took his place behind the plate, the team’s focus on fundamentals, the same ones he had helped instill, were impressive. “This dedication,” he emphasized, “speaks volumes about the program’s enduring strength.” He noted the impressive skill of the players and the pride he felt seeing the program up close.

I just was all pumped up to get on that field and in my most unbiased way, just fun to see this team up close and personal and man, and some of the other umpires that had them said, boy, they’re impressive!

The Game Slows Down

Transitioning from player to coach and finally to umpire has given Ed a unique perspective on the game. As an umpire, he sees the game slowing down, allowing him to appreciate the fundamentals, “The game just slows down and you start to see how simple it is…this team’s fundamentals are sound, and I see that after watching team after team after team.” He credits coaches Chris Hole and Steve Murray for maintaining the solid fundamentals that Governor Mifflin is known for, a legacy from his own coaching days.

“I wish, I wish I had umpired before I coached,” he admits with a chuckle that, in hindsight, his experience as an umpire would have changed his approach as a coach, especially when it came to dealing with umpires! Coaching is an emotional investment, and Ed remembers the intensity of wanting to win for his players. It’s something that stays with him even today. He always made sure his players were respectful. He acknowledged that, as a younger coach, he was guilty of letting his emotions get the best of him, sometimes resulting in yelling at umpires. However, he instilled in his players a deep respect for the game and its officials, “My kids, my players would never have said one thing or given one bad look to an umpire. If you get a close call, it tends to go your way.” Looking back on his coaching days, Ed reflected on the intense emotions he invested in the game and his desire for his team to succeed. These emotional bonds between him and his players are some that Ed cherishes the most.

I take it as a great honor that they know, the fundamentals we learned and the way we organize practice is still in place today. So that makes me feel very good.

Evolution of the Program

Having been away from the program for 15 years, Ed is amazed by its growth and evolution. “I think it’s at a whole other level…it’s a whole new world today,” he states, noting the increased specialization and development of players through travel ball and personal instructors, “And boy, the success of some of these kids is just unbelievable.” He is particularly impressed with the program’s reach down to the little league clinics and the emphasis on organization and teaching fundamental baseball, “They focus on organization, and just teach the fundamentals and somehow this program is at a level I never dreamed. They’re where I wanted to go.”

Myrtle Beach Magic: Bonding and Competition

Ed appreciates the annual trip to Myrtle Beach for Governor Mifflin baseball, highlighting the significance of the team bonding experience, “I agree that bonding and becoming a team in the sense of, you know, living together and going through a unique experience together just definitely is a positive.” In Myrtle Beach the team gets the benefit of playing baseball in warmer conditions. They also get exposure to seeing other teams and talent, which according to Ed, can instill a motivation to become better.

Keys to Success

From behind the plate, Ed has observed the current Mifflin team’s strengths. He notes their discipline at the plate and ability to take pitches on the outside and get hits to the opposite field. This team not only handles business at the plate, but also pitches well, constantly challenging batters with strikes. Overall, Ed gives a resounding endorsement of this team’s chances to win a lot of games. He did advise them that they need to “remember there’s always players out there better than them, they just gotta keep getting better and better, and they’ll reach their max.”

Advice for a Championship Repeat

When asked to give advice to the team on a repeat championship Ed said, “Yeah, they have a big challenge in front of them, they’re the big dogs, and everybody is out to beat them, so they can’t fall back on, oh, we’re good, that will be their death knell.” Sound advice from a former player and coach who, in his own words says, “It feels good to be with them. It’s like a reunion because I know it’s in my soul to be at this school.”