Umpire Postioning

Question
We were playing in a U10 ASA fastpitch tournament and I have a question on the position of the base umpires.

We had three umpires and the 3rd base umpire was always standing in the field of play about 15-20 feet from the base at a 45 degree angle, Why would the umpire be in the field of play with no one on base.

Answer
Thanks for the question!

The answer is simple, beats the heck out of me!  I don't know why he was standing there.  With no one on third base the umpire should be 18-21 feet behind third base (or behind the third baseman in slow pitch) in foul ground.  None of the base umpires should he be in fair ground in this situation.

Here is a link to how 3 man system should be done:

http://www.cactusumpires.com/pdf/3-umpire-handout.pdf

Hope this helps answer your question, if not please reply!